Why Study Theology

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Introductory Book
Review: "[Theology] exists to enable the entire Christian community to work out its life and its mission;...to help the believing community understand the gospel as clearly and faithfully as possible and see its unique implications for the present day." (49) One of the most important missions of the Christian community is sharing the Good News. It is the command of our Savior! In order to share this good news, we must understand it and we must see its relevance to today's world.

There is room within the Bible for a variety of viewpoints; as Luck informs us in his book, the Bible is pluralist. It is important for future leaders in the church, whether they are seminarians or Sunday school teachers or other leaders within congregations to have an understanding of theology. Theology is what gives us the answers to the "why" questions. Why do we have weekly communion? Why do we baptize infants? Why do we say we're "saved by grace"? These are just a few of the very important questions which can only be answered theologically. Students in our church, whether they are kindergartners in Sunday school or adults in a weekly Bible study, all have "why" questions. I have never experienced any teaching situation without such questions. Within the church, all teachers and leaders should have some background in theology in order to offer answer answers to these important questions. According to Luck, "...the need for theology becomes all the more pressing when the church has to discover what being faithful to Christ means in changing historical and cultural situations." (7) We are living in the twenty-first century United States, reading stories from the first century middle east. People's lives are different. Demands of the world are different. Our society is structured differently. We must take these stories, read them, exegete them and make them relevant to the people who sit in our pews today.

As leaders in the church, whether in ordained ministry or other areas of service, we have a responsibility to faithfully and diligently proclaim the word of God to the world.

This book is a good introduction to the study of theology and could be useful in training lay teachers. There are many teachers within our congregations who are not theologically trained yet we expect them to proclaim God's word. Luck introduces the technical, scholarly vocabulary of the discipline as well as a history of the study of theology. He also gives a very brief historical description of life during the first century; this description helps us understand the relevance of these stories to the time period. Such a background in history and the study of theology is important for anyone who teaches within the church.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Introductory Book
Review: "[Theology] exists to enable the entire Christian community to work out its life and its mission;...to help the believing community understand the gospel as clearly and faithfully as possible and see its unique implications for the present day." (49) One of the most important missions of the Christian community is sharing the Good News. It is the command of our Savior! In order to share this good news, we must understand it and we must see its relevance to today's world.

There is room within the Bible for a variety of viewpoints; as Luck informs us in his book, the Bible is pluralist. It is important for future leaders in the church, whether they are seminarians or Sunday school teachers or other leaders within congregations to have an understanding of theology. Theology is what gives us the answers to the "why" questions. Why do we have weekly communion? Why do we baptize infants? Why do we say we're "saved by grace"? These are just a few of the very important questions which can only be answered theologically. Students in our church, whether they are kindergartners in Sunday school or adults in a weekly Bible study, all have "why" questions. I have never experienced any teaching situation without such questions. Within the church, all teachers and leaders should have some background in theology in order to offer answer answers to these important questions. According to Luck, "...the need for theology becomes all the more pressing when the church has to discover what being faithful to Christ means in changing historical and cultural situations." (7) We are living in the twenty-first century United States, reading stories from the first century middle east. People's lives are different. Demands of the world are different. Our society is structured differently. We must take these stories, read them, exegete them and make them relevant to the people who sit in our pews today.

As leaders in the church, whether in ordained ministry or other areas of service, we have a responsibility to faithfully and diligently proclaim the word of God to the world.

This book is a good introduction to the study of theology and could be useful in training lay teachers. There are many teachers within our congregations who are not theologically trained yet we expect them to proclaim God's word. Luck introduces the technical, scholarly vocabulary of the discipline as well as a history of the study of theology. He also gives a very brief historical description of life during the first century; this description helps us understand the relevance of these stories to the time period. Such a background in history and the study of theology is important for anyone who teaches within the church.