Thinking Theologically

What does it mean to think Theologically? To answer this short, to think theologically, one need to be a Theologian. Training will be good yet not necessary. Arcane is great but not the utmost duty. Balance is needed. Most of the time people says, don't study too much, you are going to be insane! However, the same problem arise and even worst, if we study only a little. We will lost in nowhere. Nonetheless, being a Theologian is not about studying the heavy stuff and have an academic credential for every Christians is all to be a theologian. Augustine is a theologian. Thomas Aquinas, Calvin and other great modern theologians are also theologians, including us. They are not "more-theologians" than lay Christian. Every Christians are also Theologian, journeying in the path of cross. Martin Luther says there are only two modes of being theologian as a Christian. Either one become Theologian of the Cross or Theologian of the Glory. Theologian of the cross as Luther presented was looking all things with the lens of suffering and the cross. They look the things of God as it is whereas the Theologian of the glory looking all things with the lens of the world. They have simplistic worldview about God. Although we understand Luther use "glory" in negative sense because his dialectical approach to the issue, we must' never allergic with the word Glory, for truly, we are created for glory as the Bible attested. The path of the cross is not opposed with the path of glory. Cross is the way and the process, glory is the end goal. Both are not meant to be in adversary! Apparently, the phrase "Thinking Theologically" is actually a tautology just like playing playfully. We cannot really separate Theology from the activity of thinking. Thinking is inscribed. To speak about Theology as a Theologian, one should think. Moving from here, as a Christian and yet at the same time theologian of the Cross-Glory there are three basics and characteristics for Theological Thinking we could explore:

1. Thinking with Faith Seeking Understanding 

Anselm, the great theologian of the past was credited as the person who first coined this term, Faith seeking understanding (Fides Quarens Intellectum). Faith here does not mean the knowledge about God only but at the deepest level is about the devotion for God. In other expression of Anslem in Proslogium, "I Pray, o God to know God, to love thee, that I may rejoice in thee." The implication of faith seeking understanding not need to be objectively verified to be valid; but to have a solid basis first in our thinking. Faith seeking understanding also a state whereby we approach everything with believing as primary lens or "The first Theology". First Theology set the dialectical tension between GOD-Scripture as Kevin Vanhoozer says, "Our view of Scripture affects our view of God, just as our view of God colors our view of the Scripture." Therefore, thinking Theologically means that one must be the people of the book (not in fundamentalist sense but Sola Scriptura) and presuppose the existence of God. Thinking with faith seeking understanding cannot think through God's absence because God never absence in objective sense. He always present. The dialectical thinking of God-Scripture hinder the puzzled questions we often asked about, Should Theologian begin with God or with the Word of God? Separating two means that we are using a reductionist lens to see things. We believe that God and His Word is true and seek the further understanding about Him and the world He created, not the other way round like sceptics who claim to doubt everything. Ironically, not including their skepticism!

2. Thinking with Trinitarian Perspectives.

To think Theologically is to think in Trinitarian Perspectives. If God is our first lens to see everything, then it must be trinitarian. To think in plurality and in unity because God the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit are all in mutual unity. This influence our way of thinking to consider not just general but also specific. Not through the means of deductive or inductive. The thought is the hybrid of both. The other way of thinking with Trinitarian perspective is to think in the way of love. The concepts of mutual indwelling and divine love overflow from the ontological Trinity. Love is the core. This give us an ultimate wisdom, that is to say to know something deep we need a degree of love. This is true about so many things. To know God is to love Him. To Know someone is to love someone. To know any particular subjects one need to love the subjects. Ancient Chinese philosopher from natural revelation grasp at least this idea of Trinitarian thinking, when they argue that every teacher need to make the student love the subject first before teaching them deeper. Last thing from trinitarian perspectives is to aware the limitation of thinking itself, there is a place for thing we call as "mystery". Mystery is not refer to something mystical nor something unclear as this remind a story of a teacher who come to Sherlock Holmes to ask his advice on how to teach critical thinking and Holmes reply, "Use Mystery and intrigue". Thinking Theologically (Mystery) means, we open for the dimension of the unknown. Mystery that "revitalize the heart" but also at the same time bewilder the rest of us as one writer put.

3. Thinking with Eschatological framework.

Life can only understood backward as Kierkegaard famously said. And it also the same about thinking. Therefore, eschatology is the basis of any theological thinking. Christ's resurrection kindled the eschatological hope and end goal, that is glory. If life is moving toward glory, we need to think in the light of that hope and telos. To think in every sense of the time, in everything that we do to bring the glory to God. Soli Deo Gloria. Eschatology bring the vision of God's future history to the present time. Of course, God's essential glory cannot be added. He is already perfect. However, his declarative glory can be further echoed through our head, heart, hand beside the nature and His created order. Thinking with eschatological framework of glory can have a liberation implication. Salvation is concrete. Salvation of sinner from the damnation of Hell is only one dimension. To preach the gospel and to think how to spread this message is important yet, the thought need to be applied in concrete life and political situation especially in dehumanizing society of our time. Gustavo Gutierrez the father of Liberation Theology in his book Liberation and Change says that "faith in God does not consist in asserting God's existence. but rather in acting on God's behalf." Eschatological age will be in climax in future time and we are already in the midst of process. Henry Nouwen put it right, Liberation theology do not think themselves  into a new way of living, but live themselves into the new way of thinking." The liberation thinking with the eschatological framework in mind is a clear aspect of thinking theologically, a new way of thinking that arise from the transformative experience of relating and knowing risen Lord.