How much theology should a businessman know?
Of all of the responses to the last post on homosexuality, only one really went the direction I was hoping to go. I attempted to use homosexuality as a topic to test our thought processes -- the way we search Scripture, examine our hearts, incorporate thoughts from experiences/scholars/etc. -- and Dan Morehead's comments addressed this process directly. If I may summarize points from Dan's post, he encouraged us to consider the breadth of Scripture, not just passages focusing on homosexuality, sex, or marriage; to recognize the scientific (and theological) complexity of an issue like homosexuality as biology does not always produce XX females and XY males; and to incorporate perspectives voiced by church fathers past.
Dan also recommended we read several different books as "it's not clear to me how much work Matthew or anyone one else here is willing to do to start asking difficult questions…Since I've already said why I think the kind of reasoning that has gone on here is weak and needs to be expanded, I'll wait to see if any expanding goes on. Otherwise, I'm not even sure we're playing the same game."
I would say that we are absolutely playing the same game -- that is what this blog is all about. It's not about right answers nearly as much as it is about the process of thinking through difficult issues. It's about playing the game, regardless of whether you are in Little League or the Majors. We can all learn from each other.
I have not read any of the recommended books nor do I honestly feel like I have a firm grasp on how "the sabbath, Job, or Jesus' parables contribute to [my] thinking?" I am in the middle of that journey and I hope we would all extend each other the grace to allow room for growth.
In pursuing that journey, I'd like to shift the focus off of homosexuality and onto our role as thinkers/contributors to the Great Conversation. My first reaction to a call to invest a significant amount of time reading books on any particular topic is defensiveness (that's the pride in me). I am a consultant (for 4 more weeks) and I work ~70 hours a week. I am also a husband. Maybe one day I will be a father. The time I invest into thinking about performance management, business process redesign, or the next date with Erica is time that I cannot spend reading/thinking about issues like the ones we discuss on this blog. I'm not trying to create a false dichotomy between secular and theological thinking -- I hope my relationship with Jesus would be fully integrated into everything I do -- I am simply communicating the struggle I fight with the finiteness of my own mind. Maybe you guys have the capacity to think on spiritual things while working on a complex spreadsheet or while leading a meeting. I have not reached that level of maturity.
The Gospel is a call to live a holistic life. That certainly requires businessmen and women to live their lives, both in and out of the workplace, knowing what they do and why they do it. But the modern business world is high-pressured, time-consuming, and fragmented. Exploring theology and having thoughtful answers to everyday issues can seem almost impossible to some of us who live life in the midst of spreadsheets and meetings. So how do we balance a call to business and a call to explore the depth and breadth of Christ-centered theology?
Or, put another way, how much business is a theologian called to know and how much theology is a businessman called to know? And for what purpose? I am not speaking theorectically -- this would be a very different conversation if all business (and theology for that matter) was Christ-centered -- I am asking for practical perspectives. In 1 Corinthians 7, Paul alludes to the struggle of a married man remaining 100% devoted to Jesus -- "The married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided" -- yet marriage (Genesis 2, Matthew 19, 1 Corinthians 7, Ephesians 5), like work (Genesis 2, Ecclesiastes 3), is clearly a God-ordained institution.
For those of us who are not going to be professional theologians, pastors, or teachers, how do we navigate the dangerous and ambiguous theological and ethical roads that seem to be everywhere without taking shortcuts on the 'Purpose Driven Life' or the 'Your Best Life Now' highway?
Dan also recommended we read several different books as "it's not clear to me how much work Matthew or anyone one else here is willing to do to start asking difficult questions…Since I've already said why I think the kind of reasoning that has gone on here is weak and needs to be expanded, I'll wait to see if any expanding goes on. Otherwise, I'm not even sure we're playing the same game."
I would say that we are absolutely playing the same game -- that is what this blog is all about. It's not about right answers nearly as much as it is about the process of thinking through difficult issues. It's about playing the game, regardless of whether you are in Little League or the Majors. We can all learn from each other.
I have not read any of the recommended books nor do I honestly feel like I have a firm grasp on how "the sabbath, Job, or Jesus' parables contribute to [my] thinking?" I am in the middle of that journey and I hope we would all extend each other the grace to allow room for growth.
In pursuing that journey, I'd like to shift the focus off of homosexuality and onto our role as thinkers/contributors to the Great Conversation. My first reaction to a call to invest a significant amount of time reading books on any particular topic is defensiveness (that's the pride in me). I am a consultant (for 4 more weeks) and I work ~70 hours a week. I am also a husband. Maybe one day I will be a father. The time I invest into thinking about performance management, business process redesign, or the next date with Erica is time that I cannot spend reading/thinking about issues like the ones we discuss on this blog. I'm not trying to create a false dichotomy between secular and theological thinking -- I hope my relationship with Jesus would be fully integrated into everything I do -- I am simply communicating the struggle I fight with the finiteness of my own mind. Maybe you guys have the capacity to think on spiritual things while working on a complex spreadsheet or while leading a meeting. I have not reached that level of maturity.
The Gospel is a call to live a holistic life. That certainly requires businessmen and women to live their lives, both in and out of the workplace, knowing what they do and why they do it. But the modern business world is high-pressured, time-consuming, and fragmented. Exploring theology and having thoughtful answers to everyday issues can seem almost impossible to some of us who live life in the midst of spreadsheets and meetings. So how do we balance a call to business and a call to explore the depth and breadth of Christ-centered theology?
Or, put another way, how much business is a theologian called to know and how much theology is a businessman called to know? And for what purpose? I am not speaking theorectically -- this would be a very different conversation if all business (and theology for that matter) was Christ-centered -- I am asking for practical perspectives. In 1 Corinthians 7, Paul alludes to the struggle of a married man remaining 100% devoted to Jesus -- "The married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided" -- yet marriage (Genesis 2, Matthew 19, 1 Corinthians 7, Ephesians 5), like work (Genesis 2, Ecclesiastes 3), is clearly a God-ordained institution.
For those of us who are not going to be professional theologians, pastors, or teachers, how do we navigate the dangerous and ambiguous theological and ethical roads that seem to be everywhere without taking shortcuts on the 'Purpose Driven Life' or the 'Your Best Life Now' highway?
posted by Matthew at 8:05 PM
12 Comments:
You stared that,"The Gospel is a call to live a holistic life." I prefer to believe that the Gospel is a call to live a holy life, based on imitation of Jesus'! I have found that seemingly ambiguous statements such as you mentioned about the 100% devotion to Jesus and the "command to pray without ceasing" often seem confusing or even conflicting. However if we take a lesson from the U.S. Mint in our discovery of the Character of God and our knowledge of the actions of Jesus we can do both of those things as well as look at spreadsheets and lead meetings. The method the mint uses to train it's employees in the discovery of countetfeit money is not by showing them examples of the best attempts to counterfeit.. instead it is by making them so familiar with the real money that the counterfeit is glaringly obvious. In just the same way, when we have studied scripture enough to perceive the character of God in both testaments as well as having knowledge of the actions and attitudes of Jesus in the New Testament then all issues that stray from Godly construct are so glaringly apparent that we can "pray without ceasing," devote ourselves to Jesus 100% of the time and to others as well.. and we can perceive and deal with issues such as homosexuality while preparing a spreadsheet or leading a meeting. Such is the work of the Holy Spirit when we are in tune with Him. The Bible exhorts us to be prepared to give an answer for our beliefs, therefore, I believe that is how much theology a businessman should know.
I believe the goal of Christ-centered theology is to know Christ better so that we might mimic Him better. Theology is therefore our own spiritual nourishment so that God may feed others through us.
I just heard a sermon by Tim Keller on 1 Thes 4:11 Paul's letter to the church commending them to "work with [their] hands". It can be found in the samples at http://sermons.redeemer.com/
It's titled, "Work."
Anyways, Keller observed that the trend in Thessalonica was to honor the intellectuals and academics over the ditch-diggers. He went on to explain that we should abandon that trend and tap into our own spiritual gifts and use those to honor God. I think that's where the theology fits in. We are to know God so that we might know ourselves and discover how we can best serve God. And while our powerpoint might not end with scripture, we can still honor God by using the gifts he has blessed us with. If we work to honor God, His light will shine and others will become curious. I think our theology should serve to inspire questions (Why does he work so dilligently?; Why is she always so cheerful?) before it serves to answer any.
nbrown:
do you honestly believe this statement that you wrote: "all issues that stray from Godly construct are so glaringly apparent that...we can perceive and deal with issues such as homosexuality while preparing a spreadsheet or leading a meeting"? i would challenge you very strongly on this. your example of the US Mint is taken too far. perhaps outside the world of counterfeit money, the world is not as black and white as you would like to make it. If you were to do any serious study of Church history, or were to do a survey of even modern evangelical theology, you would see that this in fact is not and has never been the case. your comment would make it seem that pastors and theologians exist purely as show and not to deal with real life issues.
tom:
what does it mean to 'work to honor God'? Is goal of 'God's light shining' to make people curious, or to redeem a broken world? 'Why does he work so dilligently' is meaningless without knowing what kind of work is being done and in what context. i can work really hard at ripping people off or destroying God's good creation and that doesn't mean that I am honoring God. It means the opposite.
The Dude said: "do you honestly believe this statement that you wrote" Yes I do. I spent many years trying to make scripture conform to my view of theology, but at 60+ years of age, I have learned that it is much better to conform my life to the very black and white original view of theology : )
nbrown:
There is a huge difference between making 'scripture conform to your view of theology' and seeing the world as 'black and white'. Could you explain to me what you mean by 'the very black and white original view of theology'?
I do see the problems with conforming scripture to your own needs. I can speak for Matthew and myself that we have never once considered that as an option. That being said, we also recognize that reading and interpreting scripture is not as easy as we were taught in sunday school. I think the bumper-sticker theology of "The Bible says it, I believe it, that settles it!" is really dangerous once you begin to look at what its really proposing.
The reason I push you on this is because I just don't think its as simple as "when we have studied scripture enough..." because there have been plenty of people in the world who have studied it 'enough' and apparently are still wrong in your eyes. And they aren't trying to conform scripture to their view of theology. They just recognize that the bible is not an answer book for conservative Christians.
a helpful article:
How Can the Bible Be Authoritative?
Thanks for the engagement with what I wrote. I forget sometimes that it is easier to rattle off 5 books to read when I spend the bulk of my time reading than it is for someone to read them when that may not be their sole occupation. Forgive me.
On a biographical note, I honestly find discussions about homosexuality frustrating. I feel like the majority of people seem to think it is so obvious one way or another and I simply don't think things are that easy. 1) We've not been clinically studying human sexuality for that long. 2) Scripture, though still our Scripture, was written in response to or at least within social structures which no longer exist in our society (for example: pederasty, etc.) and at least take work for us to imagine the context in which they were written. 3) Conversely, homosexuality as presently exisiting, no more than mass communication or the modern nuclear family, cannot be seen to be directly discussed in Scripture. 4) People seem to go to Scripture looking for what the want to find.
These issues are things I struggle to understand, struggle to discuss in ecumenical gatherings, and are tender concerns given the close friends I have in the LGBTQ communities. The triteness of the conversations are often what is painful for me. So, thanks for listening to what I wrote even though I didn't give a constructive account.
Matthew wrote, "The Gospel is a call to live a holistic life," and asked, "Or, put another way, how much business is a theologian called to know and how much theology is a businessman called to know? And for what purpose?" Said different, Jesus is Lord, and it is hard to imagine that God's being for humanity doesn't impinge on every aspect of life. He adds, "Exploring theology and having thoughtful answers to everyday issues can seem almost impossible to some of us who live life in the midst of spreadsheets and meetings." I have sympathy for this because I think a faithful life, like learning to play the blues, takes time. Though age does not guarantee wisdom, it is difficult to imagine a young person being wise, playing the blues, or living with a developed sense of what it means to be faithful.
One of my concerns about capitalism is it advances by first creating desires and then fulfilling them. Fulfilling them, however, often translates into more work, longer hours, or more debt. Often this "more" we are supposed to desire (and in fact already do) also means escaping from those situations where we would actually find Jesus: amongst the poor, the marginalized, the outcast.
As to the question: "For those of us who are not going to be professional theologians, pastors, or teachers, how do we navigate the dangerous and ambiguous theological and ethical roads that seem to be everywhere without taking shortcuts on the 'Purpose Driven Life' or the 'Your Best Life Now' highway?" I don't have an easy answer. We need not fear, however, so words like dangerous may not be the best to use. Perhaps the question should be: how do we enter more fully into the life of God and his love for the world? This is an easier question perhaps and here I return to Jean Vanier's wise words:
"Let us give our hand to all those around the world who suffer, who cry out and are fearful. Be one in prayer. Let us remember that the smallest gesture of beauty and tenderness done with humility and confidence will bring unity to the world and break the chain of violence."
This, of course, takes time.
The Dude said...
nbrown:
There is a huge difference between making 'scripture conform to your view of theology' and seeing the world as 'black and white'. Could you explain to me what you mean by 'the very black and white original view of theology'?
My idea of the black and white view of scripture is that which has not been diluted by human viewpoint. For example the following biblical concepts have been conformed by human viewpoint as follows:
Approval from God is now often determined by what society views as acceptable.
Entities are touted as offering unconditional love when they are actually only offering random acts of kindness based on their own agenda.
Very often criticism is hidden under the label of exhortation.
Society often assumes it has forgiven something if it tolerates it.
Abdication of authority or responsibility is often seen as co-operation.
Those who choose to submit to authorities or spouses are criticized for allowing themselves to be enslaved by others.
Very often persons act out of a lack of self confidence and are praised for their humility.
We are deluded into believing that if we feel shame for our actions then we have repented of them.
Many people accuse Christians who are pro active of being ungodly because society confuses passivity with Godliness or Christ likeness.
In our news headlines today we are reading of a new hate crime bill which is prefaced in part on the public assumption that disagreement is tantamount to hatred.
And finally in our society as well as many others in the world we perceive confrontation as attack.
I do see the problems with conforming scripture to your own needs. I can speak for Matthew and myself that we have never once considered that as an option. That being said, we also recognize that reading and interpreting scripture is not as easy as we were taught in sunday school. I think the bumper-sticker theology of "The Bible says it, I believe it, that settles it!" is really dangerous once you begin to look at what its really proposing.
What in your opinion is it really proposing? The fact that I share the opinions of many other main line Christian entities, (not all of whom I agree with wholly) does not indicate that I cannot or do not think for myself. I have read and studied The King James Bible, The New King James, The New Century Version, The Living Bible, The Message, The Amplified Bible, The New Scofield Bible, The International Version of the Bible. Etc. Each of these has enlightened me.. but none of them has varied my idea of what I referred to as the black and white of the original version of scripture. I have also studied the Greek New Testament and The Jerusalem Bible. I came away with the same concepts after each reading.
Dude not knowing either you or Matthew personally it is very hard for me to assess where our differences lie. (with the exception of an assumption that we have a big age discrepancy) I am also a woman and the mother of five grown children which I also assume neither of you are.
The reason I push you on this is because I just don't think its as simple as "when we have studied scripture enough..." because there have been plenty of people in the world who have studied it 'enough' and apparently are still wrong in your eyes.
‘Enough’ is not quantified in this case by time spent reading, it is quantified by the condition of the heart of the reader.. One who is under the influence of the Holy Spirit will get a true interpretation. As Jesus mentioned while discussing his parables with the apostles, the word of God is for ‘those with ears to hear and eyes to see’ without that the Bible is merely a speculative piece of literature. I do wonder sometimes if persons who doubt the authority or veracity or inerrancy of the Bible perceive God to be all knowing and all powerful. If He is then I find it hard to believe He would allow such a flawed work to be the main resource for His children for all these years. On the other hand if you do not believe God to be omnipotent and omniscient then the best we can do with this discussion is agree to disagree.
And they aren't trying to conform scripture to their view of theology. They just recognize that the bible is not an answer book for conservative Christians.
I cannot speak for all Conservative Christians but it certainly had been the Answer book for me. : )
oops one other thing Dude.. I tried the link for the article you suggested.. it didn't work. : (
In response to nbrown's passionate comments:
First, in his laundry list of biblical concepts have been conformed by human viewpoint, he has a point, namely, it can be easy to uncritically accept what surrounds you and therefore seems normal. He writes, "Approval from God is now often determined by what society views as acceptable." I'm sure this occurs. However, it is not the case that what a society views as acceptable is necessarily wrong. He writes, "Those who choose to submit to authorities or spouses are criticized for allowing themselves to be enslaved by others." It seems his assumption is that submission need not be enslavement. Fair enough. But sometime submission is enslavement. This brings me to a final response. He writes:
"‘Enough’ is not quantified in this case by time spent reading, it is quantified by the condition of the heart of the reader. One who is under the influence of the Holy Spirit will get a true interpretation."
So, the Spirit will guide us? I agree, but what if two people who we know to be God-fearing read Scripture differently. Quoting Stephen Fowl's Engaging Scripture, "the Spirit's activity is no more self-interpreting than a passage of scripture is. Understanding and interpreting the Spirit's movement is a matter of communal debate and discernment over time. This debate and discernment is itself often shaped both by prior interpretations of scripture and by traditions of practice and belief."
Discernment over time was something I was getting at in my earlier comment.
I think a discussion on interpretation of Scripture and the Spirit is one that deserves much attention but, for this week, I'd like to bring us back to the question not of how but to what extent the businessman should study the depth and breadth of the Gospel. Should the businessman and the theologian spend equal time studying Scripture? It may sound like a ridiculous question as there is probably no way to quantify how time much one ought to invest in study, but my question is more one of role. Much of the American economy is based on the concept of specialization and I think we see this even in our churches. Pastors teach, businessmen make money, and rarely do either stray from their area of "expertise." Is this segmentation borne out of sheer practical necessity or a poor understanding of the call of Christ on all areas of our lives? How much should we rely on theologians to teach and businessmen to feed?
I think time is required to apprehend and embody the witness of Scripture, applying such testimony to the concrete situations of humanity here and now. It is important that pastors/priests have time to study and not simply be tingling masses of availablity. I think the church is similarly helped also by those who study theology. But to your question...
"Is this segmentation borne out of sheer practical necessity or a poor understanding of the call of Christ on all areas of our lives? How much should we rely on theologians to teach and businessmen to feed?"
I want any notion of vocation to burst forth in a multiplicity of ends. Not all will spend their lives pondering Scripture and Christian tradition. Nor need they. My hope is that the daily life of the Christian congregations will form everyone into faithful followers. I don't want church to be a place where you go to get information. Christianity isn't a set of propositions to which one must assent. Practices like baptism, Eucharist, and meeting the needs of those who may be marginalized, along with right preaching and worship, should form us to be the kind of people who can live faithfully as children of God.
In short, I'm not sure that theology has a large role in the life of the individual (but operates more in an educative function in training ministers to draw connections between various parts of the Christian witness).
A thousand apologies, but do suffer this muddle-headed philosopher to ATTEMPT to say a few practical things.
1) Know your values and your goals and be realistic about the time you can devote to things.
2) Make time for silence, solitude, and reflection SOMETIMES. Most of us can't have such times every day. But we can all do it from time to time, and we need it.
3) Remember that SOMETHING is often better than NOTHING. If you can't feed every hungry person, start by feeding one. If you can't answer every question, start by answering one. If you can't answer one question, start by making some minimal contribution toward the study of that question (see it as a team effort, and play some role, however small).
4) When someone recommends a book to you, ask him what strikes him about it and whether he can summarize it for you. That way you can learn the main points and principles even if you never get around to reading the book. If he can't summarize the book because its value lies in the prose or in its artistic presentation, that's fair enough, but you'll have to decide whether to endeavor to read it yourself. In general, don't commit to reading a recommended book (but there are exceptions--use your judgment).
5) Don't think you have to read books cover to cover. Look at the table of contents. Read the first paragraphs of chapters. Read book summaries (there are thousands online). Skip around and be smart and selective so that you learn the most you can in a limited amount of time. If a book is just blowing you away, read more--you might end up reading the whole thing, and you might not (no big deal if you don't).
6) Ask questions of people who have already thought about issues. I have sometimes learned in a one-hour meeting with a professor more than I could have learned from several weeks of study on my own. Don't be afraid of looking stupid (I have to work on this, because I like to look like I know it all). If you swallow your pride and ask the questions that you're really interested in, you can learn so much so fast! Plus, you have really interesting conversations and connect with people in meaningful ways.
7) Type up short summaries of things that you read (if you think they're worth summarizing). e.g. Make a file on your computer titled "Bible on Homosexuality" and when you read or hear or think of good points, type them up (briefly if possible) in a Word document, and save the document in that file. You can go back and change it, add to it, or just refresh your memory on what you've already learned.
8) Lastly, accept that some of your projects will be long-term projects. I've been reading Dostoevsky's _Brother's Karamazov_ on and off over the past three years. It might sound absurd to take that long to read a book, but I've enjoyed it. I just read it once in a while when I have some time and feel like it (you have to be in the mood for Dostoevsky--not just any mood will do!). After I finish, I plan to read _Les Miserables_ the same way.
These are survival tactics I've learned in grad school, and I think they'll apply to those in the business world, too. Not that I follow this advice all the time, but I do to some extent, and it's really worked for me.
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