changing my views

I think one constant we Christians should be open to, aside from the essential of our commitment to the faith, is openness to change. Around seven years ago my theology was dramatically impacted through reading N.T. Wright. And due to my Anabaptist background along with discovering that Scot McKnight had a blog, I gravitated back towards my roots.

Around a year or so ago, it seemed like I became a bit stale in my theological endeavor. But recently I've become reawakened to a rethinking of my theological positions.

Theology in a sense, I think, is a second order exercise. One of great importance, in that we are trying to take the truth of Scripture into our world view and let it impact how we're to live. But first order exercise is to be before God in the reading of Scripture, prayer, community in Jesus, good works, and mission in Jesus to the world. I see these as practices we're to be engaged in. The theology comes for all of us. It's simply an expression of what we believe, in words and works. Trying to make sense of it all but seeking to do so with reference to tradition (what the church has taught), reason and experience. None of those are infallible, though they all factor in to our reading of Scripture. After all, Scripture is a human book, though essentially even in that humanness, it is the word of God and therefore infallible, our one infallible source. But necessarily we must engage it through tradition, reason, and experience.

Now, what am I changing? That's the frustrating part, because I'm not all the way where I seem to be going, yet. But I'm headed towards nuancing our existence in the sense that while we're not of the world, we pray that God's kingdom come, his will would be done, on earth as it is in heaven. And that culture, while having plenty of the godless world system in it, is not intrinsically evil (even true of politics, mind you!). Culture also reflects the image of God. God's goal in Christ is shalom, and it's an earthly, material shalom. Yes, we look for a heavenly country, but the end result seems to be the wedding of heaven in the New Jerusalem, and earth together, in the new creation when it's completed in Jesus.

Here are posts worth reading on this, by Michael Kruse, an incessant and excellent blogger, whose steady work over the months is finally getting through to me in some key ways. Not that I understand or follow it all, but there is some really good stuff here to think on in the light of Scripture.

Again, I consider of utmost importance our first order tasks, though the second order stuff should follow.

What might you like to add here? Have you ever felt half-baked, or even up in arms as to what you believe on some issues? Me too.