Credo
19 February 2024

Not a few students have complained that studying theology at Trinity (where I taught) is tougher than their university education. This is not surprising.  Let’s begin with an analogy. We trust doctors who have received a thorough education at a reputable university. We believe that the rigorous training they receive in both theory and practice is needed because lives are at stake. In the past, training for ministry was thought of as preparation for the “cure of souls”. Lives too were involved; in fact, even more was at stake: the soul’s eternal destiny. In this respect theological education is very similar to a university education that seeks to train people not only in practical skills but to have a more comprehensive understanding of a particular subject area.

Theological education is about thinking theologically. But what does it mean to think theologically? This dense statement needs unpacking. A good theological education provides a particular way of looking at the world. It is not only about acquiring practical skills but also understanding the rationale behind them. It is about developing a holistic vision of reality that undergirds practice.

A pragmatist might retort: Isn’t it more important to live a good Christian life than speculate about the hows and whys of Christianity? Let us consider another analogy. I know how to use certain computer programmes and applications to get my work done, such as typing this article using Microsoft Word. But when my computer breaks down, I am helpless. I need someone who understands the workings of a computer to deal with my problem. I need an IT expert.

Similarly, many people without a theological education may be able to live successful Christian lives—sometimes even better than the theologically educated. But when they encounter challenges to their faith—what makes you think that Christianity offers a better alternative to other faiths or that belief in God is better than atheism?—they are often at a loss.

Thinking theologically is critically important when it comes to the church’s engagement in the world. Many churches are involved in social services like running rehabilitation centres for drug and gambling addicts, family service centres, nurseries etc. They have people with specialized skills to do these jobs. And they are doing them well.

But when asked for a reason for these social outreaches, often all they could offer are pragmatic ones: We run rehabilitation centres because we want to save their souls and turn them into responsible citizens. Such reasons are quite noble. But let’s say that if the work results in few conversions and many dropouts, then should the work still continue or shut down? We run nurseries or kindergartens because they are not only lucrative, but also an effective outreach to the neighborhood. But if our operations begin to lose money, do we still have a reason to continue? Thinking theologically beyond pragmatic reasoning, may help us to answer these questions differently.

Theological education helps us think beyond the pragmatic and articulate a theological vision. To continue with our example of the church’s social work, we first learn from Scripture that doing good is an expression of hospitality to Christians and strangers alike. “Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality” (Romans 12:13). “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it” (Hebrews 13:2).

But theological education goes beyond finding the right biblical texts to support our actions. It inculcates a way of looking at the world from the perspective of divine revelation; in short, it is about developing a worldview.

Doing good to others is good in itself, whether or not there are benefits to be reaped. Its intrinsic goodness has something to do with what Christians understand God to be. The highest form of love, as St. Bernard of Clairvaux reminds us, is for God’s sake, because such love reflects the very life of God the Trinity. The life of the Trinity is a life of self-giving to each other. This self-giving to each other overflows into the work of the triune God in freely creating the world and redeeming it even when it rebels against Him. So, we help the poor and downcast not for what benefits they bring to us, but primarily because this is what it means to reflect the image of God.

While many churches are engaged in social services, they tend to shy away from engaging in controversial public issues. Or, if they do, it’s driven, again, by pragmatic rather than sound theological reasoning. But if we think theologically, we will discover that there are good reasons why such engagement is important. If social work reflects the goodness and love of God, engagement with societal issues reflects the righteousness and justice of God. Our God is both good and just. Standing up for what is just in society is as important as showing hospitality to the poor whose poverty may have been the result of an unjust system.

A good theological education gives one a universal vision or the “big picture” which enables one to evaluate, critique, assess, and then respond coherently and rationally to the challenges in the church and society at large. Theological education is perhaps not for everybody. But if we aspire to be effective leaders in the church, we need to have that universal and holistic vision to lead effectively.

We said that theological education is like a university education in providing a broader and deeper understanding of the subject matter. But there is also another sense in which theological education is different from any other academic disciplines. It is not just one subject among a number of other subjects. In an earlier age, theology was considered “the queen of the sciences.” This is because since theology is about the God who created the whole universe, all our knowledge about any part of the universe must be related to God in some way. Knowledge of anything is incomplete until we ask the most fundamental question: What is its ultimate end? Theology gives us a view of reality that answers that question. Thus, whatever our vocation may be—engineer, banker, or reporter—thinking theologically about our vocation gives us a good reason to do it well: it is for the glory of God.

Rev Dr Simon Chan had taught theology and other related subjects such as liturgical, spiritual, and contextual theologies at Trinity Theological College for more than 30 years.