What does it look like to take faith seriously? Christian bookshops are stacked at this time of year with devotionals as presents for growing Christians, but do they grow all Christians? Not everyone feels full after the experience. If you’re a person who finds devotionals don’t do much for you, consider this confession from C. S. Lewis, “I believe that many who find that “nothing happens” when they sit down, or kneel down, to a book of devotion, would find that the heart sings unbidden while they are working their way through a tough bit of theology with a pipe in their teeth and a pencil in their hand.”

So, pencil in hand (pipe left behind in the past), let’s explain two key terms as we enter Bray’s meaty book: theology; and doctrine. Stay with me, because they’re not as scary as they sound.

What is “theology”?

Simply put, theology is thinking God’s thoughts after him. You don’t need a theology degree to be a theologian. Tradies, mums and kids are all theologians when they read or hear God’s words in the Bible and think and talk about what it means. Theology done well helps us to live rightly in light of the gospel. Theology affects not just our heads, but our hearts and hands and naturally includes sharing the gospel, the life saving message of friendship with God (Such good news!) with people in our workplaces, playgrounds and households. “Grow[ing] in the knowledge of God which is our theology…[we] use that knowledge both to glorify him and to bear witness to him in the world.” (Bray p. 91)

What is “doctrine” or “systematic theology”?

Doctrine is a way of answering the big questions of the Christian faith. Doctrine helps categorise, or pull together different topics to see what the Bible’s whole teaching tells us. It’s quite tricky to do well which is why it’s helpful to use a trusted guide like Bray. One of the principles of doing doctrine well is maintaining Biblical proportions. This means that if the Bible doesn’t say too much on a particular area, it’s best not to try to mount a huge case about it because you don’t have a lot of evidence to build with.

All Footnotes Used Are The Bible

One of the really cool things about this very fat book is that the only footnotes you’ll find in it are from the Bible. Bray explores big questions using only the Bible as much as possible as his answer following the principle that, “The Bible is a book for believers who appreciate it's teaching and respond to it because in it they hear the voice of the Lord speaking to them.” (Bray p. 53)

The effect is that it makes you realise that the Bible - God’s unshakable word, Jesus says, “Heaven and earth will pass away but my words will never pass away.” (Matthew 24:35) - is robust enough to answer the questions you throw at it. And where it can’t, Bray helpfully shows how perhaps we’re getting stuck on the wrong things, “Theology is a call to intellectual humility. It leaves us with paradoxes that cannot be fully resolved and questions to which there is no clear answer.” (Bray p.82)

Going Deeper

Doctrine expresses rich truths about our Christian faith. Mark Thompson, Principal of Moore Theological College says, “It’s a bit like wandering through a large richly furnished mansion. The rooms take a good while to explore and there's lots of interesting objects and portraits to take notice of as you go from room to room.” It made me think of the rooms in the royal apartments in the Louvre in Paris. It takes a while to take everything in. You can't just zoom through, you need to stop a while and explore.

For as you walk through the Royal Apartments of the Christian faith you’ll find in each room displayed a different and no less glorious way of viewing the gospel. For all doctrines are really different ways of viewing the gospel. Bray asks with each chapter, Have you thought about what the gospel means from the perspective that all have rejected God’s love? Or what about over here, have you considered what the gospel means from the perspective that God has spoken? Have you sat and wondered what the gospel means from the perspective that there is one God in three persons?

I hope I’ve got you excited to pick up this book and go in search of the questions you’ve longed to explore more of. I hope you stay a while and pray and chew on Bray’s ideas and do look up those footnotes.

Meet our contributor

Katie loves books, baking and beaches and finds the Christmas season a great time to get into all three! She leads a Bible Study at her local Anglican church in Leichhardt. She teaches the Bible at two local High schools and enjoys hearing what teenagers think about Jesus. She is studying at Moore College.

God is Love by Gerald Bray