What is doctrine?

What is doctrine?

1. A description. People’s attempt to account for what has happened to them.

   • How does the Nicene Creed guide theological reflection?
     • The Nicene Creed is a description of Christian faith and was written to negate docetism, adoptionism, and Arianism.
       • The creed is always interacting with our world and with our theological reflection.
         • Theological speech does not come from nowhere, we are encountered by God, we identify how God says we belong with God, and we participate with God.
     • What is the significance of the “we” in the Nicene Creed?
       • The “we” is a critical starting point in theological reflection. It makes the creed a living description that is available to everyone. The “we” means that the creed begins in our world in this moment, and makes theology an act of identity.
       • Identity
         • Identity is something we participate in, not an assertion.
           • Identity has 3 Aspects: 1. encounter 2. belonging 3. participation.
         • DuBois
           • Through DuBois we see identity as an activity or process. Identity involves encounter- being confronted by another, belonging- that our identity is communal, and participation- that we live into identities/activity. Identities are theological because all of our words about God take place within dynamics of identity where we navigate what others say about us and what we say about God.

2. Ways of doing theological description:

   • Historical theology: the accounting for beliefs and ideas developing over time.
     • Systematic theology: what is the relationship between all of these doctrines? How you describe the problem --> how you describe the solution.
       • Moral theology: What does faithfulness look like? Starting with a problem in the world. What ought the church do?
         • Constructive theology: related to systematic, thinks about all theology/doctrine. What is problematic in our world? What is Jesus doing differntly?

3. Theology is something you DO.