Testing Theology

It is my observation (limited as it may be) that the truthfulness and validity of any point of theology in a religion is based primarily upon its derivation from the source it holds to be authoritative. In the case of Christianity (the religion with which I am most familiar) the authoritative source is the Christian Bible. If a point of theology can be sourced from the Bible, then it is assumed to be true.

That said, there are many ways of reading and interpreting the Bible and this, of course, leads to theological points held by different peoples and groups that are in contradiction to one another. That brings me to my question:

Is there a “test” that can be employed to determine if a particular point of theology is true or false?

I suggest that there is one. Even though theology is not science in the usual sense of the word, I believe it is possible and necessary to bring in processes and principles that are used in the social sciences, which are used to establish sufficient evidences to support the truthfulness of hypotheses in those fields.

Since controlled studies are sometimes difficult, if not impossible, in social sciences, what is often done are observational studies that take two events and determine a level of correlation between the two. The major problem with this type of study is that causation cannot be determined. It can be inferred, but it cannot be proven. But still, there is value in understanding that the two share a close relationship.

Might we be able to do the same thing with theology? I believe we can, and must. Does a particular point of theology correlate strongly to certain behaviors and attitudes? Because it does not prove causation, we may not know for certain if it is the behaviors and attitudes that lead a person or group to hold to a particular point of theology, or the other way around. But what I believe we can say is that if a particular set of negative behaviors and attitudes correlate to a certain point of theology, the truthfulness of that point of theology is in doubt. It really doesn’t matter if it is theology that leads to behavior, or vice versa: it is unhelpful in either case.

What happens when a point of theology is determined to be under question? There are a number of options. First, it may just be completely false; a lie. Or, it may be that the underlying reasoning to arrive at theology is flawed. Or, perhaps the interpretation of the text is wrong? Or, the text is no longer applicable. There may be other options. The important thing is to let go of bibliolatry (i.e., making the text a god) and let some of the other faculties (that God uses; e.g., our minds, our experiences) to help inform us about what is true.^1,2,3,4,5

Here are some signs that I believe point to unhelpful and false theologies: theologies that are used to excuse or accommodate abuse, control, force, violence, fear, hate, manipulation, over-emphasis on individual salvation, over-emphasis on end-times, over-emphasis on “getting to heaven”.

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¹Job is a Bible character who reasoned and argued his position and beliefs about God against what his “friends” were arguing.

²Abraham argued with the Lord about the proposed action against Sodom, because what he [Abraham] knew and had experienced with God contradicted what he was about to do. (Genesis 18:22-33)

³Luke 10:27, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” (ESV)

⁴1 Thessalonians 5:21, “But test everything; hold fast what is good.” (ESV)

⁵Matthew 7:15-23; verse 20, “Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.” (ESV)