Reflection – Thinking Theologically

The blog installments for this week and next week will conclude our exploration of the 10 practices of Mainline/Liberal Christian Congregations, so ably articulated by Diana Butler Bass in Christianity for the Rest of Us.

Education is a central feature of a healthy congregation, but there is a perpetual danger that education can become merely indoctrination. Some believe that Sunday School is primarily for transmitting a basic knowledge of Christianity and that Adult Education (including sermons) is primarily for acquainting people with injustices in the world and encouraging them to respond with service and generosity.

For me, the issue is this: What is the relationship between religious education as the transmission of information and religious education as training in how to think theologically?

If we are going to see ourselves as participants in a long religious tradition in which people have tried to connect their growing understanding of God with its concrete expression in human relationships and social structures, then we must get some information about that tradition. In religious education, we get that by learning about sacred texts and the history of our religion. In an attempt not to be overly fundamentalist, many liberal congregations have found themselves also neglecting to learn about their sacred scriptures and the history of their religion.

While basic scriptural and historical information is important, indoctrination into proper believing is not our goal! Instead, while the study of scripture and tradition gives us a necessary foundation, the overriding goal is for people to learn how to “think theologically” and to develop ongoing opportunities for people to gather for “theological reflection” about the personal and social issues that face them.

One of the challenges for liberal Christianity is to let the world know, in unambiguous terms, that what we offer is training in theological reflection, not indoctrination into certain ways of believing.

Diana Butler Bass makes an important point when she discusses how America Protestantism lost its liberal motivation in the middle of the 20th century. She notes that traditionally, “those mainline pilgrims linked intellectual curiosity with humility…” And then, “I began to wonder if the problem was that mid-century liberalism had lost its sense of humility, becoming overly institutionalized and politicized, and in the process sacrificed its sense of wonder.” She goes on to say, “As soon as certainty replaces humility, it leaves little room for the intellect to transport the faithful to awe.”

Religion, at its best, challenges the narrowness of our thinking. It reminds us that the divine perspective is always broader than that of any individual, institution, or any particular interpretation of scripture. Our questions can be motivated by curiosity, faith, and a sense of awe at the wonders of creation, but we need to ask the deep questions, and we need a safe place where we as supported as we ask them and struggle with them. We need a place where we can trust that our theological reflection can educate us in a way that transforms, heals, and motivates to behave in ways that promote mercy and justice.

Some people think that Christianity requires people to leave their brains outside the door in order to be faithful. Liberal Christianity, on the other hand, requires us to bring our brains and, by the way, our hearts, too, in order to be faithful. It can feel scary to open ourselves up to unpredictable transformation, but if we don’t take the risk, we can then become arrogant in our certainty; an attitude that is sometimes expressed as: “My mind is made up; don’t confuse me with the facts.”

What do you think? (Faithful inquiring minds want to know!)

Wayne Gustafson
“Our faith is 2000 years old. Our thinking isn’t.”
The United Church__of Christ