You Can Know Theology As Well As A Pastor
Teach me to seek You, and reveal Yourself to me as I seek, because I can neither seek You if You do not teach me how, nor find You unless You reveal Yourself. Let me seek You in desiring You; let me desire You in seeking You; let me find You in loving You; let me love You in finding You. — Saint Anselm of Canterbury (1033–1109), Proslogian
Saint Anselm of Canterbury, an 11th Century Bishop, wrote this beautiful prayer in his book entitled Proslogian. In this book, he seeks to provide a logical proof of the existence of God. He makes clear that his heart is to know God and to understand Him at a deeper level. Proving the existence of God through logic and philosophy is no small task and Saint Anselm’s argument is almost mind-boggling when one first reads it. He was not shy about seeking to understand God at the most complex level but was eager to do it. He did not settle to simply have faith in God but lived by the motto “Faith seeking understanding.” He knew he believed in God, but he wanted to understand Him as much as possible.
Saint Anselm’s passion for understanding God is inspiring, and his reason for pursuing God is more inspiring. It is clear from his prayer that Anselm doesn’t just want head-knowledge but heart knowledge too. He wants to know and understand God, but he also wants to desire God and love Him. His prayer was that, in knowing God, he would love Him, and, in loving God, he would know Him. Anselm realized that loving God and knowing God are not mutually exclusive.
One of the biggest struggles for American Christianity today is that we are both biblically and theologically illiterate. We don’t know the Bible nearly as much as our Christian ancestors, and we don’t know the truth about God as well as they did either. While it is clear that we have a desire to love God, we have distanced ourselves from the proper method of developing that love which is found in learning about God and growing in the knowledge of His Holy character.
One of the main reasons that I believe people are biblically and theologically illiterate is that many people believe that they are not capable of understanding God at a complex level. They have relegated “the hard questions” and “the deep studies” to the Christian pastors, theologians, and philosophers. They listen to sermons and think, “Wow! I could never understand the Bible so clearly like he does.” While it is true that pastors and theologians have been gifted and called by God to understand and teach the Scriptures, it does not mean that everyone else is relegated to ignorance of truth and dependence on pastors for the entirety of their spiritual diet. You have been created to know God, serve God, be in communion with God, and enjoy Him forever! You are made in the image of God and you can understand Him too! The good news is that the more you understand God, the more you love Him.
For the remainder of this article, I want to boost your confidence about why you should eagerly seek God, and then I want to give you some practical tips on how to grow in your knowledge of Him.
He Rewards Those That Earnestly Seek Him
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
Hebrews 11:6
In this passage, the author of Hebrews is giving his audience what has been called the “Hall of Faith.” It is a list of Old Testament heroes who were saved by faith in the Lord. In describing their salvation by faith, the author points out that it is impossible to please God without faith! In order to draw near to God, one must “believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek him.” It is clear that the author is speaking of salvation in this context, but the principle of God rewarding those who seek Him stands. When we diligently seek to know God, to love Him, and to please Him by faith, God rewards those people by revealing to them how to do just that! Abel knew the sacrifice he needed to give, Enoch knew the life he needed to live, Noah knew he needed to build an ark, Abraham knew he needed to obey God and leave his homeland, and so on and so forth. God reveals Himself and His plan to those who have faith!
When we diligently seek to know God and understand Him on a deeper level, God does not draw back. Instead, God rewards those who seek Him! Stand confident knowing that God desires to reveal Himself to you. He wants you to know His will, His character, His attributes, and His Holy Word. When any one of God’s children seeks to know Him more, God will reveal Himself to us. We just have to be full of faith and willing!
How Do I Go About Learning About God?
If God rewards those who earnestly seek Him, the next question is, “How do I seek Him?” There are a number of ways that we can practically seek God and learn more about Him. Thankfully, we live in the age of information. The internet has provided us with a vast amount of resources and tools to better understand the Scriptures and learn more about God. Listed below are a few ways you can learn more about the Christian faith:
Read the Bible and Go to Church - Okay, I figured I would go ahead and knock out the obvious answer. The Bible is the source of all truth about God, and there is faithful Bible preaching at church every single Sunday. Read your Bible and be at church!
Read Christian Books - There are a massive number of Christian books out there on any number of topics. There are simple books, complex theological books, commentaries on entire books of the Bible, and more. Here is my request to you: Challenge yourself. There are a number of easy-to-read Christian books out there that are more devotional in nature and stay at a surface level scripturally. While there is nothing wrong with this type of writing, it will not take you as deep as you would like to go. A few books to start you on your journey that I would recommend are Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, Knowing God by J.I. Packer, Three Spiritual Classics all by A.W. Tozer, and Hearing God by Nathan Finochio.
Listen to Podcasts - Podcasting is one of the best ways to learn more about any topic! Podcasts are unhindered by time constraints and allow for delivering information through interviews and conversations. Podcasts are great because you can listen to them in the car or while completing a task. If you need to take a break, you can always pause the podcast and come back to it later. My dad and I have a podcast called Let’s Talk About God that cover a range of theological subjects!
Watch YouTube - YouTube has thousands of hours of material on Christian subjects with the added value of getting to see what you’re listening to. There are entire sermon series, discussions, podcasts, visual demonstrations, and more on any topic. An excellent YouTube channel is The Ten Minute Bible Hour. There are excellent videos on how to read the Bible better as well as wonderful interviews of pastors and priests from other Christian traditions. Another great channel is Reasonable Faith led by the Apologist Dr. William Lane Craig. This channel is devoted to defending the Christian faith in a secular and post-Christian age.
Don’t Be Afraid to Ask the Hard Questions - Whenever I meet someone new, I immediately start asking them a lot of questions so that I can learn about them. It is true in life that the best way to learn about something is to ask questions and find answers. I encourage you to be observant in your Christian faith and ask really good questions. More than likely, there are some really good answers for your really good questions. Remember that the Christian faith is 2,000 years old. That means that there have been 2,000 years of Christians just like you seeking the Scriptures under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to answer difficult questions and find the truth. The more questions you ask, the more answers you get, and the more you grow in your knowledge and confidence of your faith.
Put It Into Practice
God has created all of humanity to intimately know Him and love Him. The more we know God, the more we begin to love Him. As you seek God, I believe that He will reveal Himself to you in greater ways than you could have imagined. I am believing that He is going to kindle a love and passion for Him that you have never felt before. Now, all you have to do is begin! Grab a book or find a podcast, and see what God shows you!
