The above was written by a good friend of mine. We'll just call him by his initials JH. He wrote in response to finding out what my doctrine's test covered. What would life be like if we took some of these ideas and applied them to other areas of study.

forget the mumbo jumbo

Let's say we are talking about pharmacy. You are reading a text book, or looking at a chart. It starts to sound really complex because they are using a lot of big words. I get annoyed an just say, give it to me straight - what's going on? If we boil it down to the basics, the answer may be you need to take these pills because you are sick. Would you really understand what was going on and how the medicine was attacking the illness? No you wouldn't. Would it be just as effective - yes.

Why can't people interested in theology look for the answer to how God does things? It can be done in a way that is firmly rooted in the word - not a magical, philosophical scholarly air. For example, in my test i quoted Scripture 52 times in 6 pages worth of explanation. Did it sound scholary? Probably. Was I teaching straight from the Word of God ? Damn right I was.

the day i willfully pay some dude to take my faith and make it all high and mighty and academic is the day i piss on my bible

And what is wrong with making the journey to understand faith an academic endevor? I dont' see anything. I desire to be like the Bereans who were "examining the scriptures daily to see if these things were so." (Acts 17:11). Studying Scripture systematically helps ensure that there is a balance when emphasizing complementary doctrines (like Christ's deity and humanity, or God's Love and his Justice). We have to study theology if we are to fulfill the commandment given in Matt 28:19-20 "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations...teaching them to observe all that i have commanded you..." How can we teach what God had commanded if we don't know it??? We can't!

can't we all just love Jesus and have done with it?

Please define Jesus. Do you mean Jesus the God, or Jesus the Man. the Jesus who was only a spirit w/o physicality or the baby Jesus who never grew up? Maybe you meant the Jesus with a human body, but not a human mind. I hope i have made my point. There are almost an infinite number of views of Jesus. In fact, that is where most cults or heresy's get started. They deny one of the essential truths of him That he was both God and Man at the same time in one person. We need to study theology to have a right understanding of who the Jesus of the Bible really was.

I'll get off my soap box now - Leave a message if you want