In J. I. Packer’s 1973 classic Knowing God, he points out that “ignorance of God-ignorance both of his ways and of the practice of communion with him-lies at the root of much of the church’s weakness today.” The ignorance to which Packer refers is first and foremost theological. To some, the term theology evokes images of scholasticism and ivory tower elitism with little practical use. However, the science of theology is simply the organized and systematic study of God. Every Christian is called to know God and if we deny that responsibility then we deny what it means to be Christian. Therefore every Christian is to be a theologian in the strictest sense of the word.
I think many in the American church know God in the same way they know the president-they know some facts about him, where he lives, what he does, and so on-but they do not have a relational knowledge of the actual person who is president. This could be described as a cultural theology. A biblical theology is more akin to the relationship between a child and a good parent. The child in this sense has a much more intimate knowledge that, through time and maturation, transmits the character and expectations of the parent. Experience only confirms this knowledge, producing trust, which in turn fosters obedience.
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