Theology has had a bad press in evangelical circles in recent times. It is seen as boring, irrelevant, and, at its worst, a danger to sound Bible teaching. It is said to feed the head, not the heart. It is thought to be most unlikely to help with the practical business of living the Christian life – it is more likely to make you proud. And it certainly will not cause you to love Christ more. These views contrast starkly with the value that evangelicals in earlier generations placed upon the reading and study of theology.
Listen to what the early Puritan William Perkins (1558–1602) said about theology: ‘Theologie is the science of living blessedly for ever.’ Or consider the words of Perkins’ student, William Ames (1576–1633), who influenced a whole generation of later Puritans and others across Europe and New England. At the start of his great work The Marrow of Theology, Ames wrote, ‘Theology is the doctrine or teaching of living to God’, then quoting the apostle Peter’s words to the Lord Jesus, ‘You have the words of eternal life’ (John 6:68).
For these men, theology was not dry, dusty, and irrelevant, but living, blessed, and practical. The study of theology was not some merely theoretical exercise, but an activity which would teach you how to live a happy, blessed life to the glory of God.
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