Currently I have just begun a new class in church history focusing on the Reformation through the present. As I have been studying church history over the last few months I have been pondering the theological shifts that have taken place over the last two thousand years. It is amazing to reflect upon all the battles that were fought, councils that were convened, and theological storms that were weathered to get us to where we are today in terms of our theology and ecclesiology. One of the things that has struck me as I look back upon the shifts that have taken place is how it has drawn me to humility as I think about my own theological convictions. (Does this smack of Emergent type thinking? Is so, then so be it…am I Emergent? No. ) Should I presume that I have a complete understanding that is free from errors and void of the need for correction? I think there were days in my early 20’s when I pretty much thought that I had all the answers. Need to understand the great mysteries of suffering and sovereignty? Just check in with your gangly, redheaded neighbor and he’ll bring you up to speed. Today I think I have mostly the same convictions, but I realize that we are on a theological journey over the course of centuries and what brings us to where we are today will not be where we are in the next three hundred years. God’s revelation of his truth has been shaped and articulated by God-fearing leaders all through the course of history and will continue until Jesus returns. This understanding has me grasping for more humility as I hold firmly to my theological convictions, all the while realizing that when I pass from this life, the ending of my journey theological will probably will probably just be the starting points for others.
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