If it’s harder for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get to heaven, it’s harder for an elephant to thread that needle than for a person who has right theology to not get arrogant. How many people do you know who have read one John Calvin book and thrown it down in a spiral while doing a touchdown dance as though they’d accomplished something themselves?
Five years after releasing my third book, Searching for God Knows What
The two main components I added to the book are a new introduction in which I argue that right theology has no redemptive power at all, that redemptive power only comes through a relationship with Jesus. I explain why right theology has become a false idol, and when it’s used as a pacifier to make us feel right rather than redeemed, it breeds arrogance and is bait for an offensive, controlling personality. Many Christian leaders belittle other pastors and thinkers in the name of right theology. This is distracting, and by distracting I mean it’s a song and dance that distracts people from seeing Christ.
The second addition to the book is a personality theory I wrote and printed in the final chapter. I call it The Genesis Theory and it explains, I believe, how our personalities have developed based on the depiction of the fall of man in Genesis 2 and 3. I’m hoping to qualify this theory through trial at a Christian University. The seed of this theory is in this reprint.
Anyway, here is a bit of the new introduction. It’s only a bit of it, but it will give you an idea of what the book is about. Hope you like the additions. Thanks so much.
From the introduction of Searching for God Knows What
….and through a dark night of the soul, I came to realize salvation happens through a mysterious, indefinable, relational interaction with Jesus in which we become one with him. I realized Christian conversion worked more like falling in love than understanding a series of concepts or ideas. This is not to say there are no true ideas, it is only to say there is something else, something beyond. There are true ideas involved in marriage and sex, but marriage and sex also involve something else, and that something else is mysterious.
If we have a controlling personality, in which we like to check things off of lists, this is going to be extremely hard for us to understand and embrace. God give us no control, really, over this “system” of relationship. Introducing somebody to Jesus is not about presenting ideas, then, as much as it is introducing a person to a Deity who lives and interacts. Evangelism, then, looks like setting somebody up on a blind date: God does the work, we just tell them about him and where they can find him.
You might be getting upset by this. You might think I am saying truth should be thrown out, that theology doesn’t matter. But this is not what I’m saying at all. What I’m intending to illustrate is our drive to define God with a mathematical theology has become a false God rather than an arrow that points to the real God. Theology can become an idol, but it is more useful as guardrails on a road to the true God. Theology is very important, but it is not God, and knowing facts about God is not the same as knowing God. Let me give you an extreme example of how very bad we have gotten about this in the west.
About the time (and I share this in the book, so forgive the repetition) I was thinking through these things, I was teaching a class in Canada, and my students were freshman college students, all of whom had grown up in the church. The class was called “The Gospel and Culture.” I started the class with an experiment, I told the class I was going to share the gospel of Jesus, but I was going to leave something out. I wanted them to figure out what I’d left out. I talked first about sin, about how we are fallen creatures. I told some stories and used some illustrations. I talked about repentance, and again told some stories, then I talked about God’s forgiveness, and I talked about heaven. I went on for some time. And when I finally stopped and asked the class to tell me what I’d left out, after twenty or more minutes of discussion, not one student realized I’d left out Jesus. Not one. And I believe I could repeat that same experiment in Christian classrooms across North America.
What I came to understand, then, is Christian conversion is relational. It is not theological or intellectual any more than marriage is theological or intellectual. In other words, a child could become a Christian if they had a mysterious encounter with Jesus, and a simple thinker could become a Christian if they had a mysterious encounter with Christ, and even a person who was a Muslim or a Buddhist could become a Christian if they had a mysterious relational encounter with Christ. This is the only answer at which I could arrive that matched the reality in which we live, the complexity of scripture, and the mysterious invitation offered to us by Jesus.
I hear the masses saying, “But no! A person cannot believe in multiple Gods and be a Christian.” Let me counter with some questions:
Can a person have bad theology and be a Christian?
Has your theology ever been corrected, and were you really a Christian before?
Is your theology all worked out now so you have no more reason to study, and if not, are you a Christian?
If you believe a person’s theology has to be right to be qualified for Christian conversion, then you are saying a person comes to know God, in part, because he has right ideas, and I respectfully disagree. Do I think right theology is important? Absolutely, but I do not believe it has any agency to convert anymore than directions to the doctor’s office has the power to heal.
I have a friend who countered, adamantly, that unless a person understood and agreed with the theological idea of total depravity, he could not be a Christian. I asked my friend when it was that he understood the idea himself, and he answered his sophomore year in seminary. I asked him, then, when he had become a Christian, and he told me when he was in the third grade. His reasoning was obviously insane, and I don’t think he is alone. I believe that God wants us to engage with and be transformed by His Word. So does that mean someone from another faith who encounters Jesus might have their ideology corrected? Maybe. What I’m saying, though, is that God doesn’t exclude someone from his saving grace because they don’t have the correct theological checklist. And for those of us who judge and condemn them, why would we stand in opposition when the God we love and serve is himself so adamant about being in relationship with them just as He is with us?
Would you do me a favor as you read this book? Would you be willing to grow and expand your understanding of God and how He works? If your understanding of Christianity is relatively conservative, it may surprise you that our theology is remarkably similar. It’s just that I am going to continue to pull power and beauty away from facts about God and give them to God himself. To the degree your right theology is your false God, this is going to disturb you. You are going to revolt, inside, because the thing you have been placing your security in (namely your ability to come up with and defend right ideas) is going to be threatened. But make no mistake, I am not attacking right theology, I am simply making theology a window rather than a wall.
On this journey, you may travel through the same dark night of the soul through which I have come. But on the other side, I assure you, is Christ, and you will love him for what He has done. You will stand bloodied from the battle, kneeling before Him, knowing He is all the hope you had, and hopefully, in a delightful moment of freedom, realize He is always the only hope you need.
If you’d like to read the entire book, you can find it at your local bookstore, Barnes and Noble, Borders or Amazon.
Don, I agree with you. Theology is not the slam dunk. But here is where I struggle…so other thoughts are welcome. I struggle with a “name it claim it” theology that totally misrepresents who God is. Theology that makes idols out of self, rather than exalts God. I have a friend who believes that every believer should be healthy and prosperous and anything contrary is due to lack of faith or attack from Satan. While that’s partially true, it distorts the beauty of grace, I think. So, how do we find balance? It’s not my theology that wins, or this guy’s. But if either of us is misrepresenting God, isn’t that a shame? I just humbly ask, how do I let go of any idols in my life, but also help someone else destroy their own idols so that truth a.k.a. Jesus is what is really exalted? I promise, I’m not a jack-ass. I really want to have God’s heart in this.
I don’t really think that being healthy or prosperous has anything to do with lack of faith or being attacked by Satan. As evidenced in the book of Job we are vulnerable to attacks from Satan but in that story Job was a very good man who loved God AND was attacked with everything Satan had the ability to throw at him. I know very good Christians who love God and others with everything they have who are neither healthy nor prosperous. The flip side to that is I also know people who are VERY healthy and prosperous who don’t want to have anything to do with God or Christianity. Health and prosperity are not as much about gifts from God as they are circumstantial.
Grace, on the other hand, is learning the God-given ability to forgive those who have wronged you and learn to love those who hate you. When we’re able to let go of the things that come between us and God and us and others that’s when we will be able to let go of those idols and help others in their search for truth.
Saul before becoming, the Apostle paul who was a Pharisee of pharisees, had according to Judaic Law the right Doctrine, and an understanding of doctrine according to the Torah. Yet, Jesus had to shake his beliefs to deal with his heart. His soul was steeped within Judaic arrogance and a lack of humility.
Theology can place us on a form of Godliness, and towards a foundation for having an understanding of God through teh Centuies, however even with the History of the Church various Councils from 325AD to 481AD were essential to confront heresies and to establish teh truth of what we believe within Christology.
The Deeper issue is to teh Issue of our heart. As we read from Deuteronomy teh 6th Chapter, which can possibly be viewed as an initial teaching on the character traits of the Kingdom of God for the worshiper or the Church, we come to teh strength of hearing teh Words of Jesus within teh Sermon on teh Mount. The Golden Rule is what unifies us as Christians towards true worship of God and love towards each other.
Doctrine can either unify or seperate believers of Jesus. So to place our spiritual faith and strength on Theology is not wise. What should be consistent is our prayer life to establish a growth within God which mirrors teh charcter of Jesus so we can avoid teh spirit of, if I can say, Phariseeism.
The Apostle paul saw this issue of teh heart as we read from teh Epistles of Romans, Galations and Ephesians.
I went to a vocational Christian college, in which the bulk of my classmates are now preachers, youth ministers or missionaries of some sort. Theology was the only thing it was ok to be prideful about there. Arguments about what is correct, and I completely agree that certain types of personalities will determine what your take on theology is – if God is a God who came to save or condemn and correct. If you want a college on which to test your theory, email me. I think it would be utterly fascinating and well worth the material for a new book, for students and professors alike to be studied.
Don…I grew up Lutheran and Lutheran’s believe they have the soundest theology out there but even after years of Lutheran school, confirmation, and then church council (yikes) I didn’t really have a relationship with God. Big difference but then again you know this.
Anyway, Don I owe you an apology because a couple years back I blasted you on your blog because supposedly you hadn’t autographed a book for a friend of mine. After I blasted you – you profusely apologized which was way too kind. As it turns out that friend is a pathological liar and never sought out your autograph. This lie was relativiely insignificant but many of his other lies have hurt me deeply. Now in my family the running joke we use to explain the depth of the dysfunction is, “He even lied about Donald Miller!” Because we all appreciate your work so much that is considered sacrilege. You just don’t lie about Donald Miller!
It seems no matter what all through the ages man has a hard time understanding and even speaking the truth. You see that contradiction in the big picture of life when we talk about “right theology” only to be played out poorly in the little microcosms of life when we simply tell people what they want to hear.
Thanks for your apology and please accept mine. I’m sorry. I was mistaken and while I’m sure it’s forgotten on your part I’ll sleep better knowing I said something albeit in a rambling way!
Dear Don – I heard, that’s what your friends call you.
I’ve been meaning to write you for a while, but after reading this post today, today was the day. “LFGKW” is a Sunday morning class the congregation I work with is reading – I asked, “Who’s Donald Miller?” With a look of shock and awe, someone responded, YOU haven’t read “Blue Like Jazz”???! No, I had not, so, I started doing research (aka: Googled you).
I have to say, at first, you had me at your dimples. But then I continued my search and thought, hmmmmmm. Your schizophrenic approach to politics and social justice confirmed, we will only be able to remain friends : )
But, I digress…..
Another consideration as you examine what and how is our relationship with God. Just as we have relationship with others, we begin by knowing them with what we have – as lame or blind – incomplete people. I’m sure you know the story of the blind people each describing an elephant through their one partial, but unique experience. All were truthful, but none complete. Is that not somewhat how we first start out with God? I had a need, I went to Him and he met my need. What did I need? Forgiveness? Peace? Love? Hope? Mercy? Freedom? Him? Yes – but my first step of relationship was not all of these at one time. Just like the blind people, we only know Him one part at a time – which culminates into Him.
Theology and Relationship I believe are more integrated, because relationship without theology can be just as distorted and idol-like as theology without relationship. Why? Half of the relationship is not perfect (that’s us, BTW).
Anyway….I have been glad to get to know you and the heart you have for Jesus. Now, would that be through “don”ology or relationship? : )
Your sister in Iowa — Beth
Don, I just started reading your stuff, and just finished this book. Your chapter on Jesus, who he was, and what characteristics he displayed, was awesome. We need to be continually challenged to forget what we think we’ve learned — the “knowledge” that “puffs up”– and get back to Jesus and the things and people he loved. Your book helped to reveal so much of the majesty of the King we serve, and to reaffirm our need to daily ask Jesus to let us know him better. You hit the nail on the head: What a tragedy it would be if we knew all “about” God but failed to meet the living God? I believe there is a Pharisee lurking inside each of us – that little part of us that believes we have it figured out or we stand in a better position with God because of what we know, believe, or do. Thanks for putting the spotlight on our inner Pharisee in a way that brings us always back to Christ. Thank you.
Hey Don and any others, I have a question.
What if someone has un-Biblical theology, has had an experience with Christ, but that theology is permitting sin excessively?
Doesn’t sin separate us from God?
Shouldn’t the experience instigate some kind of accountability?
Or is it just the experience and the preceding faith that matters?
I’m really just trying to learn, struggling with this one.
Any verses or anecdotes would be greatly appreciated
CPB,
You ask a really great question. There is the story of a blind man who Jesus healed. The man decided to follow Jesus and later, after he’s followed Jesus for a bit he believes. I love this story because I believe it paints an accurate picture of how faith unfolds for some. Sometimes people do follow after Jesus before they get their beliefs about Him in order.
Also, what you talk about with you friend is also a matter of growth and fruit. As your friend continues to Abide in Christ, fruit begins to grow. The fruit that grows is both those attributes mentioned in Galations 5 but also a greater understanding and living out of the way of Jesus. The thing about this process is that it is messy and it takes time. And, much of the growth takes place underground so to speak. Real fruit takes time to grow.
I think too often people like to staple fruit on the trees of their lives. This creates a sense of morality that performs and is often driven by a desire to “look” christian. This fruit is not fruit that lasts. It is simply a decoration that falls off or rots fairly easily. Your friend’s experience may be one of many insighting events for him/her. It may be part of a process of faith development and belief formation.
As a friend and one who walks with Jesus you get the honor of praying for your friend, for it is your job to be faithful to God and to your friend and it is God’s job to be fruitful.
Remember as well, we each have sin issues with which we struggle and God will continue to, through the work of the Holy Spirit, reveal to us the best way. None of this is particularly easy and formulaic. There is a lot of trust and surrender involved. But remember theology doesn’t get to trump relationship. Your friend needs you and your prayers and even life as a model. Who knows what God is doing in his/her life that you can not see.
Thanks for caring for your friend so much that you’d write. Hope this was somewhat helpful.
Thanks CJ! Great explanation!
Don,
Someone very dear to me died not long ago. And this person was a lot like your skeptic in the introduction to Searching…there was a lot of defending ideas and defining himself according to very rigid theological views. After he died, I imagined him, in that first moment home, looking into the eyes of Jesus for the very first time, grinning from ear to ear and saying, “Now I understand!” That image has given me a great deal of comfort and enough peace to trust that now, finally, it is well with his soul.
The last paragraph of your introduction is the best. I don’t know what we can do with those who are trapped in their “rightness” beyond love them and show them grace. Because that’s what Jesus does with all of us all the time. Someday they will understand. Someday we all will.
I’ll have to pick up this book! Thank you.
Your words here remind me of a favorite saying: “I’d rather worship with the guy who has the right spirit and the wrong doctrine than the guy who has the right doctrine and the wrong spirit.”
It is not either/or spirit/doctrine. It is Both/And. Jesus said worship must be in spirit AND truth (i.e. correct doctrine. John 4:24) If we are “worshipping” in error it is not true worship no matter how we “feel” about it.
Powerful additions. This idea, in particular, is really making me think: Theology can be used “as a pacifier to make us feel right rather than redeemed.” That’s such an important distinction–it might seem obvious, but I’m afraid too many of us automatically lump “right” and “redeemed” into the same category.
Relationship is also a pacificier that can assuage a guilty conscience when one has not been redeemed. Most people don’t believe in a God that judges anymore. Their battle cry is, “Judge not lest ye be judged.” They say “Well he is a God of grace. He will just let me off.” But that is not a just God. John 12:48 “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.” Like it or not we will be judged by a right understandng of his words.
AAh, but who is to say what the “right understanding of his words” is? Do you claim to think you have the right understanding of his words?
I’m just popping in on the conversation to say that I love the excerpt you posted, and that I’m psyched they are reprinting SFGKW. Blue Like Jazz was the first book I read of yours and it helped me communicate my west coast experiences and faith better to the people I was in community with in the midwest. So I was really excited to read SFGKW when it came out.
My favorite part of SFGKW was the end where you talk about the gospel and Romeo and Juliet and our new name. It has stuck with me for years, and sometimes I pull it out and read it to people.
So… thanks.
I’m reading Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer right now, and I can’t help but recognize parallels between the ideas in the first chapter, Community, and what you’re saying here. I definitely encourage anyone to read the whole chapter–whole book for that matter–but here’s a short quote that I hope captures these parallels I’m feeling:
“Because Christ stands between me and others, I dare not desire direct fellowship with them. As only Christ can speak to me in such a way that I may be saved, so others, too, can be saved only by Christ himself. This means that I must release the other person from every attempt of mine to regulate, coerce, and dominate him with my love.”
And on…
So awesome! I was just about to reference “The Cost of Discipleship” by Bonhoeffer when I saw your post. I just finished reading it, and really was challenged in my relationship with Jesus. The whole beginning section, talking about “cheap” versus “costly” grace came to mind when I read the blog. The idea that when we turn salvation into simply a doctrine, we run the risk of abusing it to our own end, as opposed to turning to Jesus in desperate gratitude for the grace we have been given.
I respectfully submit that your skepticism with regards to systematic theology is borne of your distrust of authority, which is symptomatic of your abandonment issues. You didn’t have a dad, and you want God to “father” you. Let me ask you this: what’s another way of saying “dark night of the soul?” I proffer “theological ephiphany.” You came to a “new” understanding (which isn’t actually new, just new to you), which is now your theology. What you take away with one hand, you offer back with the other. And submit that yours is the “correct” view.
Not sure that I understand you completely, but I’ll certainly consider what I do understand. That said, though, I don’t have a skepticism toward systematic theology, I have a belief that people use it as a false God, taking great pride in their own minds rather than a simple love and trust for God. I would ask you to consider whether or not you are drawn to the study of God as a way of comparing yourself to others, thus receiving a false sense of importance, and a false sense of redemption.
Don, I appreciate your response. It helps me to better understand what you were getting at in the original post, a clearer distillation if you will. Honestly, I study about God–among which I would include reading your books–because I, too, am hungry for a Father. Chesterton, in Orthodoxy, said (paraphrasing) that the “poet merely seeks to poke his head into the heavens & peer about, while the philosopher seeks to cram the heavens into his head. And it’s not the heavens that burst.” All I want to be, then, is one of those “poets.” That’s all.
Don,
Here is my issue with your books. You base the majority of your insights on your personal experiences or those of your friends. Why should we listen to you? Last I knew God’s word is the final authority not your experiences, or mine. Yes, having a personal relationship with God is experiential, that doesn’t mean we can neglect our responsibility to learn all we can about God through the scriptures. Poeple place such a priority on “feeling” God, and then when they don’t feel him, they think something is wrong. That is a completely wrong mindset and it is sinful for churches to feed peoples minds with it. When I started to take theology classes it actually made my relationship with God so much better. Why? Because I was learning more about him, I could understand more of his character, how he works, and express my appreciation through worship and service for him. No I wont ever completely comprehend the vastness of God or his gift of salvation and I most certainly do not base my salvation on my limited knowledge. I do feel like my relationship with God is more personal because he reveals himself to me daily in HIS WORD. Basing it soley on emotions I have in a worship service would leave me shallow, and desperate for more. God created us in His image, he gave us a mind to think with, to learn about him. I think it is lazy to not learn theology and sinful for you to base what could be a subjective feeling above the Bible. Why would’nt we want to learn more about God and his will for us? Oh I know, because that would mean we would have to take time out of our busy schedules and actually sit down and read the Bible, and even more, we may actually be convicted to obey what he commands! I understand that you are trying to promote a fresh fire for Christ in our generation but your methods are actually hindering our ability to use our brains and know God for ourselves, you will find that the results will be shallow christians who treat God like a spiritual high, which will in turn lessen the authenticity of Christianity to the unsaved even more then before.
Matt. 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
Romans 12: 2 “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
How are our minds renewed? “by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.” 1 Peter 1:23
2 Cor. 4:4 Satan blinds minds. How? With false theology.
The Church is made pure by: Eph. 5: 26 “That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word.”
Laelle –
I think it’s great that you get a high level of fulfillment from your study of God’s word and your desire to understand Him theologically. I am concerned that you’ve taken what works for you and decided that this is what has to work for everyone. You aren’t allowing room for others to connect with God in ways that work better for them, and that may not work for you at all.
Some people like yourself can grasp a great deal of meaning from reading and studying and thinking and praying. Others struggle with that and don’t get the same level of gratification you get from that approach. Or the same level of understanding. It’s necessary – but not sufficient.
Don provides some very useful perspective on what it looks like for the bible to seep into the everyday lives of some very real people. And he poses some interesting and challenging questions along the way. If anything, that seems to cause a lot more thought and results in far less shallow thinking for people who don’t get into ivory tower theology that bludgeoning them with the notion that they have to get theological and get it right or they are doomed.
I hope nobody is looking to Don as their single source for all things spiritual – any more than we should look to ANYone besides God and the bible He provided us for that level of rightness. But I’m really glad we have access to his unique way of seeing how God’s designs impact the real world that goes on around us.
- Peace, Todd
PS – Another thought – do you have the same problems with someone like Tozer or CS Lewis that you seem to have with Don? If not why not – and if so, well, on what grounds?
Laelle,
I think you hit it right on the head. Great post.
Don Costello
Laelle,
I think that it is unfair for you to assume that the blog author’s emphasis on our relationship with God means he personally disregards personal “devotional” time in the Bible, or that he is elevating the emotional aspect to priority.
I don’t think that our emotional “feeling” of God is at all the same as our personal relationship with Him. I communicate to a real God conversationally through prayer. My emotions are very fickle. Sometimes they correspond to my relationship, sometimes I need to pursue God even when I feel like crap. My emotions have no bearing on who God is. In the analogy of our relationship being a train, Faith would be the engine, but emotions are most certainly the caboose. They either follow or not, but they don’t drive the train.
I say this not pridefully, (’cause you don’t know me outside of the name that I post) that I do read God’s word every day. The Bible is a fundamental, essential aspect of my walk. But I would say if I weren’t in a personal relationship with God, the Word would mean and do nothing to me. It’s only God’s Spirit illuminating scripture that does anything transformative.
I personally am terrified by the trend (to say it’s modern is iffy) of turning christianity into an emotional experience, but I don’t think Mr. Miller is trying to do that. I believe he wants other people to enjoy the personal relationship with God that he himself has, and which God Himself offers and desires to be in with people.
Lastly, I would argue that there are many genuinely saved Christians who have no access to the Bible, but are nonetheless enjoying a real relationship with God. I genuinely hope that you are growing in your walk with Him who loves you, and that you are being transformed by reading His word.
While I must confess I do agree that many people are saved without 100% right theology, I also disagree that they are saved without any theology. It is through the gospel that God has decided save you. You are saved by the power of the gospel. This is one theological concept that you cannot separate from salvation. While you may not be intending to portray this message it is the one that seems to come through loud and clear. It seems that in the above scenario an individual comes to Jesus simply relationally. The gospel is the vehicle through which God saves and this is entirely doctrinal. While you give an example of a gospel presentation the end result is a relational only conversion. While this, once again, may not be your reasoning it seems to be your point. The gospel is one thing I think we can agree that no one should mess with. In fact it is such a big deal that God said if even an angel preaches another gospel he is cursed. I know we live in an overly critical society but Paul got in Peter’s face. I think we are in the process of an over response to these ideas that individual must have every i dotted and every t crossed. I guess I am responding and also asking a question for clarity. I see the point I think, but I hope we are not talking about conversion minus gospel.
And if this kind of material is in your next book, I can’t wait to read it
I, too, used to think that “the Gospel is one thing I think we can agree that nobody should mess with.” But what I found is a LOT of people misintrepreting it or using verses and passages to shore up their own viewpoint. In fact, the gospel gets used to theologically defend, offend, love, hate…is it possible that we try our best to apply the Gospel to try to understand God, yet in so doing, we fall way short in simply knowing God?
[...] relationship, and the knowledge of God. Miller, for his part seems to have responded, both via blog and [...]
Don,
This is right on the money. I grew up in a fundamentalist church (to put it nicely) where my father (who I love dearly) is the preacher. Having right theology was essential in my church because wrong theology could send you to hell. So I feverishly studied the Bible for most of my life, dissecting it like a science project in order to have it right. Not really out of arrogance, but in a desire to please God (and not go to hell).
This way of thinking was paralyzing and it didn’t work. One day, I was riding on a train thinking about the way I’ve studied the Bible and I realized the arrogance inherent in this way of thinking. I realized that if the path I was pursuing was the way to please God, then those who could not read, could not please God. And those who were not as educated could not be as spiritual as those who were. Then, I thought about the fact that it was really only recently that the Bible was available for everyone to study – which would mean that for most of the last 2000 years, the average person could not have pleased God very much if at all (and if they did please God, it was probably by accident). This helped me to let go of the ideas of right theology, because it would be ridiculous to think that literacy and education were the key to pleasing God.
My beloved dad cannot accept the spirituality of those who do not hold to his church’s exact theology – not because he’s a hateful person because he loves people and is really afraid they will go to hell if they don’t believe right, so he wants to help themn “believe right”. It’s sad that he lives with that burden. One day I asked him, “So do you have perfect theology?” He didn’t know what to do with that.
Loved the post!
One question I have. I checked out the brief bio on his website. What kind of theological training does Don Miller have?
Not to be nitpicky, but I was distracted by the very first sentence of your blog. Shouldn’t it say “It’s EASIER for a camel…”?
Yeah – I noticed that too. In the original biblical sense, it is easier for the camel (and the elephant) than it is for the rich man (or the theologian). I was waiting for some reversal or some light to come on so I’d understand why they were stated backwards like that…
Maybe Don just made a mistake? Or maybe I’m just too dumb to get what he meant by reversing the sense of that reference in that way…
my boyfriend and i were discussing this blog last night. We talked about how not only is it important for us not to allow others who place theology on too high of a bar to determine what a genuine relationship with is but that it is also equally important that we do not judge those who have a strong theology and become bitter towards them. It’s a unique balance of acceptance, love and understanding. A balance that most of us could use more work on. Its easy for those of us who get the whole “relationship” over “theology” thing to start giving out bitterness to those who havent yet reached that realization in their own spiritual journey.
[...] recently been involved in a storm of pseudo-controversy over his mild critique of Donald Miller’s non-theological theology. While Derrick is correct in his critique of Miller’s intellectual truncation of theology, I [...]
Ahh, Mr. Miller. Thanks again and again for sharing.
I haven’t read thru the comments just yet, so I don’t know it this has been brought up, but wanted to tell you this reminded me of C.S. Lewis’ “Meditation in a Toolshed” – the ideas of looking at vs. looking along, which can be read here: http://www.calvin.edu/~pribeiro/DCM-Lewis-2009/Lewis/meditation-in-a-toolshed.pdf
That being said, my thoughtful son gave me a B&N gift certificate for Mother’s Day, and later today I WILL be purchasing my third Donald Miller book, Searching for God Knows What.
[...] occurring over at agreatercourage. Earlier in the week, Donald Miller wrote a brief blog article [HERE], attempting to argue that there is “something beyond” a theological system that [...]
[...] “Having Right Theology Does Not Mean You Know God” by Donald Miller will get you thinking and asking [...]
Just the kind of mentality that sets the church back into the dark ages….please people….theology does matter and only those who don’t study it like Donald Miller will say things and write things like this….and does anyone else understand that his books are his theology….how fucking dumb are some of you…his religious thoughts on Christianity….how easily it is to define irony…Don, you ever think you’re doing more harm by telling people theology is not needed?
Wow. I just posted the following at agreatercourage, in response to his critique of Miller’s post, and it seems relevant here as well:
A few thoughts. First, this entry (at agreatercourage) has clearly struck a cord, and I don’t think we can suggest that the volume of responses has to do purely with people wanting to defend their idols. This is a real issue, and I don’t think its simply a matter of misunderstanding on either side (although I’m sure there’s some of that as well, which I don’t pretend to be immune from).
Second, I’m not entirely convinced that “ideas” or “concepts” always ground or even always accompany our actions. That is, I’m not sure that our ideas reflect the reality of the situation. With regard to theology this means that our theology may have very little to do with how we act, or better, with our way of being. There may be a gap between what we often consider to be our governing ideas or “situated horizons of meaning” and the manner in which we live our life, interacting with God and others.
Third, if this is so, then we would need to shift our focus, or at least enlarge our scope beyond “meaning” and the interminable play of signs to include something like “efficacy” or “power”, and to attempt to understand grace as a way of dwelling in and living from a certain kind of power, namely God’s eternal life or “love”. The main focus here would be on the transformative experience of life with God, which would issue in acts or “works of love” (but would by no means be reducible to them) as a natural outcome of the way of life we live.
If the main point is dwelling with God, living from and in Him, the particular theological articulation of this life would have its place, but it would be far less important than we often take it to be. Discipleship would not be theological per se, although a theology could be derived from it and contribute to it. Rather, discipleship, and thus the process of maturing in Christ, would have to do with moving deeper and deeper into the power of God’s love, which would become one’s own modus operandi. Importantly, theology (no matter how correct) could easily be used to divest oneself and others of this life, to move people away from the kingdom of God. We can see this in many cases in which the point is to win an argument or to seek glory for oneself, etc.
I’m well aware that this entry could be considered an attempt–and a rather sorry one–at some form of theology. But the point is not the post certainly, or the ideas expressed therein, but the invitation, expressed in and as the Gospel, to a new and eternal way of being. Thus, if one were to misunderstand this post, or even “good theology,” in such a way as to move further into God’s eternal life, wouldn’t that be all the better than a correct understanding? Wouldn’t it matter less that we get it right than that we enter into God’s life ourselves and that we can thereby invite others into that same life?
Theology in this case would have a role to play but it would be constantly reworked according to the loving demands of the situation. Opening the kingdom in which we dwell to others in whatever way possible would be our primary objective, and this may sometimes require theology.
You do not need to apologize for theology. It is not a substitute for relationship, nor is relationship an excuse to be lazy when it comes to theology. We have too many preachers on Television preaching a cotton candy theology today, one that is sweet and tastes good, but has no substance. I am tempterd to name names here but I won’t.
The great passage about “Relationship” is found in John 15. But notice what verse 7 says about that relationship. What is the key element there? “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” We are to abide in Him by His words abiding in us. We need to study what His words say and what they mean in context. If we go by feelings, what happens when our feelings change? They are fickle. What if after I’ve confessed all my sins and I still feel guilty? Am I guilty? Or can I trust His written promise in Colossians 2:13 that all my trespasses were forgiven by His one act on the cross once and for all? Or should I follow a theology that says I must go back to church every week (or day for that matter) to receive more of God’s grace through the sacrament of the Eucharist. Both cannot be true. Either grace comes through faith or it comes through sacraments. Either Christ’s sacrice was once for all as Hebrews 10 says or the sacrifice must be repeated weekly as Catholic and Orthodox theology teaches. It is ultimately a theological issue, not a feelings issue.
If I still feel guilty, do I claim the promise of 1 John 1:9 that says that God cleanses me from all unrighteousness? Or do I continue to walk by feelings instead of faith? (2 Cor. 5:7)
Did you read the same post I just read? Because I saw this:
“You might think I am saying truth should be thrown out, that theology doesn’t matter. But this is not what I’m saying at all. What I’m intending to illustrate is our drive to define God with a mathematical theology has become a false God rather than an arrow that points to the real God. Theology can become an idol, but it is more useful as guardrails on a road to the true God. Theology is very important, but it is not God, and knowing facts about God is not the same as knowing God.”
Grace (via relationship/adoption) trumps theology, but does not eliminate it. And, Don never said it did.
fireandice’s comment (above) nailed this on the head with beautiful simplicity. Even an illiterate person with little hope of understanding “right” theology is covered by God’s grace.
I just finished Blue Like Jazz (I guess I’ve been under a rock or something) and loved it. Googled you and found this blog which hit me exactly right between the eyes. Love theology, have a weak prayer life/relationship with Christ. What’s the point of finishing G.K. Chesterson et al if I am not invested in my commitment with Christ. When does it go from contemplation into practice. I guess that’s what I need to find out! Thank you so much for your dose of reality!
Wow! Your post brought back memories. I was in exactly the same place just a couple years ago. I had read and reread the Bible, dissecting it from every angle, when the Lord finally told me, “Put down the Book and talk to Me.” Not because there is no value in reading the Bible, but because I’d become completely unbalanced. I studied, but wasn’t translating that knowledge into life very well. You expressed this so honestly and eloquently! Thank you! I can only encourage you to follow His lead!
This is more of a response to Todd from our posts on May 25. First of all I would like to clarify that taking theology classes or even reading theological books does not make you a better Christian and it is not necessary for salvation or even spiritual growth. I think that every Christian needs to figure out why they believe what they believe through their experiences and scripture; and actually God does make the gospel very clear in the Bible he doesn’t really need our help. In your comment you said that “reading and studying and thinking and praying” may work for me to get closer to God but not someone else. What else is there? I guess we should figure out how we discover truth in the first place, John 17:17 says “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth”. Or do you think truth is relative?
I guess I just don’t understand what your trying to replace the Bible with. I mean, I guess I could go through life trying to understand God through my emotions but that would get me no where because I am a manipulative and selfish person. Jer. 17:9-10 says “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperatly wicked; who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind”. I suppose that is why I need the Bible, so it can help me stay on track and be different from non believers(Romans 12:1-2), something Don does not seem to mention in “Blue Like Jazz”.
I think that to be an influential Christ follower we need to have a balance between theology and emotion. Knowing what and why we believe matters because it gives us purpose and a basis for worshiping God and witnessing to others. I would not marry a man that I hardly knew…emotions are important because that is an evidence of our love for God, again, I wouldn’t deeply love someone that I hardly knew.
With that said,I think Don is addressing the wrong generation considering I can think of few young people who treat theology as an idol (considering no one likes to read) any more then using service projects as an idol.
Titus 1:9 says “He must hold fast to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it”.
Titus 2:1 “But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine”.
How are we going to defend something if we don’t know what were talking about?
So yes people, use your brains!God gave you them for a reason. That doesn’t mean you should take pride in it or neglect your emotions and experiences; but remember He is God, you are flawed. I would stick with what he directly says in His Word, thank you. Know one wants to follow someone who doesn’t have a clear purpose and shame on us if we base ours on anything but Gods Word.
Oh yes, and in response to what I think of Tozer and C.S. Lewis in comparison to Don. I like how Don speaks from a real life perspective and is honest about struggles. Unfortunatly he doesn’t seem to offer any real answers, probably because he barely talks about God and the Bible. I have read some of C.S. Lewis and Tozer and appreciate their work because they don’t just ramble about their experiences and they have a clear Biblical purpose for their books. Like you correctly said, I would not base my beliefs on any book besides the Bible, because none of these other writers are God.
Hi again, Laelle –
Thank you for taking time to respond. Your follow up gives me a clearer picture of where you are coming from. And for the record – my response to your first post seems to have come more from misunderstanding than disagreement.
I get that what you are looking for is balance. And that you’d appreciate Don’s writing more if it provided more answers and less speculation on what the answers might be – or even what the problems might be. And if he provided biblical support in the traditional chapter and verse form, you’d be a lot more comfortable as well.
I agree that Don’s “teaching” is fairly Socratic, and that whether or not what he has to say is biblical or not is pretty much left as an exercise for the reader. He doesn’t engage in that “make a point, back it up with a bible verse or two” approach, at least most of the time. For some people, that doesn’t sit very well.
I personally do not have a problem with Don’s approach. Leaving it to me to measure his words against my understanding of the Bible and God’s will is fine with me. But not everyone is comfortable with that. And I appreciate that there are more than a few people who like what Don has to say – but who feel uncomfortable embracing it without bible references to back up what he’s said.
And you would certainly not alone in wanting him to connect what he writes directly to bible verses. He was here last fall and a gentlemen expressed his enjoyment of what Don had to say and what he’d written – but took issue with the lack of the use of biblical reference. It was obvious from Don’s response that this was something he was used to addressing.
It would be great to have Don address the value vs the drawbacks of chapter and verse bible reference in a post sometime. I’m sure he’d get plenty of great conversation in the after-chat. He didn’t get into that very deeply during the Q&A following his talk – but it was clearly something he had given some thought to.
No – I’m not saying we should replace God’s word with anything. Just that many people resonate with God’s direction far better when they are obediently out there serving and loving others relationally than when they are in a bible study struggling with theological concepts. Both are necessary for someone who wants to do what God says we should do, but while “reading and studying and thinking and praying” may inform what they do, they don’t really “get it” until they are engaged in the day to day tasks of making that real. Or experiencing others who demonstrate how to make God’s word part of daily life.
I think that’s a big part of the service Don’s stories provide, in fact. What does it look like when someone who loves God and follows Jesus goes out and lives their life accordingly? Do they know all the answers? Do they have to in order to be effective? To be saved?
Final point – my take on what Don is getting at is just this: Your salvation is not predicated on the depth of your grasp on any formal or informal theology. If you believe you are saved because you believe Jesus died for you, that has to be enough. Because Jesus SAID it was enough. Everything else – while beneficial and desirable and worth pursuing – is non-critical.
- Peace, Todd
Sorry to throw this comment into this particular spot, but I think that I have a point that might work as a response to Laelle.
I fell into reading Donald Miller’s books by accident and as one who had grown so tired of the attitudes of my local church that I was agnostic and wanted nothing to do with “the church.” What I discovered in reading Blue Like Jazz was that I was not alone in the world, and that there can be an authentic way for me to follow Jesus, despite getting cross ways with my local Christian subculture. Get this: Biblical references would have told me that his was just another book written for Christians, and I would have likely shut down.
It is because of the experiential focus of Donald Miller’s writing and because it isn’t Tozer or C.S. Lewis that it spoke to me and helped me embrace Jesus again–not that I had intended to throw Him out, but if I am being honest, I was walking away. I found in it a bridge back into the Bible and grace–though I had been cast out by Christians, I now knew that there were others in this world like me who were struggling to work out their salvation against a dirty backdrop of their faith.
Maybe Donald didn’t write his books for those hungry for more Biblical references and sharp discussions on Seminary campuses, but for people like me who needed a reboot and a fresh way to imagine the story of my life inside of God’s greater story.
Thank you, Donald Miller, for your stories and for your ministry. What you have done with your time has honestly helped me–my friends at Fuller may cite more “right concepts,” but their help for me has been nothing more complex than simple love and acceptance.
@ David…I couldn’t agree more – if Don Miller quoted Scripture every other line, I wouldn’t read his books. I have a Bible. If I want to read it, I can pick it up and read it. I don’t want to pick up his book to read Bible verses. My eyes would cross and I’d put the book down…
People have used the Bible to justify everything from slavery to murder. I’m not interested in how other people interpret the Bible and how they pick verses to “prove” whatever it is they want to prove. Often times, another person can pick a different verse to argue them down. That isn’t valuable to me. What people say and do stands on its own to me. I don’t believe or disbelieve what someone says because it’s footnoted with a verse.
And when I read this blog…and I see a post with a bunch of Bible references….I skip right on by. If I wanted to read the Bible, I’d pick it up, I wouldn’t be logging on to donaldmilleris.
Don….please please don’t start quoting a verse every other paragraph because of the criticism…because then I will stop reading and David might also.
Well said David.
Todd, your right, it may just be more difficult for me to learn from his style and I like how you said you used the book as a tool along with your Bible study. I def. was reminded of a lot of important concepts in his book that may not have hit me as hard were I reading a passage of scripture.
I am 20 years old and I can just see how Christians today (not necessarily Don) are generally lessening the value and usage of scripture, hence why I responded to this blog; simply to remind Christians to not misuse our free gift of salvation by doing whatever we want.
I love how you pointed out that it is how you live your life that reflects your relationship with God, and no, it is not always easy. So yes Dons writings help us realize that every Christian has struggles and it’s ok. Lets just look for the answers God gave us in His Word.
Laelle –
Your original concern is certainly a valid one. And I think that’s a fear reflected in the feelings of those who want chapter and verse to back up particular statements – especially those statements that challenge popular notions about what is right or wrong. If we don’t constantly go back to the bible, we could get too far away from God’s word to be correct. It’s a danger – but there are others to balance that against as well.
And anyway, I don’t think the chapter and verse folks are the primary target for Don’s writing (not that we can’t all learn something) – so, I’d have to echo what David and fireandice both pointed out about driving people away with lots of bible references. Seekers, new believers, the disaffected, those struggling with their faith – chapter and verse can get pretty heavy and be downright counter productive when you are trying to meet people where they live (something Paul was a big fan of).
It’s clear that you’ve got a good sense of yourself and your faith. And you are willing to be honest about what you like even in something you are critical of – don’t lose that! That’s a great gift…
- Peace, Todd
[...] a recent post titled “Having Right Theology Does Not Mean You Know God,” Miller mentions a new material for a rerelease of his book Searching for God Knows What in [...]
Dear Mr. Miller,
I really like the track that you are on and I enjoy hearing your thoughts on Christ and his love for us. I would like to add a few comments of my own that I think supplement your ideas.
It is my opinion that “theology” is often the wisdom of man, which is undoubtedly littered with loopholes and fallacies. (is that spelled correctly?)
In fact, I find that theology is often a divider of followers of Christ rather than a “uniter”. To me, this is sadly ironic. Mostly because when Christ prayed for future believers just before his crucifixion, he did not pray that we have a greater understanding of him or that we could finally grasp God; he prayed that we would be united as one all together with Him and The Father, which to me is totally your “relational” aspect and has nothing to do with theology.
That’s Christ praying directly for us!! Which is personally exciting and fairly clear i think. (john 17)
In my experience, reaching a “sound” theology merely allows a person to be satisfied with himself and how he places himself and how he places God in this crazy universe. Often it even allows that person to think that he is “above” others who have not reached the same conclusion. Which to me is a poor judgment.
Also, if it is required to understand this “theology” in order to really reach salvation then its not really a gift at all is it? Kinda has to be earned. And its hard for me to imagine that the Christ I’ve known to exclude any soul because they lack the ability to understand.
The beauty of it is certainly in the relationship. It does not require any “religious IQ”. Its the love man, it always has been from the beginning. Can’t fight that.
Sorry, went a bit crazy with the quotes there.
Gaaahleee Don, how do you take all these people twisting around what you are saying!!! SHEEESH!!! I LOVE what you’re saying. I GET IT. I grew up in a conservative church in which it was highly emphasized that we have the RIGHT theology and understanding of what scriptures mean. I mean, they expected us to blindly believe that our church teachers are literally the WISEST people in the world because THEY happen to be the ones with the RIGHT understanding!!! And I’ll tell you, I can quote scriptures out the wazoo and I still struggle desperately in believing Jesus is the only way to God. But that’s a whole other post. I can seriously win a Bible Bowl competition, and quote hundreds of scriptures, and it still hasn’t sunk into my heart, and I’m 40 years old.
[...] truth tells us that, in fact, we see it all pretty dimly for now? For more on this issue, I love this recent post from Donald [...]
You make several good points, although I have to disagree with some of it.
Of course many people who are saved don’t have all their theology completely sorted out, but the fact is there are basic tenants in Christian theology that you HAVE to have right in order to be saved. Now not everything is necessary theology, and we see that even in the New Testament with Paul talking about how some are convicted differently than others about certain things. But there are fundamental truths, basic theology that must be adhered to. Christ is the only Way, Christ’s bodily resurrection, etc. Things of that nature.
This blog somewhat reminds me of the “It’s not a religion, it’s a relationship” movement, when really it IS a religion as well as being a relationship…
Also I have to respectfully point out you seem to have some sort of issue with Calvinism that I find unloving, and it almost seems like you have an arrogance in respect to your theology over Calvinist theology. Several times throughout reading your blogs you take issue with Calvinism as though it breeds arrogance or legalism or the like, but the truth is it doesn’t do that more than any other Christian school of theology. I’ve met arrogant Calvinists and I’ve met humble Calvinists, just like I’ve met arrogant Arminians and humble Arminians, and I never felt the need to call out either theology or its followers for markedly leaning this way or that. Calvinists aren’t the only ones who get arrogant about having the right theology [and for the record I don't know anybody who's done anything like that after reading a John Calvin book
]
Perhaps that’s not the way you meant it and I’m just misunderstanding. In that case I apologize, but I just felt like I should point that out.
I picked this book up the day I closed on my house. Without belaboring how great the content of the book is, I think the title is smack on and the Genesis Theory is something I can’t shake out of my head.
Dear Don,
The new introduction is really lovely, both the writing and the vision. Been praying for you a lot , and for your safety on the mountain. Please pray for me too, as I am having many difficulties. Even though I am a whole continent away, prayers eclipse time and space.
love Kathy
[...] Fonte: blog do Donald Miller [...]
Don, (sorry for how long it is)
Let me start of and say that I have your work before, and do appreciate the way that you approach themes in the Christian world, it’s always helpful to have someone take a argumentative sabbatical and look from the outside. That being said, I really like where you’re going with this, but I feel like you’re right foot took a correct step forward and then your left foot went a bit astray (no offense to left-footed people). I like to think of metaphors as the writing’s picture of a thousand words. That being said, I would have to disagree with your metaphors about theology.
Here’s why. I live in a fraternity and go to the University of Washington (not quit as liberal as REED, but just a half state away) and I’m in the philosophy program-this combines to make for some very interesting experiences that I have learned a lot from. This has shown me the place of theology that I think just slightly (italicized) differs from you. Like a metaphor, I think an example would be best to start off.
Imagine I told you about a buddy of mine who is in my fraternity. His likes, dislikes, hobbies, etc. Then I told you that he posts a blog and you checked it out. By now you would have a pretty good idea of how he this guy acted, and accordingly, you would probably put him into a slot of personalities (as we all do, anyone who denies is just ignorant that they do this). Now, if I came and told you about how all his activities and blog expressed his personality, as well as his character, that would probably largely determine how you felt (italicized) about the guy and whether or not you wanted to get to know him.
So what does this have to do with fraternities and philosophy? Well, fraternities and sororities attract the demographic that has the largest group of religious families, middle class, upper-middle class. This means there are a lot of guys (and girls) who have had an introduction, of some sort, to religion (pardon my french). Similarly, those in philosophy have had an acquaintance, though it was probably a bad one. But what usually happens after they have read God’s blog and been told about Him, they make conclusions about who God is-an interpretation (aka exegesis) about God.
Now imagine if I was untruthful about the facts, or I had a bad experience with my friend, or if what I told you about his personality was off-intentionally or not-this would make your inference of my friend very skewed. Likewise, I’ve had friends of mine in fraternities, sororities, dorms, apartments, and classes tell me about the history of their relationship with God and the most common thing that I have to do is take them back to the Bible again, or maybe for the first time, and show them how their theology is off.
The reason I do this is because they think God won’t forgive them for looking at porn, or they think that everything is ok to do as long as it’s not sex, or that God isn’t good because he allowed the earthquake in Haiti to happen, or he doesn’t care about the small white lies we tell, or that as long as we’re a good person he’ll let us into heaven, or God doesn’t care about me because my friend died who was 22. The list goes on and on. If I don’t stop and show them a correct theology-the right person to seek after-they continue on in sin waiting to be destroyed, or they continue in shame or despair, letting the corrupt nature of sin become shame that ever destroys.
Theology is the most crucial thing we have because it points us to the right person, not a false god, made up by our own imagination or by the deception of Satan or others. It allows us to step off the judge’s seat and allow God to forgive themselves. It allows us to take off the dunce hat and put on a party hat because God is the one who gives identity and joy-not how we measure up to the American dream. It shows us that God is going to judge all sin and evil, bringing justice and peace, in the final times. It keeps the pants zipped up and the shirt buttoned up because God is one who engages the whole person-including our underwear.
Theology is not a window, nor a pacifier, nor are they guard rails. Theology is an address. The more off your address is, the further and further from God you get. You start out with a full address and after searching for hours, you find you were in the wrong state! But you had the right country. Though you may start out only with a state, you’re getting closer. Then you get a zip code; closer still. Then maybe a county…Find out you’re wrong about the county? No biggie. You had the right country. Same with Jesus. You have the freedom to look around and search and be wrong-on certain things-for a long time. But if you had the wrong country from the start, how do you know you weren’t following Thomas Jefferson’s Jesus? Or the Jesus of the Da Vinci code? Or Oprah’s Jesus? Or the Mormon Jesus? Or the all loving, no sin hating (and non-evil hating) Jesus of one of the guys in my house? Or what about cool-hippie Jesus of the hacky sackers I play with? Or what about the Jesus as described by the Dali Lama?
As you can see, I think that theology is the crux of knowing God-with out it, the relationship is non-existent because we have no idea who we are getting to know. But I must say, for those who have theology as an idol-those that are arrogant about knowledge-they never had the right theology in the first place. The joy that comes from the pursuit of God is insatiable, and those who are proud (italicized) that they know about it, surely have at least a partly wrong address.
I hope that overall my response has not been taken as sword strikes but as opinions from a young excited doctor, too eager to make an incision. So please forgive me if I have sounded too harsh or insensitive, I only wish to contribute in a way that builds up as I do my part and try to lean on the Holy Spirit to help me fulfill his calling for me at the University of Washington. If I am wrong about the way that you are defining theology, or have misunderstood something you have said, please let me know so that if appropriate, I may recoil what I have said. I hope this helps and I look forward to any feedback.
I think, as has been articulated, the big struggle is between inclusion and exclusion. The struggle between acting in love and holding to a set of core teachings. Niebuhr has this beautiful passage at the end of his controversial essay “Why the Christian Church is not Pacifist.” He is addressing those Christians who believe that following Jesus means not participating in warfare. But I think the sentiment here can also apply to those Christians who believe they are absolutely right about abortion, homosexuality, Christology, Biblical inerrancy or lack of inerrancy, or any other topic which makes Christians hate and judge one another:
“A truly Christian pacifism would set each heart under the judgment of God to such a degree that even the pacifist idealist would know that knowledge of the will of God is no guarantee of his ability or willingness to obey it. The idealist would recognize to what degree he is himself involved in rebellion against God, and would know that this rebellion is too serious to be overcome by just one more sermon on love, and one more challenge to man to obey the law of Christ.”
Neibuhr
from “Why the Christian Church is not Pacifist”
[...] the daily activities & thoughts of my life. Here is my latest example. Recently Don Miller posted about relationship rather than right belief/theology being what “it” [Christianity] is [...]
Hey Don. You always seem to say exactly whats on my mind (I’m sure you hear that constantly from people!). Anyway, there are quite a few Muslims that attend my church in Columbus, Ohio. I am so glad that they feel welcome (they feel completely comfortable coming in traditional Muslim attire). These individuals could easily have been pushed away if judged by people who make a god out of “right theology”. My sister in law is Muslim and I believe she seeks the heart of God and that God will continue to be revealed to her. Often times a person who seeks the heart of God sincerely is closer to God than the judgemental, prideful person who has a more accurate theology. I hope your blog post helps encourage many people to be more welcoming and loving and less judgmental.
[...] said, as Don Miller posited a few weeks ago, “having right theology does not mean you know God.” A friend of mine and I [...]
[...] Fonte: blog do Donald Miller [...]
[...] Fonte: blog do Donald Miller [...]
It seems to me your creating a False Dichotomy however it was quite interesting to read.
J
You can have perfect doctrine, and obey the bible diligently, (and cast out demons) and still not be known by Christ. Samuel taught Saul that obedience was better than sacrifice. Jesus taught that there was something necessary which was better than obedience. Martha, the Pharisees and the prodigal son’s elder brother didn’t know what it was, nor that there was ANYTHING in the world more important than obedience (due diligence). As Christians, we oughtta know what that better thing is. Anyone?