• Intellectualising the Gospel

    September 17, 2008

    Over the course of my academic career and church life - ok - let me narrow that down to the past ten years, I have noticed that there is a trend to romanticise the clergy, whatever you call them - pastor, minister etc. We tend to hold these folks up as being the way we should live - and I think that on the whole, many of these folk are wonderful people, something tends to happen to many people that study theology, whether for a degree or for “ordination” - the gospel message and what it means tends to move from being heart felt to head felt. What do I mean by that?

    Well, this is not saying that it is common, but I have many friends and acquantices that I feel who have done this - taken the gospel, they know it inside and out, can quote scholars and verses, but the message, the central feel, the call to action or the love-motivation from following Jesus tends to become known very well in their heads but very little in their hearts. Oh sure, they are church goers and such, but sadly I feel that they have the knowledge and think that that is it, without putting that knowledge to use.

    It’s like having the core message - the simplicity of the love of God - covered, criticised, talked about, debated, ripped apart and put together again, and clouded by too much talk and thinking. I would call this a knowing the Gospel in the head but not the heart. And I fear that many of our churches today are producing clones of these people, who while they may not know the same as the PHD lead Pastor, intellectualise the Gospel to Sunday and the latest popular authors book - more than likely telling them that knowign Jesus will bless them financially!

    Enough!

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