Years ago I heard a well-known Christian radio host say, “I am not a theologian, but…” I thought to myself, here’s this guy who is on the radio talking about matters of family, church and Bible, and he says, “I am not a theologian.” Really?
It made me think, what is a theologian?
Wikipedia discourses at length about the evolution of the term theology from its Greek roots. While English still retains the original Greek meaning of rational study of the nature of God, it is more commonly used in the sense of rational study of Christian teaching.
I still use Webster’s New World Dictionary published in 1972. The definition of theologian in that that dictionary is “a student or authority on theology.” And the first definition it has for theology is “the study of God and of religious doctrines and matters of divinity.” Putting the two together, someone who is a student of God and matters of divinity can be called a theologian.
In that broader sense, I think any of us who seek to understand God better might be called a theologian. I don’t have any formal training as a theologian. I am not a professional theologian. I don’t consider myself an authority or expert on theology. But I am still a theologian in the sense that I want to know God better, and talk about Him with other seekers. So the term lay theologian should be descriptive enough.
The Quartz Hill School of Theology says “Everyone who reads the Bible or even thinks about God has contrived a theology of some sort.” Many people may not have read the Bible, but who hasn’t thought about God? I guess that means all of us are lay theologians in some sense.
Will you join me as lay theologians as I use these blogs to wrestle with the nature of God and how that impacts events our daily life?