Christianity: Dogma, Doctrine, & Opinion

What is Theology?

There is a story about Augustine coming across a boy on the shores of the Mediterranean. The lad was filling buckets of water and pouring them into a hole in the sand. When Augustine asked the boy what he was doing, he replied, “I’m emptying the Mediterranean into this hole.” The famous theologian tilted back his head and laughed. “You’ll never fit the Mediterranean into that small hole. Stop wasting your time!” The lad looked up and said, “And you’re wasting your time writing a book about God. You’ll never be able to fit God into your book.”

Why Study Theology?

Theology is the study of God, his attributes, and his relationship with man and the universe—literally from the Greek terms, theos (God) and logos (word, teaching, study). Christians who study and write about theology, tend to divide their inquiry into several foundational and interrelated topics including:

• God or Theology Proper
• Humankind and the Created Universe or Anthropology
• Jesus and Salvation or Christology
• Holy Spirit or Pneumatology
• The Church or Ecclesiology
• Consummation of History or Eschatology

Theology & Right Thinking

Good theology helps Christians because it grounds our lives in biblically informed, Christian truth. Theology instructs Christians about what belongs to the distinctively Christian viewpoint on God and the world. As we come to see what marks true belief (orthodoxy), we are able to detect false teachings (heresy). By grounding us in The Truth, theology contributes to our becoming mature, stable disciples of Jesus who are not ‘blown here and there by every wind of teaching (Eph 4:14).’ Thus theology is vital to every Christian life.

Theology & Right Actions

It seems that theologians often split hairs about seemingly trvial matters. While good theology does include rigorous academic debate, it never stops there. Good theologians discuss intellectual questions because their chief concern is life. They want to know the truth not simply to think properly, but in order to live properly. Thus, good theology, brings the theoretical, academic, intellectual aspect of Christian faith into Christian living. In this way, theology becomes extremely practical—perhaps the most useful activity one ever engages in!

Theology’s First Critical Task

Theology's first task—the critical task—is to divide valid Christian beliefs into categories based on levels of importance. For instance, once a belief is determined to be valid and consistent with authoritative Christian norms, the next question is “How important is it?” Is this a belief all Christians must hold in order to be authentically Christian? Or is this belief one on which Christians may legitimately disagree?

Over the centuries theologians have developed three main categories of Christian beliefs: dogma, doctrine, and opinion.

1. DOGMA. A belief is considered a dogma if it is essential to the Gospel. In other words, if its denial would entail apostasy—rejection of the Gospel of Jesus Christ—then it is a dogma.

2. DOCTRINE. A doctrine is a belief that is considered important but not absolutely essential. For example, a particular church denomination might consider the belief a test of fellowship without claiming that its denial amounts to apostasy. The denial of the doctrine may be considered a heresy but not necessarily outright apostasy.

3. OPINION. A belief is relegated to the status of opinion when it is considered interesting but relatively unimportant to the faith. One is allowed to believe whatever one wishes about that issue as long as it does not conflict with a dogma or doctrine. Denial of an opinion is simply a difference in interpretation.

Exegesis, Hermeneutics & Cultural Relativity

Exegesis is the careful, systematic study of Scripture to discover the historical and intended meaning for the original audience. Hermeneutics tries to answer the question, "What do the texts mean to us today?" The big issue among Christians committed to accepting Scripture as God’s authoritative Word has to do with the problems of cultural relativity. In other words, what is cultural and therefore belongs to the first century alone? And what transcends culture and is thus a Word for all time?

Scripturally, issues of dogma (e.g. Salvation, Trinity, Virgin Birth) are far easier to agree on with good hermeneutics than issues of doctrine due to the cultural relativity factor. The latter include issues like:

• pre-destination vs. free-will
• charismatic gifts
• women’s roles and ministries
• methods of baptism
• Biblical inspiration and inerrancy
• divorce and remarriage
• end times events
• forms of church government
• sacraments or ordinances

Matters of opinion are judged by most denominations to be open to private interpretation. These include various Bible translations; beliefs about angels and demons; pre-tribulational rapture; and drums in church. In our Christian walk then, we should aim for greater hermeneutical precision and consistency; greater obedience to what we do hear and understand; and openness and charity toward others when they differ from us.

Liberal & Conservative Theologies

One fairly simple (and simplistic) way of beginning to grasp a major difference between liberal and conservative denominations is to recognize two tendencies in handling the indexing of beliefs. In general, more liberal theologians and denominations tend to empty the dogma and doctrine categories and leave more and more to the private judgment of individuals. By contrast, ultraconservative or fundamentalist theologians and denominations follow the opposite tendency. They empty the opinion and doctrine categories of most beliefs others would place there, and fill up the dogma category.

Our Richly Variegated Bible

Although deep thinking Christians sometimes wish that the Bible was a treatise on theology, instead, it is a beautifully rich and variegated book. Contrary to what we sometimes assume, the Bible does not contain long expositions on doctrine or any detailed summary of the belief system of God’s people. Instead we find in its pages historical narratives, poetry, proverbial sayings, prophetic oracles, and instructions to specific groups of believers.


Good Theology Must Touch the Heart

Theology is not so much a science, in the modern sense of the term, as an art. We must retain the scientist’s bent toward concerted, hard-headed, even critical intellectual engagement. However, as theologians we are also artists. Our goal goes beyond amassing knowledge. Like any great work of art, our theology must move beyond our head to touch our heart.

For this information, I am indebted to Who Needs Theology: An Invitation to the Study of God by Grenz and Olsen (1996); How to Read the Bible For All Its Worth by Fee & Stuart (2003); and A Handbook of the Christian Faith by Schwartz (2004).

Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. (Acts 17:11 NIV)

Photos: michael_reuter, Beauty of Africa, paparutzi (Flickr)



Related: Join the good folk at the Christian Carnival ii for more "thinkful" posts like this.

Up Next—Learn the Bible in 24 Hours

What bothers you the most about differences between denominations?