Useful Theology

What useful has theology taught us that we did not already know?

Originally posted by 667joe
What useful has theology taught us that we did not already know?

how to avoid loaded questions like the above!

You already knew that!

Originally posted by 667joe
You already knew that!

Lol, no. i didn't know anything before theology! theology has taught me everything, and i shall tell you why, please try to discern the intent of this scripture.

(1 Corinthians 2:14) . . .But a physical man does not receive the things of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot get to know them, because they are examined spiritually.

it is not in any way elitist as some have claimed, but a simple statement of fact. To deny the divine element leads to all sorts of misgivings.

Doing wrong leads to misgivings, and it belittles your intellect to say you would not know right from wrong without the help of god.

Originally posted by robbie carrobie
Lol, no. i didn't know anything before theology! theology has taught me everything, and i shall tell you why, please try to discern the intent of this scripture.

(1 Corinthians 2:14) . . .But a physical man does not receive the things of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot get to know them, because they are examined ...[text shortened]... , but a simple statement of fact. To deny the divine element leads to all sorts of misgivings.

I prefer the following:

(3 Mannions 4:65) ... And there shall, from time to time, arise people who speak absolute crap. And you shall deny them, and be joyous, and party with lots of different sorts of foods and many fine fabrics on the tables. And if you don't have lots of different foods and fabrics you shall be stoned to death. For this is the word of the Lord ...

Originally posted by 667joe
What useful has theology taught us that we did not already know?

How to stay "good" and in our little pidgeonholes.😛

Again, you already know that. In fact, dogs can be good, and they never studied the bible.

Originally posted by 667joe
Doing wrong leads to misgivings, and it belittles your intellect to say you would not know right from wrong without the help of god.

no it does not belittle my intellect, for the verse has nothing to do with intellect and besides i do not hold megalomania in very high regard! the point that you are missing is that scripture helps us to transcend ourselves. for example we may not be naturally self sacrificing, but given to selfishness and meism, how would one know that this was not the course of wisdom if one does not examine scripture? it is not possible to see ourselves as others see us, therefore how is it possible? By peering into the perfect law of God,

(James 1:23-25) . . .this one is like a man looking at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself, and off he goes and immediately forgets what sort of man he is. But he who peers into the perfect law that belongs to freedom and who persists in it, this man, because he has become, not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, will be happy in his doing it.

Originally posted by amannion
I prefer the following:

(3 Mannions 4:65) ... And there shall, from time to time, arise people who speak absolute crap. And you shall deny them, and be joyous, and party with lots of different sorts of foods and many fine fabrics on the tables. And if you don't have lots of different foods and fabrics you shall be stoned to death. For this is the word of the Lord ...

thank you, you have unwittingly given credence to the scripture, for you have not examined it spiritually, cannot get the sense of it, and therefore it is foolishness to you. better than i could have possibly hoped for, thanks so much.

Originally posted by 667joe
What useful has theology taught us that we did not already know?

This is dependent on what you or the reader finds to be "useful".

This depends on what you define as previously not known at a given time line point.

Try again.

Originally posted by robbie carrobie
no it does not belittle my intellect, for the verse has nothing to do with intellect and besides i do not hold megalomania in very high regard! the point that you are missing is that scripture helps us to transcend ourselves. for example we may not be naturally self sacrificing, but given to selfishness and meism, how would one know that this was n ...[text shortened]... se he has become, not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, will be happy in his doing it.

Dogs are often very unselfish yet they can't even read. If people require the bible to be unselfish, it must mean dogs are smarter than people.

Originally posted by 667joe
Again, you already know that. In fact, dogs can be good, and they never studied the bible.

I think you are extremely ignorant of what theology actually entails. Theology is quite a lot more than scripture study and ethics. In Christianity, it encompasses many other subjects such as ecclesiology (what constitutes the church), spirituality and mystic theology (how people interface with God), sacramental theology (how God works through the sacraments), Patristics (what the early church fathers taught), and many other subjects. In many higher academic institutions, theology is very clearly distinguished from scripture and ethics as a subject in its own right. In pontifical institutes (Catholic universities which have papal approval), there is a licenciate for Scripture in contradistinction to the licenciate of theology.

As for its usefulness, this might be hard to appreciate for some especially when they do not understand what it actually is. In many ways, it is useful because it can protect ordinary people from primitive thought. It can stop fundamentalist interpretations of the Bible and present a much more reasonable picture of religious faith. In an age of religious conflict, it is also important to understand other religious traditions so as to avoid misunderstanding and possible enmity.

Originally posted by 667joe
Dogs are often very unselfish yet they can't even read. If people require the bible to be unselfish, it must mean dogs are smarter than people.

Dogs can also be very aggressive and dangerous. They can be unpredictable and suddenly attack young children. While they might be good pals to their owners sometimes, they are hardly exemplars of a good moral life. Secondly, dogs, even if they do behave morally, hardly do so reflectively. They do so without any deliberation, acting purely on instinct. How that could be called moral behaviour, I don't know. And thirdly, I there is quite a blatant chauvinism behind your remarks: people who do not behave morally must be dumb.

Originally posted by robbie carrobie
thank you, you have unwittingly given credence to the scripture, for you have not examined it spiritually, cannot get the sense of it, and therefore it is foolishness to you. better than i could have possibly hoped for, thanks so much.

No Probs. Happy to help.
If you need more, just dial 1800-Avoid-The-Crap ...