I loved my time in Bible college and seminary. There is nothing worth studying more than studying about God. I loved every second of it. As you study, most of your theology professors tell you there are primary issues, secondary issues, and probably even tertiary issues.
An example of a primary issue is the divinity of Christ. Scripture contains miracles, examples, statements, and descriptions proclaiming that Jesus is truly and fully God. On the other hand, whether Scripture teaches that you should sprinkle babies or only baptize believers is not as certain. There are godly and wise theologians on both sides of that issue. Now a tertiary issue would be something like whether or not Jesus made non-alcoholic wine at the wedding at Cana. There’s just a tiny percentage of people arguing for that one.
One interesting thing I’ve noticed amongst many of my theology professors is that they act like some issues are 100% certain when really, they’re just over 50% sure. I guess I picture their understanding of theology as being like pushing a round stone up a mountain. If they push it over the top, then the stone rolls all the way down to the other side. But, if they try to push it to the summit and it fails to reach, then the stone comes tumbling back down. This way they’re always completely sure what is true or not. The theology either crosses the threshold of truth or fails to reach the criteria. This is not how I think about theology. I think of like a horizontal bar graph. When I’m 90% sure on something, I don’t suddenly become 100% sure because it’s more likely than not. Likewise, if I think something is highly unlikely and maybe only has a 10% chance of being true, that doesn’t mean there’s no way it’s true. It’s means there’s a 10% chance it’s true!
For instance, I’m 93% sure actually that it’s supposed to be believer’s baptism and that sprinkling babies doesn’t do anything. But there’s a 7% chance I’m wrong and that my reformed friends are right on that one. 93% is really sure, but I don’t say I’m completely sure. I personally think the Scriptural evidence is pretty strong. Some might even call it overwhelming. But that doesn’t mean I’m sure beyond a shadow of a doubt. I think it actually hurts our credibility to be more certain than we should be. If we are equally as sure about fundamental doctrinal issues as we are about denominational differences, it allows outsiders such as Muslims and atheists to claim we are completely divided. Perhaps even worse, it allows theological cults such as Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses to slip in and pretend they’re just one of the crowd because we don’t clearly identify the issues that we as Christians are 100% about compared to the doctrines that we’re pretty sure or even just kinda sure about.
I think nothing drives me more nuts than those that are a 100% sure in areas such as eschatology. We do not have enough info on the End Times from Scripture to be 100% sure, and when we are, we don’t show enough grace to the “other side” and confuse everyone on how to interpret Scripture. I’m fine if you are 99.9% sure but be open to the one in a thousand chance you are wrong. Hopefully that keeps you appropriately humble, helps you respect the opposing view, and maybe keeps you studying Scripture to see if it moves up to 99.99% or even down to 99.8% sure.
So just for fun, here is a few random percentages on my theological surety.
Deity of Christ – 100% sure
Humanity of Christ – 100% sure
Believer’s Baptism – 93% sure
Jesus made non-alcoholic wine at Cana – 2% sure
Jesus physically returns one day – 100% sure
There’s a 7-year tribulation followed by a 1,000-year reign of Christ – 88% sure
Jesus raptures His church before the start of the tribulation – 54% sure
Speaking in tongues is an angelic language and happening today – 13% sure
The earth is 6,000-10,000 years old – 67% sure
The Nephilim are half-human, half-demon – 23% sure
Salvation is by grace through faith alone – 100% sure
Which theological percentage do you wish I would have shared? Comment and I’ll share my thoughts.
Joe Allotta 