Theology Quarrels.

I once was an idiot.

I once walked into an NCFCA event and proudly stated, "Predestination is unbiblical!"

Got slaughtered over that. Never tried it again. I fought with people over that facet of theology and everything in between. But when the whole Calvinism thing started sinking in about a year ago, I started fighting with my Southern-Baptist-Armenian-friends. Predestination was actually kinda biblical. And I was a jerk about it. And I didn't even care. They were wrong and I was right. I had finally accepted what I had fought for years. It made me feel proud. And until they recognized that, I was relentless. Come to think of it, I once was a jerk as well.

I loathe that about myself. I loathe the fact that being right about theology was once more important to me than people. God's creation. I was so incredibly arrogant over the fact that I was now correct. I understood every facet of God now, right? And that somehow gave me the right to trample the people who needed God the most.

People quarrel over theology and they forget the point. Theology is about understanding God more. It is about comprehending even a few flecks of His vast mystery. And comprehending, biblically, ought to lead to sharing. Don't lock away the beautiful things you know. Share them with other humans, and pray that they start to understand God more, too. Because God is hard to understand. Not all of it makes sense on this side of eternity. 

But somehow, talking about theology has devolved into something less than simply seeking the face of God. Theological discussions can sometimes become not about God at all. They become about pride. They become a contest of intelligence; a battle of wits; a trivia of theological knowledge. And they hurt people. When people shoot theology at you instead of understanding you, that hurts. When people share their own bloated knowledge instead of seeking to help others understand God, that hurts. 

Oftentimes, we just want to communicate the lofty things that we have understood. We forget to communicate for the purpose of helping others understand God.

That's what theology is about. That should be the purpose of theological discussions. To understand God. To seek His face. To humbly recognize His vastness and His mystery. To raise questions and search for answers. It should not be to force another into admitting you're right. The Gospel is not about simply being right. It's about God's grace. Theology is a method of communicating that grace. Don't forsake such an opportunity by quarreling with someone who might simply need to glimpse the grace of God. 

Explaining truth and hammering it relentlessly into someone can be vastly different. One is for the glory of God; the other is for the glory of ourselves. 

We really do forget to communicate for the purpose of helping others understand God. 

So I guess, let's discuss away. Talk all the theology we please. Seek to understand God and share every bit of it, even. But let's also remember the purpose. Remember that is for the glory of Christ, not our ego. Approach others with a mindset of grace, rather than a hunger to be recognized as right. 

People need to be loved. They need to schooled, but they need to be loved too. God is understandingly patient with us. He loves us while he gently and gradually reveals facets of His truth. Perhaps an element of that should be adopted in how we share truths with others. 

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