"Off-the-Peg Theology" - by Dr Stanley Jebb

Dr Stanley Jebb has written an excellent blog article today called; "Off-the-Peg Theology" which demonstrates his amazing academic insight. He critiques the assumption that so often we accept without question theological statements;

"The trouble is many young men go to theological college and accept without question the ready-made theology that is handed down to them. That is what I call “off-the-peg theology”. Rather I use the term to highlight the fact that so often statements of theology are accepted without question as long as they come from within out own circle".

Rather than;

"Unlike the Bereans, we do not search the Scriptures to see whether those things are so (Acts 17:11)".

Dr Jebb calls this theology an alternative phrase;

"Perhaps “hand-me-down theology” would be a better description. It is only too easy to accept, and even vigorously defend, a theology which we have never carefully compared with Scripture".

Stanley Jebb is correct - many theological phrases have become popular and indeed trendy in these days. Particularly phrases like; "Reformed" or "Evangelical" and sometimes "Charismatic" (although Dr Jebb didn't include the last!). But what do they really mean?

"In these days we have become rather careless in our use of such terms as ‘Reformed’ and ‘Calvinistic’. The word ‘Reformed’ is bandied about almost as though it were a synonym of ‘orthodox’, or a shorthand term for “really, really sound.”

Do we really know what John Calvin wrote in his massive Institutes? Or have we merely read John Piper or Mark Driscoll's popularized If we do not, then why are we so eager to adopt the label for ourselves? The message is excellent and clear - SCRIPTURE is our final authority and we should make every effort to search it Berean-like and see "if these things are so". If aspects of our cultural heritage do not tie up with Scripture then we should be asking why are we holding to them?

A Vital Principle To Live By

I was thrilled to get a seven volume present from my parents for my birthday - "Tracts and Letters of John Calvin - 7 Volume Set". In the introduction there is a fascinating comment about Calvin himself;

"The leading principle of Protestantism - the paramount authority and perfect sufficiency of Scripture - he (Calvin) undoubtedly did hold and strenuously inculcate, but he also venerated the early Fathers of the Church and scarcely ever omitted an opportunity of strengthening his views by showing how well they accorded with theirs".

Many people often ask why I quote so much from heroes. It's for this simple reason. I love and appreciate the Word of God. It is indeed perfectly sufficient. But we who are at the climax of the consummation of the ages have an awesome gift in church history - the "cloud of witnesses" - who have gone before us and who have written down their words and still speak even though dead.

We ignore them surely at our peril.