If the average man is going to be interested in Christ at all, it is the dogma that will provide the interest. The trouble is that, in nine cases out of ten, he has never been offered the dogma. What he has been offered is a set of technical theological terms that nobody has taken the trouble to tranlate into language relevant to ordinary life.
These are the words of Dorothy Sayers from Creed or Chaos? The richness and depth of her words are a challenge to Christendom today. I cannot help but to savor the truth of her message, because I know first hand the relevance of doctrine-dogma-to the ordinary life. I also know, first hand, how theological foundations have been deemed irrelevant to the work of many in ministry today, especially women.
Sayers says of man (and woman), "Unless he believes rightly, there is not the faintest reason why he should believe at all." In 1997, during a time of hopelessness, I asked why I should care to believe Christianity above anything else. I was seeking truth, I was seeking God.
I don't know who will ever see this blogpost. Likely 2 or 3 will read it and it will then disappear into the vast wasteland of internet chatter. My hope is, especially, for women in ministry everywhere to recognize the importance of doctrine for their ordinary life, and the lives of the women to whom they minister. I hope the Women of Faith and the Extraordinary Women organizations move forward with ministry that cares not to promote compartmentalization, but will show the relevancy of doctrine to the every day lives of women. I'm not so proud to believe that this post will accomplish this feat, but heck, it's a start.
A new and dear friend recently said to me "I don't know what it is with this rush to application" because, she continued, "you've got to have something to apply!"
No comments:
Post a Comment