First Thoughts...
Theology literally means "God-words" or "God-knowledge". Everyone has a theology (something that they do, or don't, believe about God/god/gods/etc). It is then just a question of how much they recognise it, and what they do with it. Recognising our theology is really important, as it often impacts the way that we respond to the world and other people around us. Ill-used theology can be like an ill-used scalpel... sure, anyone can hold one, but not everyone should be involved in performing surgery!
By engaging with this site, you are taking responsibility by equipping yourself for how you 'do theology'. This involves participation by reading, listening and thinking, speaking and responding.
We hope that, along with whatever you read or watch that you also become comfortable in speaking your thoughts on the matter… being able to say why you might agree, or disagree with. After all, this is about you being a theologian.
“Recognising our theology is really important, as it often impacts the way that we respond to the world and other people around us.”
Christian Theology
“If you don’t agree with our definitions, that’s fine - you are still most welcome!”
More specifically, however, this site is an effort in Christian theology, in that Christian means a follower of Jesus Christ. It understands that in the life, ministry, teaching, death and resurrection of Jesus, God has been revealed to the world like in no way before or since. We believe that Jesus came to place compassion, love, forgiveness, grace, hope and restoration at the center of what it means to be human. We understand that when Jesus was preaching about the Kingdom of God, he was envisioning what the world would look like if God’s priorities were the world’s priorities. By defining our purpose as Christian theology, at BreadBytes we are primarily concerned with the faith of Jesus Christ. We will consider what Jesus says about who God is, consider how God is ‘incarnate’ or ‘made present’ in Jesus, and ask how following this God may impact our lives. That makes Jesus our main focus. He is the center of what we do, who we are and what we understand as Christians. If you don't agree with our definitions, that's fine - you are still most welcome! We are pleased to have you join the conversation... just understand that these are the core beliefs of the discussion that you may encounter here.
As its other primary focus, this site also engages with the Bible. The Hebrew Bible, or Christian Old Testament, was the book that shaped the Jewish world that Jesus grew and lived in. We understand Jesus best when we can understand that background. The New Testament tells us the stories of Jesus’ life, and of the community that follows him. As the central source of our modern understanding of who Jesus is, we must therefore ask the question “How do we understand the Bible?” For this, we will need to consider the influences that formed the Bible that we read today, which means an investigation into History. We will also focus on the community that continues to try and follow Jesus, which is often referred to as the Church. It then must also involve discussions about sacraments (special acts we do in churches like baptism and communion), ministers and worship (the various things we do to recognize and acknowledge God).
Two Types of Theology
While there are heaps of ways that we could introduce the concept, we will start by discussing two ways of thinking about theology, which we define as ‘working theology’ and ‘received theology’. We will demonstrate an overwhelming preference for working theology on this site.
Its important to note that these are not descriptions of ‘liberal’ versus ‘conservative’ theology, or ‘orthodox’ in opposition to ‘heretical’ theology (all fancy words – hover your cursor over them for definitions for their meanings). We are not about mindlessly attacking other people’s viewpoints. Rather, we hope to describe two different modes of theology that can impact the way people address their faith, one with a more positive outcome, and the other that can significantly limit someone’s faith. With one, we build up skills and preparedness to address a whole range of life’s challenges and issues. With the other, small challenges can become insurmountable objects to your faith.
Received theology is something like an "incomplete technique". A bit like learning to drive in an automatic vehicle, we can get by as long as we are in control of which vehicle we have to use. When we are presented with the challenge of a manual, however, we don't know how to adjust or shift gears. Our safety net is gone. In faith terms, it may mean that a person experiences unexpected limitations or challenges that their faith is not prepared to deal with. On the other hand, someone that has learnt the principles of changing gears is ‘ready to go’, regardless of the vehicle they are given. This can help us think about "Working Theology", with its greater flexibility for working out faith amidst the challenges of life.
Received Theology
If you draw on received theology, then you think of theology as a noun (ie, theology is a ‘thing’ or an ‘object’). It is something that we have. It can be helpful to think of received theology as something like a cardboard box, and the materials that are stored inside it. When we are very young, we are given this box. As we’ve grown up, authority figures such as family, teachers, communities and preachers have given us objects to place in this box – lessons about God, a view of the Bible, life, ethics, morals, values and priorities. If we are stuck with received theology, the box and its contents is the sum of our understanding of God. The only ones qualified to handle the contents in this understanding, to place new ideas or teaching inside, are the authority figures that we have listened to through our lives. We can become very protective of this box, and hold it carefully lest unwanted people come prying, trying to steal our carefully shaped beliefs. When we come up against ideas that disrupt the content of our box, we can often struggle to know how to respond, as we have never really needed to unpack or reorganise the content of our box. That, after all, is what the authority figures in our life are for.
But what happens when we find out that a respected pastor has been living a double life full of moral failings? What happens when our ‘box of ideas’ teaches us that God blesses the faithful, yet despite our faithfulness we experience loss, grief and suffering? This questioning does not mean that we shouldn’t listen to all our sources of faith identity! Rather, we should listen with an open mind and heart, both to the value of what they are saying, but also acknowledging there may be points of weakness.
Working Theology
Those who have a working theology, on the other hand, consider theology to be a verb (ie, an action). Working theology is something that you do. In contrast to our description of received theology, working theology is not the box itself, as a box is an object, and working theology is an action. Instead, working theology is the very process of opening the box. In working theology, we develop the skills, confidence and tools to be able to 'play' with the content of our box. Putting new things in, putting things aside for a time, taking things out, replacing the box itself or even doing away with a box altogether. Because working theology is the process of playing with ideas, there is less crisis when adversity or challenge arises. Rather, we are free to re-examine our beliefs and move on, reshaping our ideas in light of the new information we have learned.
We can think about working and received theologies in relation to two criss-crossing axes. These axes help us think about where we might think theologically, and why.