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The Creed
Faith Seeking Understanding
Thesis
Christian theology is a communicative practice of faith seeking understanding, in response to the Word of the Triune God accompanied by the Holy Spirit.
Learning Objectives
After learning the material in the introduction and this chapter, you should be able to:
- Define briefly the key terms introduced here (marked with an asterisk and included in the glossary).
- List and recognize the following: (a) David Bebbingtonâs four characteristics of evangelicalism; (b) two elements of Christian faith; (c) four theological contexts.
- Describe and compare the following: (a) four basic views of general revelation; (b) four periodsâ approaches to special revelation.
- Identify and illustrate the relationships and distinctions between the following: (a) four sources for theology; (b) five theological disciplines.
- Explain the following: (a) the contrast between Christian and modern views of faith and reason; (b) the complexity of selecting relevant biblical texts and synthesizing their theological implications for contemporary questions; (c) the holistic nature of theology as faith seeking understanding.
The Letter to the Romans offers Exhibit A of this chapterâs theme: Christian theology is faith seeking understanding. Romans provides the Bibleâs most orderly account of the gospel. Yet the letter remains pastoral, not a modern âsystematicâ theology. Paul presents his gospel in an effort to reconcile Jewish and gentile Christians while gaining support for missionary travels to Spain. The âRomans Roadâ of chapters 1â8 heads toward chapters 9â11 as the gateway to its practical destination in chapters 12â16. Prompted by faith, pursuing pastoral encouragement (Rom. 1:12), Paul provides theological understanding.
Paulâs Romans road is paved by Isaiah, which, along with Deuteronomy and Psalms, preoccupies New Testament citations of the Old Testament. Isaiah advances the biblical gospel: looking back to the grandeur of creation and the tragedy of the fall, as embodied in Israel; looking forward to a new creation, another redeeming exodus. Through Godâs ultimate Servant the redemption of Israel, Godâs unfaithful servant, would fully reveal the identity of *YHWHâthe Sovereign Creator who formed a saving covenant with Israel, and before whom every knee will finally bow. Romans echoes Isaiah when Paul says he is not âashamedâ of the gospel (Rom. 1:16; e.g., Isa. 54:3â5), which reveals Godâs righteousness promoting faith (Rom. 1:17).
In the background is the story of Ahaz, an unfaithful descendant of King David who refused to believe that God would defend Judah. Instead, Ahaz made a disobedient foreign alliance. As a sign of Godâs judgment over Ahaz and Israelâs eventual deliverance, Isaiah 7:14 announced a special child: âImmanuel,â God with us. Prior to that announcement, God told Ahaz, âIf you will not believe, surely you will not be established,â or, as Augustine (354â430) read in Latin, âUnless you believe, you shall not understandâ (Isa. 7:9). Christian theology as âfaith seeking understandingâ echoes the story of Ahazâs downfall and the Christ-centered hope that followed. Ahaz was not established in Godâs blessing because he did not trust Godâs promise. Refusing to hear God, he was misled by apparent signs of his time. By contrast, faith is the impetus behind all Christian theology: trusting Godâs Word enough to seek fuller understanding of its perennial meaning and present significance. Without exercising faith, we cannot rightly hear the Word by which to know God; without seeking understanding, like Ahaz we twist Scripture to line up with whatever delusional âfaithâ we have in the world or ourselves.
The present chapter examines more carefully the shape of Christian beliefâwhat it means for faith to seek theological understanding. This chapter addresses *prolegomena: the first words with which theology indicates how it will proceed from faith toward understanding. In faith we hear Godâs speech; in seeking we prayerfully contemplate the sources of this divine revelation; in pursuit of understanding we practice theological disciplines.
Faith: Hearing Godâs Speech
Faith comes by hearing (Rom. 10:17)âhearing divine revelation, its âtheological counterpart.â In Scripture, hearing and obeying overlap enough that hearing is a metaphor for obedience. Beyond bare listening, biblical hearing begins the journey of trusting and obeying God. By modern times, however, ârevelationâ became a source of knowledge in the philosophical senseâone alternative among others, such as reason or observation. Soon revelation seemed like a doubtful source when compared to what people could see and what science could produce. God, humans, and the natural world became competitors in a winner-take-all contest: rather than hearing God speak through creaturely realities, many âWesternâ people came to think that revelation threatens their integrity, reducing them to puppets. Revelation appeared rational only if it lost its specifically Christian God and pointed to generic âreligiousâ experience. Reason became a universal human project, claiming to be as neutral as possible. By proclaiming divine intervention in history, today Christian faith may seem irrational.
Personal Knowledge
Yet Christian *faith is âfirm and certain knowledge of Godâs benevolence toward us.â Faith is a personal form of knowledge: knowledge, because Godâs benevolence has a meaningful history; personal, because we apprehend Godâs benevolence toward us. Hence Christian faith involves both the public truth of Godâs speechââthe faithââand the personal response of trust and loyalty. Faith as trust relates the future to the past: biblical faith anticipates, based on a history of faithfulness, the fulfillment of Godâs gracious promises (Heb. 11:1, 6). Faith as loyalty relates the past and future to the present: biblical faith responds to Godâs self-communication over time, expressing itself in obedient love (Rom. 1:5; Gal. 5:6; James 2).
Accordingly, faith involves the whole personâintellect (belief), affections (confidence), and will (trusting loyalty). Its characteristic posture is prayer, calling on the Lordâs name (Rom. 10:9â13). Such prayer is trinitarian: the Spirit prompts believers to call on God as Father with confidence that in Jesus Christ they are beloved children (Rom. 8:14â17). Genuine prayer includes being broken over sin and seeking the *shalomâpeaceful flourishingâof all creation. In calling for repentance, the Old Testament prophets establish the proper connection between faith and love: good works are an expression of faith, not a condition of Godâs favor, yet genuine faith includes grief over sin. Persisting in idolatry and injustice eventually raises this question: Are such âbelieversâ really calling on the Lord with trust and loyalty?
Faith seeks understanding because believers await the unseen fulfillment of Godâs promises. Tensions inevitably arise between faith and modern reasoning, which operates by sight. Believers cannot avoid dealing with the way the world currently runs, since divine revelation addresses all the relationships defining our livesânot only communion with God but also harmony with other humans and the rest of creation. Thus, Christian theology cannot give up the connection between divine revelation and human reason, as if God communicates only inner experiences or ideas with no implications for the rest of life. Yet Godâs self-communication involves particular actions in creation and salvation, beyond what human reason could figure out on its own. Because seeing is not yet fully believing, to know the True Way of Life we must listen to Godâs Word, led by Godâs Spirit.
Tensions between faith and modern reason tempt theologians to treat âprolegomenaâ as nontheological words spoken before beginning to do theology. Sometimes âapologeticsâ among Protestants and âfundamental theologyâ among Catholics become nontheological prolegomena. These approaches try to demonstrate theologyâs intellectual credibility according to external methods and standards. Instead, truly Christian theology begins by faith and seeks to understand the gospelâs distinctive logic and divine mystery. Prolegomena must be the first theological words in doing theology. Theological prolegomena seek initial clarity about the proper response of rational creatures to divine revelation. Prolegomena articulate what conditions enable, and which criteria settle, Christian teaching. These prolegomena already introduce the Triune Godâs perfect character and gracious action. Godâs actions in creation and redemption speak volumes; Godâs words are living and active.
Divine Self-Disclosure
*Revelation is Godâs self-disclosureâcommunication to establish communion with us. Revelation is âthe eloquence of divine action.â This eloquence echoes at various times and places from creation until the completion of redemption. God has spoken to everyone in some ways, and to particular people in special ways, which Scripture records to share with others. Hence divine revelation goes beyond the eloquence of all divine activity; as the Creed claims in its third article, God the Holy Spirit has spoken specifically âthrough the prophets.â This book does not fully address the revelatory authority of Scripture until a later chapter, when it returns to the Holy Spiritâs work in detail. For now, *communicative action offers a helpful concept for integrating revelation with the rest of Godâs activity: Godâs speech actively establishes covenant relationship with us, while this saving activity communicates what God is like. Hearing the good news of Godâs mighty grace is at the heart of understanding divine self-revelation.
This revelation addresses two barriers to knowing God: finitude and fallenness. *Finitude means that human beings have inherent limits that render us incapable of knowing the Infinite God on our own. The Creator graciously condescends to speak with us. God condescended initially by creating us with capacities for fellowship, as bearers of the divine image. Now, having fallen, humans have rendered themselves incapable of truly knowing and representing the Creator. Although God eloquently condescends, we refuse to listen and fail to understand. Hence the fullness of Godâs self-disclosure involves our salvation. The Holy Spirit helps us to hear Godâs Word in Jesus Christ, interrupting our self-destruction and interpreting Godâs work on our behalf.
Seeking: Contemplating Godâs Revelation
Human finitude and fallenness partially correspond to the widespread distinction between âgeneralâ and âspecialâ divine revelation. So-called *general revelation focuses on Godâs self-disclosure in the gracious activity of creating and providentially sustaining the cosmos. Created to bear Godâs image, humans have a calling to represent God in the world. This calling opens us to divine self-communication and obligates us to obey divine commands. *Special revelation addresses our need to know God as Redeemer, not just Creator, through the Spiritâs ministry of the Word at particular times and places. For humans have failed to hear Godâs speech in faith and to represent God in loving obedience. After the fall, God must not only unveil the divine character but also remove the veil covering our eyes. Sinful humans often seek to fill a God-shaped void in their hearts, but they stumble around blindly until the Light of the world shines upon them.
âGeneralâ Revelation in Creation
The physical world, the cycles and flow of history, personal conscience, cultural expression, social ordersâtraditionally understood, these may somehow be vehicles of general revelation. But modern debates emerged about how the Christian understanding of God should specifically relate to broader theism. Thus, current approaches to general r...