If your life is not in jeopardy
for what you believe, you’re probably on the wrong side!
If you don’t believe Genesis 1-11,
how can you possibly believe John 3:16?
“Indeed, all who want to live a godly
life united with the Messiah Yeshua will be persecuted.” (2Tim 3:12)
It is what you actually believe that determines how you walk out your faith,
“but avoid stupid controversies, genealogies, quarrels and fights
about the Torah; because they are worthless and futile.” (Titus 3:9)
Please Note: Absolutely nothing on this website should be taken as anti-Church or anti-Rabbinic. I am not anti-anything or anti-anyone. I am only pro-Torah and pro-Truth (see “Philosophy”), but sometimes the Truth upsets our long-held beliefs. I know it certainly upset mine! For example, see “Why Isn’t My Theology Consistent Throughout the Website?”
Developing a
Systematic Messianic Theology
“The purpose of careful theological formulations is not to put barriers in the way of people who are seeking salvation, but to define clearly the truths upon which genuine [Biblical] faith rests, so that people will not be misled by false doctrines.” [Bowman]
“It must be clearly and unequivocally stated that theology cannot save you. Only faith in Messiah Yeshua can save you. Theology can only give you sound doctrine.” [RLS]
Unless otherwise specified, throughout the Theology section of my website I use the term “Torah” in the wider sense of including the entire body of inspired Scripture: both the Tanakh and the Apostolic Writings. I personally do not consder any other so-called “sacred writings” either inspired by God or authoritative for the Believer’s walk of faith. Thus, I do not consider the Mishnah (the “Oral Torah”) as part of Torah. You should make up your own mind.
[Explanations of rabbinic citations are HERE]
Theology 101: An Introduction to
The Science of Theology
Please Note: As you read through the pages of this website, you will find inconsistencies in my theological position. The first version of this website was launched in 1995, and there are currently over 2,500 pages, some of which were part of the origional version. I have been studying the Scriptures for well over a half-century, and with very rare exception, every time I open my Bible to study, HaShem shows me something new. When He shows me something new, I have to adjust my understanding of theology to incorporate what He has just shown me, and it is physically impossible for me to go back, find, and edit everything that needs to be changed to conform to my new understanding. I just have to edit them as I find them. For that you have my apology.
… the majority of Western Europeans and a large minority of Americans have already become effective atheists: they rarely if ever go to any church, and a belief in God plays no role in their daily lives. The evidence is clear and unequivocal: if scientists have no need for the God hypotheses, neither will anyone else. Were theologians to succeed in their attempt to strictly separate science and religion, they would kill religion. Theology simply must become a branch of physics if it is to survive. (his emphasis)
Frank J. Tipler, The Physics of Immortality, p. 10
When people find out that I am a theological scientist, or theologian, they get all kinds of strange ideas. Then when I tell them that they are also a theologian, they really get confused. Let me see if I can clarify the concept a bit.
The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines “theology” as “the study of religious faith, practice, and experience; especially the study of God and God’s relation to the world; a system of religious beliefs or ideas.”
In its simplest expression, “theology” is simply “what we think about God” and a “theologian” is “a person who thinks about God.” So, surprise! If you spend much time thinking about God … you are a theologian!
But I would hope that you are not satisfied to be “just a theologian”-- just someone who thinks about God. My hope for you would be that you would desire to become “a theological scientist.” Now there are “professional” and “amateur” theological scientists just as there are “professional” and “amateur” astronomers or “professional” and “amateur” geologists. The difference between “professional” and “amateur” is generally considered to be whether or not one earns their livelihood from that particular activity.
As I define it, a theologian is anyone who thinks about God. Just about everybody thinks about God from time to time. Even an atheist has to think about God in order to arrive at the opinion that He does not exist.
To my way of thinking, a “theological scientist” is someone who approaches their consideration of God carefully and systematically-- carefully examining what the Scriptures say and systematically summarizing their teachings into concise statements of “doctrine” that can then be neatly placed into the various categories established by previous theological scientists. This is true whether or not the theologian commits his/her beliefs to writing.
“Doctrine” is defined as “a set of ideas or beliefs that are taught or believed to be true,” or “something that is taught.” So when you study the Scriptures (“to present yourself to God as someone worthy of His approval”-- 2Tim. 2:15) to find out what God has said on any given subject, whatever you accept and believe about that subject becomes your theology; when you express those thoughts to another they become your doctrine. I generally use the terms pretty much interchangeably, because what we tell others about God is usually what we believe about God.
As with all the sciences, theology has its own set of “rules” and pre-defined ideas that have been established, and that provide the boundaries within which the theological scientist is expected to practice that science. As evolution is to the biologist and the so-called (but non-existent in actuality) “Geologic Column” is to the paleontologist, there are certain false assumptions that the theological scientist is trained to simply accept without much thought. These assumptions have been accepted for so long that they simply are no longer questioned by those in the field, and the very act of questioning them would be tantamount to professional suicide.
However, any really good scientist (in any field) does not accept those assumptions blindly, but rather questions their validity, tests them, clings to those assumptions which can be proven to be true, discards the assumptions that are demonstrated to be false, and reserves judgment but approaches carefully those assumptions that can be neither proved nor disproved (1Thess. 5:21). He/she will also create his/her own assumptions upon which to systematically move forward in the study of God through His revealed word, “Order on order, order on order, Line on line, line on line, A little here, a little there.” (Isa. 28:10) Young's Literal Translation translates the word “order” as “rule” and the King James Version translates it as “precept.”
The Science of Theology, like any other science, must be based on some basic rules and precepts (or principles) to guide the process. For example, the “multiplication tables” are part of the precepts of mathematics; they are accepted as accurate without having to be repeatedly proved. The basic rules and precepts/principles are like the foundation of a building. If the foundation is sound, and the construction is solid, the building will withstand the ravages of time and weather. But if the foundation is weak or crumbly, the entire structure will soon fall in on itself.
The Master was keenly aware of this principle and relayed it to His disciples in the following parable:
“So, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on bedrock. The rain fell, the rivers flooded, the winds blew and beat against that house, but it didn't collapse, because its foundation was on rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a stupid man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the rivers flooded, the wind blew and beat against that house, and it collapsed — and its collapse was horrendous!” When Yeshua had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at the way he taught, for he was not instructing them like their Torah-teachers but as one who had authority himself. (Matt. 7:24-29)
As we build the foundation for our theology we must be extremely careful, for if our foundation is flawed, then our entire theology is at extreme risk.
Of course charismatic theological scientists have a different set of rules than non-charismatics, liberal theological scientists have a different set of rules than conservatives, Messianic theological scientists have a different set of rules than Catholics and Protestants, and the list goes on. My formal training could best be described as “non-charismatic, conservative, evangelical, and dispensational,” and so the “rules” of my theology naturally reflected that orientation. Since I have been involved in the Messianic Restoration Movement, I have had to severely test those principles that I learned in Seminary and, quite frankly, many of them proved to be weak and untrustworthy, and had to be replaced.
In the next few pages I hope to introduce you to some of the rules or principles that I have personally found essential to make sure that my interpretation and application of the truths that I find in Scripture are consistent; that my “theology” is solid and does not contradict itself.
- Lession 1. First Things First
- Why should Believers need to study theology?
- Lession 2. Principles of Bible Interpretation
- Correct interpretation of the Scriptures requires use of the correct “tools.”
- Lession 3. Counterfeit Religion and the Last Days
- Yeshua said there’d be days like this!
- Lession 4. Getting Down to Basics
- The bare essentials of Messianic theology
- Lession 5: A Brief Summary of Bible Doctrine
- A short, (somewhat) concise summary of each of the major “divisions” of our
Messianic Systematic Theology
- Lesson 6. Non-Biblical Practices of the Gentile Christian Church
- In this lesson I briefly discuss three significant non-Biblical practices of the Gentile Christian Church.
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