Theology 101
Theology confuses me —
I did not come to God to learn
the height of heaven nor discern
divinity in my small brain,
or thus endeavor to explain
the Father-Son in time and space,
when They are of a higher race.
I came because of pain,
a dying creature bound in chain,
and when I heard I could have life,
I gave my heart to Jesus Christ.
Theology confuses me —
I reached to grasp the Father’s plan,
but then there came a dreary man
who frowned on me and grimly said,
“I think there’s error in your head.
You must believe this, and not that” —
austerely straining at a gnat.
The Father took me to His breast,
assured me there I could have rest,
reborn to joy as His own child,
forgiven, loved, and reconciled.
And then some brethren came along
and said, “Too bad, your church is wrong.”
Division reared its ugly head
until I wished that I were dead!
Believers drew their bloodstained swords
and dueled to death defending words.
Thus Christ, from Father’s throne, beheld
His banner, Love, despoiled and felled.
And as it lay upon the ground
on it these telling words were found:
By this will all men know
that you are My disciples,
If you have love for one another.
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Theology 102
Theology must be!
When sailing an uncharted sea
a compass adds a certainty,
for any route that man has planned
might take us to a treacherous land.
I know it taxes brain and will,
and takes an academic skill
to cipher words that in translation
lose their rightful application.
Theology must be —
or else we’re all tossed to and fro
by those who only “think it so,”
but never offer in citation
any proven information.
God is known by His own Word;
we can’t rely on “what we’ve heard,”
for one can sing a sincere song
and still be absolutely wrong.
Theology must be
a trusty guide directing to
criteria for me and you.
Opinionated men could say,
“Just follow me, this is the way.”
Theology can then demand
they prove the worth of their command
line by line and word by word —
not by what they think they heard.
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