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"Ordinary" People as Theologians
Posted on Thursday, June 28, 2007 at 8:49 AM by Jason Barker
Mike Aquilina has written an article about the need for modern Christians to be theologians (rather than leaving the study of theology exclusively to clergy and professional academics). As an example, he turns to St. Gregory of Nyssa and the Christians of the fourth century:
In the middle of the fourth century, St. Gregory of Nyssa gave in to a fit of complaint. Ordinary people, he said, were spending entirely too much time talking about theology. “Mere youths and tradesmen, off-hand dogmatists in theology, servants too, and slaves that have been flogged … are solemn with us and philosophical about things incomprehensible … If you ask for change someone philosophizes to you on the begotten and the unbegotten.”
And the problem followed poor Gregory all over the marketplace. If he asked the baker the price of his bread, he got Trinitarian doctrine instead. If he asked whether the bath was ready, he got still more speculation.
Gosh, times have changed. Not too long ago, a friend of mine ordered a Christmas cake to read “Happy birthday, Jesus,” and the baker asked her how that name was spelled.
Today we live with widespread doctrinal ignorance, and reading St. Gregory’s complaint can be irritating — like listening to a friend gripe about having too much money or a spouse who cooks too well.
We live in a time when theology is an esoteric academic discipline practiced by very few Christians and of little interest to the bakers and bankers.
Christians of the fourth century knew better.
Aquilina's point is not that St. Gregory was wrong to lament the prevalence of Arianism and the debate it inspired, but rather that there is a tremendous value for Christians to - in a phrase I heard (and used) many times as a Protestant - "know what you believe and why you believe it." As Aquilina says, "Theology is not just for the elites. It’s a basic life skill. St. Gregory himself knew this, and that’s why he wrote one of the Church’s first catechisms."
Aquilina is a Roman Catholic, and therefore a few of his specific references - e.g., EWTN - may be unfamiliar to Orthodox readers, but his article nonetheless makes a very good point for Orthodox Christians.
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