Creative Theology

It comes to my attention today, that everyone has creative theology. And you'd expect this to produce a sort of open mindedness in the church, rather than division--yet for religious matters, everyone divides perfectly. Yet, the one thing that nobody can tolerate these days, is creative theology.

There are men who are mad at Calvin for having personal revelation, men who are mad at Augustine for believing and speaking so eloquently, there are men who are mad at me, at Luther, at everyone but Aquinas it seems. And even then, there will probably be those who are angry with him, too.

I come to a story of a martyr I read in Theilman Van Braght's Martyr's Mirror, how an Anabaptist was killed by a Catholic Inquisitor. And the Anabaptist had bad Christology--and a few other bad doctrines--and the Inquisitor had perfect theology--so to speak, if ever you could, I found no fault in it.

And what ended up happening, was this Anabaptist was delivered unto death, and in there I saw the faith starkly. For, it was the Law that made the Anabaptist right, and his mercy, for on measures of Mercy, Forgiveness, and Love, the Anabaptist had in great measure a faith unlike anyone else in that room. While having bad Christology, he was saved by living the truth, and perishing for his belief in his baptism. 

Was it the baptism that killed him? Satan will say it was. But, it's not the Baptism that killed this Anabaptist, but the confession of faith, and the truth, that his baptism represented the full measure of the Law in Christ, and for that a good man was put to death.

His last words were, "Are not the tares to be uprooted on the last days?" Speaking of Christian charity.

Therefore, we know the weightier matters of the law take precedent, as when Christ reigns on Earth for the Millennium, there will still be the other faiths dwelling among us, but He will reign, and He will cause it to rain or drought, and it seems like the Law is more specifically on God's heart than a few Theological trivia.

For if you say Augustine or Calvin or Luther or the Anabaptists in my book and their methodology and systematic theology are heresies, I say these are the true faith. Sir Thomas Moore and John Donne's Brother dying for the faith are as real as any Anabaptist's for it's the Mercy of the Faith that we die for. It's the truth of the Faith, while Satan uses the most cutting edge and splitting haired theories to kill us, it all falls into the fact that that's all nonsense. It is the law of God that gets the Anabaptist or Catholic Martyred, and their desire to live out the truth in Mercy and Love.

With that said, Theology hasn't been my primary focus as a Christian. My theology is the Athanasian, Apostle's and Nicene creed. I have no other deeper theology, and wherever I find true Christianity, there I have a friend, whether Catholic, Protestant or Orthodox, throughout all time and space. And that's my creed, that Theology is least important, and what we do with Christ, and how we live our lives in peace and mercy, and how misery attacks us so often for this, and no other reason. That is the faith I cling to.