“The purpose of theology is to articulate the joy of the gospel, not convolute it; to express the wonder of God, not obscure it.”

This text reminds the reader that theology is not a subject reserved to the academy or obscure debates about dusty centuries but about the spiritual formation of every Christian in every pew. Theology is the birthright and the inheritance of every Christian because it is literally the knowledge of God, which the authors remind us - for the Christian - must be seen through the light of John 17:3, 'This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.’

In response to the claims of the Enlightenment and modernity, theology should lead the Christian to both joy and worship in response to the truth that has been revealed to the Church. Still, more than this should begin ‘the reordering of our minds and hearts—our reasoning and our desiring—to God as he is revealed and embodied in Jesus Christ.’ And further to this, ‘not only do we need God to reveal God to us; we need God to reveal us to us.’

The book is written from the Reformed perspective. It will resonate with those who know the traditional Protestant Catechisms, assuring us that theology cannot be separated from ‘love for and devoted attention to’ scripture. Still, this Anglican would happily commend the book. The authors remind us that the pursuit of theology is both a ‘privilege and a task’ that demands the ‘reorientation of our fallen hearts and minds to a reality that we cannot earn or achieve in our own strength.’

The authors concentrate on how theology illuminates and rightly directs not only our worship but our being - the ordinary taken up into the truth, goodness and beauty of the ‘Triune life of God.’ Theology should therefore act as a call for the church to speak with truth and clarity, to speak of the ultimate realities that disrupt ‘our comfortable preconceptions.’

Theology will rightly order our understanding and relationship to Christ, for in the Incarnation we learn of the Trinity, we learn of the Father ‘drawing near to us through the Son….For the incarnate Word reveals the eternal Trinity, that God’s name has ever been Father, Son, and Spirit.’ Theology will rightly teach us how to understand creation, and ourselves, called to live in Communion with God, and placing our trust, not in ourselves, but in the knowledge of God - the book admits that its thesis is the call for a profound shift in our conception of reality.

Theology will teach us of the foundation of love, that we are eternally loved, and that this is a love that goes beyond crucifixion, death, and the grave, indeed beyond all humanity. ‘The only love capable of animating the world is a love able to overcome death,’ and that triune love creates and re-creates the world and the believer.

Theology will teach us how to understand the church. The authors memorably described theology as done in the church's context, pulling no punches. “The oxymoronic enterprise of nonecclesial theology delivers not the relational, dialogical knowledge of Christ gained in the church but, at best, secondhand divinity and the lonesome monologue of self-talk that characterizes all secular religion.” The church offers a truth that neither ‘individualism and collectivism’ cannot satisfy.

I was particularly taken by the authors comment on theology rightly ordering worship, describing the procession that traditionally begins Western Christian worship as ‘the journey…following Jesus, depicted by the processional cross, the gathered people of God are led by their Lord into the triune presence of God.’

Theology should lead us into a proper understanding of religion, beyond the ‘narrow service of the self, [and] of the impulses of the will.’ For religion traditionally marks the dividing line between humanity and divinity, theology leads us into the realisation that this division has been ended in the work of Christ. In theology, we learn that ‘matter matters’, that we can rejoice in the creation and our humanity, and that in so doing, we are changed, ever more gloriously. I thoroughly enjoyed the authors' description of discipleship - to be sent, having heard Jesus, and sharing in Jesus’ hearing of the Father.’

Through the chapters, the authors lead us through the Holy Spirit, through the hearing of scripture, being renewed in the mind of Christ, through baptism, where our true identity is to be found, where we can be truly human, ‘as the Lord of the font frees us from the dead hands of selfdom to share the life-giving yolk of his truly human existence.’ They lead us through the Eucharist and beyond to the understanding of time and eternity, days, years and seasons sanctified by the liturgy. Theology allows the Christian ‘to live in the world seeing everything in it as a revelation of God, a sign of His presence, the joy of His coming, the call to communion with Him, the hope for fulfillment in Him.’

Curiously, the authors offer a section dedicated to theology and paradox, which is perhaps unexpected from the Reformed tradition, as the balance of mystery and paradox is inseparable from the human understanding of divine revelation - because God is never what we have imagined or reasoned, predicted or imagined, but the one who has revealed and reveals himself. ‘Jesus is both victim and victor, that Jesus bore our sin to bury it forever, that Jesus put death to death by death, that Jesus is the Savior of sinners who slayed him.’

The authors end on how theology should lead us into joy, as we ‘learn to live forward and understand backward, to mature into childlikeness, to be in the world but not of the world.’

As you can tell, this book is serious but in no way dry. Indeed, parts of it felt like listening to a sermon. However, the authors intended to express joy within their serious challenge, and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed reading it.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before:

Christians shouldn’t worry about theology.

I’m not one to keep track of times I’ve heard clichés over the years, but I think it’s safe to say if I had a nickel for every time I heard this phrase, or a variation, I’d be retired and riding jet skis in Cabo. Ultimately, it seems to stem from “observational evidence:” witnessing people who seem to be up in their ivory towers, divorced from reality and the church; people who went to seminary to become a pastor and walked away distrusting everything the Bible says.

To be fair, there is truth in these concerns. For the former, I remember the first time I ever read anything by John Dominic Crossan, How to Read the Bible and Still Be a Christian, and walking away absolutely perplexed by how this would encourage anyone to continue walking in the faith. As for the latter, I had my moments throughout my eight years of schooling where I deeply questioned the truthfulness of the Bible, but thankfully, the Lord did not give up on me, even when I wanted to throw it all away.

Do these examples prove theology is not important? Far from it. In fact, I think this proves why theology is important, because without a proper framework to operate in the world, we will be cast to and fro by every competing culture and ideology of the day. Which is why I believe books like A Call to Christian Formation: How Theology Makes Sense of Our World are so necessary: what better way to combat the lies of the world than to study and, more vitally, be formed by “the truth and reality found in [Jesus]”?

Authors Marcus Peter Johnson and John C. Clark break up their book into eight sections: an introduction to the study of theology; six sections covering different elements of Christian doctrine, including ecclesiology, liturgy, and eschatology; and a conclusion containing “six theses on the character and calling of theology.” While A Call to Christian Formation does discuss orthodox theology, such as the Trinity (“The doctrine of the Trinity is not an invention of the church; it is the expression of a divine experience that birthed the church into existence in the first place.”), the focus is more on why we are called to study theology. Human beings base their lives, including their identities, on perceptions of truth, so it only makes sense Christians should take theology seriously:

If theology claims to know the almighty God, who is himself the foundation of all human knowledge, then theology is either fundamental or fraudulent. If reality does not reside in knowledge of the God of truth, then reality can, and indeed must, be found elsewhere. Conversely, if God is the source and ground of all truth, then truth can, indeed must, be found nowhere else than in God, the ground and context of all human knowing. Either way, nothing less or other than reality hangs in the balance.

More than simply knowing truth, we are called to worship truth, to share in communion with truth, and how we worship and commune will reflect in how we live. Drawing off the maxim lex orandi, lex credenda, “The law of praying determines the law of believing,” when we understand why we worship, why we believe what we believe, it inevitably forms us into more beautiful image bearers of our Savior. And this is the genius of this book: it goes from laying a foundation of what theology is, then discussing who Jesus is, what the Trinity is, why the body of Christ is important, and how these elements influence how we worship.

Although my notes might indicate otherwise, as it was my least notated chapter, I think the most important chapter is what follows: “The Postulate of Paradox.” One of the hardest elements of the Christian faith can be summed up in a single phrase from the Book of Common Prayer: “Therefore, we proclaim the mystery of faith…” Nothing about the Christian religion jives with contemporary reason and rationale. No matter how often or hard we try to make it otherwise, whether it’s the Trinity or the fact through death we are made alive, Christianity is paradoxical. And, as the authors point out, “Paradox … is the way that Christians allow the mystery of Christ to shape our reason in accordance with that mystery.” Instead of letting our perceptions of the world dictate how we see the Lord, we allow who he is to reveal what reality truly is.

Why this book works is because even if there are some $100 words, like sopilistic, A Call to Christian Formation is a book all orthodox Christians can benefit from. In fact, I could see A Call to Christian Formation being helpful for those who have that desire to believe, but struggle with accepting some of the more paradoxical and illogical elements of the faith. Whichever way you lean, Johnson and Clark make it clear Jesus is at the center of their writing, that their goal is to write a book that actually benefits and strengthens the church, which is why I can endorse this release with zero reservations.

(Oh, and there is an abundance of Alexander Schmemann quotes. Every Christian needs to read For the Life of the World. Just saying.)

Soli Deo Gloria.

RC Sproul used to say, “It is not a question of whether we are going to engage in theology; it is a question of whether our theology is sound or unsound .” Laboring under a similar premise, Clark and Johnson, seek to show the reader that this sound or unsound theology plays a direct role in their development, growth, and formation as a disciple of Jesus.

It is not a necessarily a novel idea that orthodoxy (right beliefs), orthopraxy (right living), and orthopathy (right affections) are all intrinsically linked one to another. Therefore, the contribution of this book is not in its novelty (at least in that respect) but in its ability to persuade the reader to yearn passionately for orthodox theology. The authors remind us that this pursuit of the knowledge of God should saturate the entirety of the church’s and the disciple’s formation and activities.

A Call to Christian Formation, is just that, a call to be formed in Christ. Which, as the book states, “necessarily entails a theological formation…” This is a call that when appropriately responded to can become, “…an act of devotion that costs us immensely yet enriches us immeasurably.”

As a lover of theology, I have been enjoying this book immensely. I will definitely be recommending to some of those that I disciple in the future.

This book was received for free in exchange for a fair and honest review. Hopefully, I have achieved that.

#ACalltoChristianFormation #NetGalley

In this book Clark and Johnson argue powerfully that robust theology, rooted in Scripture and the Great Tradition, is vital to Christian formation. Sadly, theology has fallen on hard times in society and unfortunately, also in the modern church. Drawing on Scripture and the voices of theologians from the early church right through to contemporary times, the authors show the relevance of theology in forming the church and the individual believer. In a time when experience is elevated over Scripture and Tradition, this is important reading.

One of my favourite quotes "...make no mistake: theological formation is the only antidote against being conformed and deformed by the world, the only alternative to being catechized and liturgized by the spirit of the age and its dominant ways of thinking, speaking, and acting."