The reading of TOO many books leads to Systematic Theology

When I allowed people to speak in the Church I used to Pastor or in any other ministry I have been directing I always tell them the same thing. DO NOT READ A BOOK AND COME TO TELL US WHAT YOU JUST READ. I am convinced that much bad preaching, bad teaching and bad discipleship practice comes from trying to put God in a 6X9 box called a book.

I do read Christian Books, I do go to the local Christian bookstore. But, I only will buy a book and read it with care. I avoid reading most alleged Christian Books. I am not impressed by a Pastor who has a huge library. Many times he hasn't had an original thought in years. He regurgitates what he heard or read. He doesn't allow a download from the Spirit of God because he trusts in the devils capacity to deceive him more than he trusts Gods ability to open a part of Scripture, reveal His grand creation, amplify the interaction with others or recieve an "aha" of fresh oil of revelation.

I loved this from Aaron Telian's blog today:

When a society trained to daily planners, traffic signals, and meticulously labeled microwave popcorn encounters religion, the results are somewhat predictable. They rush into it, chop it up, sort it down, file it alphabetically, and sit back pleased at their splendid spirituality. But all is not well.

We are, despite widespread sentiment about "not putting God in a box," quite willing to put Him in a spreadsheet. Like the jolly stupid Hobbits of the Shire, who "liked to have books filled with things they already knew, set out fair and square with no contradictions," we line our bookshelves with pompous hardbacks about simple things like the Trinity. We have more cross-references than crosses.

I haven't yet met a systematic theology that hasn't become a sodden substitution for a life of faith and a respect for the unpredictability (or even inconsistency) of God. If we are still debating these things after 2000 years, is it possible that we're missing the point? It certainly begs the question.

Theology, etymologically, is simply the study of God. We do this when we seek His face, read His word, and discuss His attributes with others. I have to wonder if "Systematic" Theology is something of a mirage, if not an outright contradiction in terms.

If I sound biased, it may be because I am. I have not, however, completely denied the potential existence of a comprehensive creed that takes into account the vagueness and volatility of real life. God certainly endowed us (well, some of us,) with a passion for organizing things. I'm just not sure he included Himself in the list, that is, as something to be "organized." One does not "organize" a lover, or a hero; they adore them

It is difficult to contain or quantify things that are dynamic and alive. It seems to me that this is the case with Christianity. It's going places. It's doing things. It's like a butterfly specimen: you can't pin it down without killing it.

What impresses me most is that Aaron is a very young man. Only 1/3rd my age. How in the world did this profound insight come. OR, is this a harbinger of the thinking we old guys in the church will have to deal with in the future? We are in for a change and it's not at all what it was the last 500 years in the Church.

I for one am glad. The essence is: One does not "organize" a lover, or a hero; they adore them.