Joshua D
Brown RLGN
489-D02
THEOLOGICAL POSITION
To be honest, this paper has caused me more than a little confusion. I have never given
much thought to my educational assumptions and, truth be told, was not completely aware I had
any educational assumptions to allocate some small measure of my extremely limited time to
even give thought to. I can only hope what I believe this assignment is asking for is covered in
the next few sections as I wander and ponder this journey.
Metaphysics
The first step of my journey was to determine my assumptions of metaphysics in relation
to theology. To begin with, I had to ensure I had an accurate understanding of what exactly
metaphysics even is. Looking back through old class notes, I found out that metaphysics pertains
to our understanding of reality, such as; Is God real? Thus, assumptions made by me in the realm
of the metaphysical would be that anyone calling themselves a Christian (or Catholic, or even a
Jew) believes in reality outside of what we can see with our own eyes, smell with our own nose,
taste with our own mouth, hear with our own ears, or touch with our own hands. As any who
believe in God will surely attest, we cannot physically see, smell, taste, hear, or touch God but yet
we believe in His existence. The same can be said of Christ and the Holy Ghost. Romans 1:201
speaks to the invisible attributes of God, His eternal power, and divine nature being clearly
evident since the beginning of the world.
Epistemology
The next step of my journey deals with assumptions made about the knowledge of God as
well as how we justify this knowledge. If I understand this correctly, then this is an area where I
used to have great difficulty. Like many in the world, I spouted forth bits and pieces of hearsay
and passed them off as scholarly truth. I spoke to the nature of the languages Biblical text were
1 All Biblical references are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible translation unless
otherwise noted
written in and the errancy of mankind in translating them. Of course, this rolled over into the
many varied translations of the Bible and how, if the Bible was God’s inerrant word, these
translations could differ so. I cited the fact that nobody had ever been able to prove the existence
of Jesus or find Noah’s great ship. I poked holes in Biblical theory at any and every chance to
anyone who would listen. Then God happened to me. This, obviously, changed my view on
pretty much everything. So you want to know my assumption as to the nature of the knowledge
of God? My assumption is that God Himself is the source and that His word (the Bible) is
inerrant. My assumption is that nothing man has to say on the matter subtracts from or casts
shadow upon the certainty of God or His divinely inspired word. Proverbs 3:5 tells us to trust in
the Lord and not to rely upon our own understanding.2
Axiology
Axiology…the worth of something. In context of this paper, I take this to mean my
worth to God. In 1 Peter 1:18-193, we learn that we are redeemed from our meaningless way of
life and paid for in something far greater than the corruptible money of our world. Throughout
the New Testament we read of the price Jesus paid for us, the price He would have paid even if
only to save one of us. We are invaluable to God. Our worth is so great to Him that He sent his
ONLY child to die for us and by us from our life of sin and hopelessness.
Ministry Praxis; Education
It is imperative to note at this stage of my journey that, in one way or another, we are as
Christians called to teach. This does not mean that each and every person who calls themselves
Christian should start looking for a teaching position at their local school or church but rather that
we are to spread the Word of God to the world and teach them what it says, or at the very least
teach them how to dig into His word on their own. As for me and my role as teacher, I work in
substance abuse counseling. I teach God’s broken children on a daily basis how to overcome
2 HCSB
3 HCSB
4 HSCB
5 HSCB
their addictions and break the chains of bondage. I teach them daily that the only answer to their
questions is Jesus. My education has provided me with the knowledge to do these things with
confidence and with a right spirit. In Titus 2:7-8 we are commanded to use integrity and dignity
in our teaching and our message is to be solid and above reproach.4 This leads me into the final
step of this journey.
Ministry Praxis; Leadership Assumptions
As stated above, we are to walk in integrity and dignity. My assumption towards those in
leadership above me as well as for myself in my position of leadership and those in lower
leadership positions it that we will walk in God. We will uphold Biblical principal and seek
God’s counsel in all matters. We will do our best to live our life above reproach. Again I turn to
Titus and continue where the last reference left off. In Titus 1:7-14 we are given the exact
qualities we must uphold in positions of leadership5. It is my assumption that I will do these
things in every aspect of my life…as a husband, as a father, as a friend, as a leader.
