Theology Thursday: Theology and Mindset

Theology as Speculative Knowledge
Thomas Aquinas argues, in the Summa, that sacred doctrine (theology) is not a practical science, but instead speculative*:

Every practical science is concerned with human operations; as moral science is concerned with human acts, and architecture with buildings. But sacred doctrine is chiefly concerned with God, whose handiwork is especially man. Therefore it is not a practical but a speculative science.

Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, trans. Fathers of the English Dominican Province (London: Burns Oates & Washbourne, n.d.).

I think that the distinction is important. For instance, even if Christianity is true, the “how-it-happened” of the atonement does not concern human action, but it is a topic that concerns God. Aquinas does note that theology does touch on elements of human action, but the primary object of sacred doctrine is God. Therefore it is not a practical science..

Theology and Mindset
Keeping that definition of theology in mind, I want to distinguish it from what I would call a Christian mindset. A mindset, as I’m using the term, is a group of attitudes and methods of thought somebody brings to their inner and outer circumstances.

This is important because it is easy (and important) to look at all of the Bible’s language about thinking and cognition and to infer that all of it refers to becoming theologically sound. The Bible’s language about such things most certainly is about ideas in many places. But it is also about an approach to life that is largely cognitive that has effects on our bodily habits. Think about it, if Romans 12:1-2 were solely about being theologically sound, then all people with theology and Bible degrees would be “transformed by the renewing of their minds.” I’m one of those people and as important as knowing the theology is, it is not the transforming thing. The theology (as a speculative ordering of what Scripture shows and philosophy attempts to know) is an important framework for a Christian mindset, but it clearly is not the same thing. Many saintly Christians only know very basic aspects of theology.

Examples
A Christian mindset involves several things. And do note that the Scripture cited below does include some theology, but the theology informs the mindset. It does not stop at knowledge, but goes into a process or thought. Features of a Christian mindset include:

1. A skeptical perspective on ones passions. See Romans 6 and Galatians 5 for more information.
2. A simultaneously hopeful point of view about people because in Christ there is always hope (2 Corinthians 5), while being certain that the human heart is deceitful above all else and people often have ill intent (John 2:24-25).
3. This one is hard to attain, but a joyful…even exploratory and adventurous approach to trials (James 2:2-4). Such an approach says of difficulties, “I wonder how this will help me learn endurance.” It is important to apply this one to yourself without telling other strugglers to “buck up, it’ll only teach you something.”
4. Over all, a Christian mindset is one of thankfulness to God for what Christ has done and taught. This can be difficult when Christ’s teachings contradict our deepest longings. But often times a doctor or personal trainers tells us exactly what we don’t want to do, but the result of doing it will make us happier in the long run…so we’re thankful and take the medicine and do the push-ups.

Conclusion:
Over all then, I think that it would be helpful to study the Bible not only in terms of theological propositions or to know the over all story of Scripture and the gospel, and not only to understand moral priorities, but also to understand the mindset necessary to inhabit that story and to practice the virtues and ethics contained therein. Without the right mindset it is difficult to imagine the theology or ethics having a major effect on ones life.

Final Questions
There are more element of a Christian mindset. There are also pieces of this puzzle to think about:

1. What is the relationship between a Christian mindset and ethics?
2. What is the relationship between a Christian mindset and saving faith?
3. What is the relationship between a Christian mindset and theological disagreement?

*Note: Aquinas’ isn’t the only game in town for defining theology. William Ames famously said, “Theology is the doctrine of living unto God.”