I agree that Christians, generally speaking, have lacked theological and
philosophical knowledge over time. This is unfortunately to the Church's deficit.
Due to advancements in technology, it is easier to access information that you
are looking for, d but it could be incorrect and you may not realize it. Each
Christian should prioritize understanding living with a Christian lens and with
Christian ethics, as noted in this week's presentation video. Leithart explains that
this should be done through "ecclesial biblical theology," or theology based on
Scripture for the growth of believers in their church and other churches.1 He
states that there is a divide in biblical theology scholarship and is ecclesial
biblical theology that is meant to be from the church for the church that
emphasizes ecclesial and theology aspects equally.2 Vanhoozer and Strachan
describe this occurring in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. They point out
that the office of pastor surrendered deep study of theology to academics and
focused more on simply proclaiming the gospel to all that they can.3 Prior to this,
it was seemingly normal for pastors to engage in deep discussion and study
theological ideas. Moving away from this was to the detriment of the pastor and
the theologian, who are now mostly separated.4 This is a generalization, there are
still pastors who are also theologians, but many pastors yield to others in terms
of being a theologian, thus not pushing their congregation to actively study His
Word and grasp theology in a way that would push them to be theologians in
their own right.
This is an issue for the church today. Theological understanding is of the utmost
importance for the pastor and preaching theology is important. The gospel
message that is geared towards believers and non-believers can also explain
theological concepts that the congregation needs to hear. These concepts can
also help those who may not believe in Him begin to understand what Jesus did
even more. As every Christian looks at life, it is imperative for the pastor to
explain theology in order to build an ethic that is founded in Scripture as these
ethics should be central to Christian living.5
I believe that pastors do focus on certain aspects of the Christian faith, but
neglect others. This is probably based on each pastor though. In my experience, I
have consistently seen pastors skip past church history (except for discussing the
Reformation or talking about a missionary), philosophy, and even apologetics.
Again, each aspect of Christianity is important in its own way and should be
studied. Much like the quote in regards to repeating history, if we do not seek to
understand as much as we can about Christianity and preach and share it for
those in the congregation (theology, philosophy, ethics, history, etc.) then we are
putting the future of the Church in danger. We need to do as much as we can to
pass on this information to the next generation in a way that is clear but is deep
enough for a greater overall understanding.
1. Todd A. Wilson, and Gerald Hiestand. Becoming a Pastor Theologian: New
Possibilities for Church Leadership. (InterVarsity Press, 2016), 7.
2. Ibid., 10.
3. Kevin J. Vanhoozer, and Owen Strachan. The Pastor as Public Theologian:
Reclaiming a Lost Vision. (Baker Academic, 2015), 87-88.
4. Ibid., 88.
5. Week 1 Video: Dimensions of Christian Ethics
