More thoughts

The other day, I was talking with some old friends, and somehow, we got to talking about this conservative Christian school in the states called Bob Jones University. Apparently, it wasn't until 2000 that they allowed inter-racial relationships on campus. The statement from the U's president was something along the lines of, "our rules were indicative of our culture, and not the scriptures". It got me to thinking... there really isn't any theology that isn't, at least in part, a product of culture.

That university's rules are very conservative, likely coming out of an early 20th century protestant holiness/puritan sort of culture (that's a guess, I haven't done any background on it). And the whole interracial thing was cultural, too. The fact that it was even an issue in the first place really was born out of the culture of that time and place.

I did a study years ago about Calvinism vs Arminianism. Both sides were developed and defended by godly, earnest believers, who came to opposing positions, given the same materials to work from. So who's right? It made me think that there really is no "biblical theology" per se. Before you throw stones, what I mean is that there is no "objective theology", no single theology that we can nail down as being the one God intended. Not that there isn't a Truth out there, (which I believe there is) just that we are unable to know truly what it is. There is no "objective" anything because you always have to take into account the lens through which we see the world. The Bible always says the same thing to everybody. But we come to vastly different conclusions (interpretations) because of our presuppositions (the way we see the world). If our culture is one of racism, and we have somehow bought into that unwittingly or otherwise, then our theology will reflect that.

I think more than anything, our current culture is one of consumerism, and our issues reflect that. You have prosperity preachers, which call on us to consume, and then on the other end, there are those who would advocate for the environment, etc. and the reduction of consumption. Both come to the same Bible and come away with opposing views, but they are equally based in the culture we are a part of; consumerism and the reactionary anti-consumerism. Just to be clear, I'm not advocating for one or the other here, just pointing out that they are a product of our culture.

I got to thinking that maybe this is the sort of thing Jesus is talking about in Matthew 7:1-5, about the beam in your own eye and the spec in your brother's. Perhaps it's not primarily about sins, as I have usually thought, but it's about our "theologies". It's easy to point out the faults in someone else's theology, but it's not always easy to see the holes in our own theology, or how our own theology has been shaped by our culture and experiences. Instead of pointing out the faults of someone else's Calvinism, we should first understand the implications of our own Arminianism, etc. etc. Our first priority, then is getting our own house in order, not to try to sweep someone else's.

I wonder; if God intended for us to have a single, cohesive theology, why didn't He go to greater lengths to ensure that we would? Maybe He intended to give us some wiggle room. Maybe He doesn't want a homogeneous mass. Perhaps, being the body of Christ doesn't just mean having different jobs to do, but also different ways of understanding what it is that God wants from us.

Could it be that there is room for the prosperity-gospel-sports-car-salesmen and the tree-hugging-vegans? The Anglicans and the Pentecostals, and (gasp) the Roman Catholics?

I admit that it sounds odd to say that God would want a variety of doctrines. Obviously, there is only one Truth, and you'd think He'd want us to know it. But perhaps He has a higher purpose in it all.

Anyway, I'm just putting it out there. If you think I'm out to lunch, let me know. If you've read this far, it must be of some interest to you.