Women of Faith in
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Theology for Its Own Sake
July 2008
The term theology can be
intimidating because it sounds
so academic. But theology simply
refers to the study of God, and
so to do theology is to pursue
knowledge of God. People of
different religious backgrounds
study theology, but the study
itself does not guarantee that
we will all end up in the same
place, primarily because we do
not all begin in the same place.
The starting point for the
Evangelicals is the Bible, God's
special revelation to humankind.
The study of God, doing
theology, has everything to do
with ministry to women in the
church. Our relationship with
God, as we discuss so frequently
in women's circles, begins from
the point of the gospel preached
and continues through our study
of Scripture, our prayer life,
and times of worship, both
corporately and on our own.
Our relationship with God is
never something other or
separate from learning more
about who he is: his attributes,
his activity in human history,
and contemplation of the
glorious reunion we will someday
enjoy with him. Engaging in the
process of theological
reflection often takes us into
areas of thought that leave us
with mystery, awe, and further
contemplation. Grappling with
concepts like the Trinity or
what is termed the "order of
decrees" we often answer
questions only to find more
unanswered questions. And
sometimes you're left with,
"well what does it really
matter? What does it really mean
to my life?" I want to suggest
to you that doing theology for
the sake of the process is
important and should not be
avoided because it might not
relate specifically to something
going on in your life. Surely
the Scriptures provide stories
and principles and doctrines
that are intended to, when
attended to with appropriate
hermeneutical rules, direct our
daily living. And I would even
argue that the most abstract
theological ideas have practical
relevance. But I also want to
encourage you in that doing
theology for it's own sake has
value independent of our own
personal needs and wants.
The Westminster Catechism
declares that man's chief end is
to glorify God and enjoy him
forever. When we delve into the
Scriptures and recognize them as
the primary means to learning
more about our Lord and Savior,
and desire for the sake of the
relationship to know more about
who he is, we bring honor and
glory to him. Each thing we
learn about God may not have a
direct correlation to how we go
about our daily living--at least
it won't seem that way on the
surface--but pursuing knowledge
of our Redeemer without an
attitude of "what's in it for
me" brings you even closer to
this real person we know to be
our God. Theology for it's own
sake is not about accumulating a
wealth of knowledge for selfish
reasons, because even that would
cease to be theology for it's
own sake.
WFC
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The Foundation for Women of
Faith in Culture exists to
promote the life of the mind of
women in the church through
theological reflection and
worldview formation. If you are
interested in learning more
about WFC or are looking for a
speaker for your next event, we
would be happy to hear from you.
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