I was reading a book the other night by the contemporary theologian/philosopher John Zizioulas who depends for his theology heavily on the Cappadocian Fathers, three guys who lived in the fourth century in what is modern-day Turkey. Why? You ask? Why was I reading this book? Three reasons: 1. I rely heavily on him for my understanding of the Trinity. 2. I am using his writings in my dissertation. 3. I am springboarding off his thought for my series this Advent, titled, Christmas Mission Impossible.
Anyway, back to my original question: Do you care what old dead guys had to say? The Cappadocian Fathers, Gregory the Theologian, Gregory of Nyssa, and Basil the Great were contemporaries and were extremely influential in defending the faith and developing the Christian doctrine of the Holy Trinity. But, do you care?
Or, rather, should you care?
I must admit that I have always been drawn to a segment of theological studies called historical theology. Basically, this field of study looks at the development of theological thought throughout history. You see, everyone holds beliefs. Every denomination and theological tradition believes stuff, lots of stuff. But do we know from where the ideas we believe came?
Some want to say, "Well, I just believe what's in the Bible." Really? Because I have never, and I do mean never, met anyone who only believes what's in the Bible. There's a whole complicated history of thinking that has been passed down through the ages that sets up rules and agendas for how to even think about what's in the Bible. Even the simplest, most fundamentalist church out there is influenced by people who thought and wrote centuries after the Bible was complete.
So, back to the Gregorys and Basil... If you have ever heard of the Nicene Creed, then you have heard Christian doctrine that is fundamental and was influenced by these guys.
I personally find it very satisfying to look at the ideas behind the ideas I believe. I want to examine those ideas and reflect Biblically on what I believe and why I believe it. And then ask another, kind of related question: So what?
I believe thus and such. So what? What difference does it make to how I actually live my life day to day? Or I might ask this another way... What values and beliefs motivate my actions? We all act in certain ways because we believe certain things are true. If I do thus and such it will produce these kinds of desireable results in my life. Now, there are a lot of things people do that in the end make them miserable because their beliefs about those things were diametrically opposed to the truth. So, it seems to me it's worth examining one's beliefs.
Then, when we do this we might want to ask, Where did I get these beliefs? Back to my original question. The old dead guys and what they said. It's actually pretty important. So I study. I read. I pray. And God uses people who lived a long time ago to open my eyes to his truth. Hopefully, I am able to teach others.
I think we should care about what old dead guys had to say because we are more influenced by them than we probably ever realized.
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