Why should we read theology books? That’s a great question. I know the person that asked it did so because they are convinced of the sufficiency of Scripture. The Word of God is highly valued, the importance of theological systems, systematicians, and academic theologians is unclear at best. So I want to spend some time in this post arguing that God’s Word in fact validates the importance of reading theology books.
I can sympathize with the heart behind the question. When I first started studying for pastoral ministry I recall my mentor telling me to go buy some book called Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem. When I finally got the book I recall thinking, “Why is this book so big?!” (I wrote about that experience here). The value of theological study, and particularly of theology texts is not always clearly understood by those in the church, especially by those who are new believers. A few preliminary points are worth making.
First, it should be noted that interpretation of Scripture is not to be done in isolation. That is to say, even though protestants don’t believe that the hierarchy of the church establishes the meaning of Scripture, as say Roman Catholics do, we nonetheless should affirm the importance of interpreting Scripture within our community. The reality is that our minds are fallible and still tainted with sin. We need help in studying the Bible. We need to make sure that our interpretations accord with the whole testimony of the Scriptures, that we are not repeating something that has been deemed heretical throughout church history, that we are not interpreting a passage through our own sinful filters. This means that as we interpret passages of Scripture and seek to understand God’s Word we ought to do so as members of the larger Christian community. We need each other to double-check our work, offer new insights and different perspectives, and hold us accountable. This is where good systematic theology can come into play.
Furthermore, we need to recognize that none of us can master every area of Biblical interpretation. Their are limits to what we have time to accomplish in our own interpretive work. I do not have time, even as a pastor, to master Ancient Near Easter Literature, Aramaic, and all of church history. I need other teachers who can help me think through some of these dynamics for the improvement of my interpretive work. Understanding the culture of ancient Egypt can help me better understand the context of the Exodus and make careful, nuanced, interpretations of passages within the book. But since I don’t have time to become an expert on Ancient Egyptian culture, I need to rely on the work of some other experts who have gone before me. I want to be careful about who I choose to listen to and read, no doubt. I want peer reviewed and accredited scholars, but those are easy enough to find. Their work aids my work. None of us can master every aspect of interpretation, so we get help where we needed it. It’s helpful then to read and learn from others, in fact I would argue its necessary because of the limitations of our own minds and schedules. We could even argue that this is by design from God. We need each other in the development of our knowledge.
By way of defense, then, of studying theology it is worth pointing out that God has given to the church teachers for our benefit. So Paul tells the Corinthians that God has appointed for the church “teachers” (1 Cor. 12:28). He tells the same thing to the Ephesians (4:11). God desires that we learn from one another, and he has particularly called and appointed individuals to be teachers in the church. As no one should interpret Scripture totally on their own, so God has appointed for the church teachers to help us understand His Word better. This is what we receive each week via preaching during the corporate worship service. We are learning from an approved and well prepared teacher who can help us understand God’s Word better. He has devoted himself to working diligently on a passage of Scripture or a topic of the Christian life that we have not had time to study like he has. We are prayerfully listening to what he says, comparing it with other Scripture, and growing in our understanding of who God is and how He calls us to live. In many ways theology textbooks function in the same way. They are teachers for the benefit of the church.
Theology works like good preaching. It takes the text of Scripture helps us to understand it in context and then seeks to elucidate its application to our lives. Theology is nothing more than the application of the Word of God to the world. In that regard this is what we are all seeking and what we all need. So we study theology because God has called us to apply His Scriptures (James 1:22; John 14:15), and we need help in doing just that. So, in short, why study theology, why read books other than the Bible? Because essentially God wants us to do that. This still requires a great level of discernment. After all, not all theology books are created equal. Nor is this a command to adopt some theological system – all systems are flawed and we should be careful of labels beyond that of Christian. But nonetheless, even with these caveats we need to study theology. Good theology is simply good teaching, and that is something we all need.
Sparrow & Heart Soul Care 