The Vanity of Theologizing

Summary of a study held in the late 1990s (?) in Katwijk a/d Rijn

The dictionary (Prisma) defines theology as: “divinity; scientific reflection on faith.” Under the verb to theologize we find: “to reason about theological subjects.”

One can become a “theologian” by studying theology at a university or college. One can even be a professor of theology without believing in the existence of God at all! Which only goes to show that “faith” and “theology” are two entirely different matters.

The first recorded conversation in the Bible we encounter in Genesis 3. In this conversation matters of faith are reasoned about, and thus (according to the dictionary definition) it is a theological conversation.
The course of the conversation in Genesis 3 may well be called very characteristic of theologizing. First, confusion is sown by placing a question mark behind a perfectly clear statement of God (v.1). The woman does not recognize the danger and then misquotes God’s statement: she adds something to God’s words (“neither shall you touch it”; v.3). Then the serpent strikes: he directly contradicts God, and through his reasoning the woman capitulates to the serpent’s deception (vv.4–6).

After Jesus was confronted with massive rejection in Capernaum and the surrounding area, we read that He thanks God that He hides His Word from the wise and intelligent (!) but reveals it to children.

The difference between a “wise and intelligent” person and a “child”? The first category “knows” much; the second category knows almost nothing, is “blank.” But children, though “unwritten,” usually want to know everything. They are curious. With the wise and intelligent, it is usually what they think they know that gets in the way. If we want God to reveal His Word to us, we must be open-minded and interested in what He has to say.
Matthew 11:25

God speaks through Isaiah that, because the people of Israel draw near to Him with their lips but keep their heart far from Him, and their fear of Him is taught by the commandment of men, He will destroy the wisdom and intelligence of “this people.” Judaism has the reputation of harboring an enormous amount of wisdom and understanding. Yet its learned leaders are designated as “blind.”
Isaiah 29:9–14

The “wisdom of the world” that Paul speaks of in 1 Corinthians 1 appears to refer not only to the philosophy of the Greeks but also (as shown by his quotation of Isaiah 29:14) to the learning of the Jews. This wisdom is designated by God as “foolishness.”
1 Corinthians 1:19–20

God did not send His Son to Athens, the intellectual center of those days. No, He was sent to Jerusalem, the place where religious orthodoxy was established. And it was precisely there that He was cast out.
Hebrews 13:12–13

Paul was an exceptionally theologically trained man. He had sat at the feet of Gamaliel and had advanced in Judaism further than most of his contemporaries. Despite this background, Paul explicitly refrained from bringing the testimony of God “with excellence of speech or of wisdom.”
Acts 22:3; Galatians 1:14; 1 Corinthians 2:1

The word “preaching” has, in our ears, a pastor’s connotation. Preaching takes place on pulpits. The Greek word, however (kērygma), refers to “heralding,” “announcing,” and “proclaiming.” Kērygma is the bringing forth of a message.
1 Corinthians 2:4

Do not try to make the Word attractive or to defend it. Speak it plainly, just as it is “written.” Not less, but especially not more.

To theologize is to reason. That is usually unnecessary and even fatal in matters of faith. Not the simple, but precisely the intellectuals are in constant temptation to engage in it. Yet, “the Lord knows that the reasonings of the wise are vain.”
1 Corinthians 3:20

Through reasoning one arrives at being “beyond what is written.” One could indeed say that theologizing takes you further… but then further away from Scripture. It is a built-in mechanism in theology (especially in dogmatics) that one becomes increasingly distanced from the statements of Scripture.
1 Corinthians 4:6

In theology, the study of Scripture has only a subordinate place. The main concern is what theologian X has said about it. Or what theologian Y has claimed in response to theologian X. Or what theologian Z has concluded as a result of the claims of theologian Y.

Orthodox theology is full of terms and expressions that testify to human wisdom. Through reasoning (sometimes over centuries) one arrives at terms that Scripture does not know, but which are supposed to express what the Bible means… A vain pursuit: we only need to believe and repeat the Scriptures.

The word for “confess” in the New Testament is homologeō, which literally means “to say the same.” To confess rightly is not a creative activity; on the contrary, it is only repeating. All (key) words and phrases that do not belong to the biblical vocabulary should be removed from our “confession.”

Below is a (far from complete) list of expressions that occupy an important place in theology but must be regarded as “words of human wisdom.”
Note! In this context, the point is not whether the underlying doctrines are or are not biblical—it is about the non-biblical terminology itself.

• Trinity;
• one Essence, three Persons;
• God the Son;
• deity of Christ;
• mother of God;
• immortal soul;
• resurrection of the flesh;
• original sin;
• depravity of human nature;
• particular atonement;
• covenant of grace, covenant of works;
• substitutionary death;
• atonement by satisfaction;
• King of the Church;
• etc.

Delen: