Interesting thoughts and comments. I have wondered about similar things. I go back and forth wondering if innovative is good or if it takes us away from the “faith once delivered.” It seems to me that if there are advances in science, medicine, architecture, business, and more that we should allow for theology to advance. The task for theology, however, will be to break new ground and explore new ideas without neglecting older ideas. Perhaps that’s where creativity lies, in advancing a thought in a way that includes the old.

And surely one of the most creative ways we can begin would be to stop depicting and talking about God as only and fully masculine.  This would really open up the creative playing field, so to speak, to 50% more of the earth’s population!

The question that comes to my mind is, “what is the basis for understanding whether or not the new idea is valid?”.  Another question is, “is the scripture ruling the day over reason, tradition and experience, or has one or more of these taken the scriptures place of how we see what is true and what is not?”.
It would be interesting to hear your view on the problem of evil.  It would not seem like much of a problem if God is not coersive, does not know the future and man is completely autonomous.

Once again, great thoughts Tom!!

I think you are really on to something here. We have mistakenly used as a test for orthodoxy simply reciting what has previously been said.

While we do not want to go so far afield as supposing the theological ramifications of Jesus being a zombie, we do need to communicate effectively in the new millennium.

As a pastor, I am constantly challenged to find ways that better communicate the Gospel. For myself, I find that what works for me is to think of theology relationally. When I get to technical then I get the blank stares and the “mind-drift” from the congregation.

As a long time reader of comics, I always found it fascinating when Marvel would do a “What If” edition. I think asking some “what ifs” could be a useful tool in communicating theology.

When you first look at a mountain, you say things like, “Wow look at the beautiful mountains!” But it does no damage to the reality that they are indeed mountains to say things like, “Look at the deep browns, the varigated greens.” We tend to be a bit scared of doing this with theology.

In the same way, it does no damage to God to speak of his fierce strength, alongside speaking of His immeasurably tender love. The apostle Paul finds this useful when communicating to a church that he had been tender as a nursing mother with them. He thus shows different aspects of God and uses creative theology to help the church see God more fully.

We are in an ever-changing world created by a creative God. Creative Theology as I understand it doesn’t meant hat we deny the traditional theological forms that we have come to recognize as trustworthy, we have simply expanded our theology from thought to action… we are creatively engaging with the thoughts we are thinking and perhaps through this we can come up with different (creative) ways to think that may not be new, but are relative to our existence in the world today. Creativity is a basic characteristic that humans have received by being created in the image of God. When we are creative we have the beautiful opportunity to live in communion with God. So, without denying the rich history and tradition that form our roots as Christians, I believe that we are capable and called to be creative in the way we think about God.

This is definitely an interesting article to read about and think about. I have always been the type of person to be on the creative side of anything and everything. And although, I am still new to the whole concept of Theology, a new question emerges that I have never thought before. “Why can’t we be creative with Theology?” I know people who would look at me with a “death stare” if I asked them that question, but why not? There is nothing written in the Bible that says we cannot think outside the box when it comes to Theology. Let’s face it, the one’s who originally thought outside the box and outside their time and culture, were the one’s who made our Theology what it is today.

In this period in history, there have never been as many people inhabiting the planet, and with more people, a lot of different things must take place in order to keep everyone satisfied, not just with life’s necessities, but also with Theology and Christianity and the concept of purpose.

I think that creativity in Theology should be welcomed and enjoyed, because after all, God was creative enough to build this planet, all with words, wasn’t he?

This discussion is in part an answer to one of my questions at our Nazarene District Assembly.  The book story is now selling NEW Beacon Commentaries.  I, among others were asking questions like, “Has the Bible changed?  Is that why we need new commentaries?”  I see now that it is due to our creativity, or rather God’s creativity.  It is much like reading the same Bible passage over the years,and receiving “new light” with each read.  God is creatively revealing to us as we are able to process.  Many times when we ask the “Why” question of God we do not get a substantial answer, but there are times we DO, and we need to document and share the new news.
    Another reason for fresh or creative looks at theology has to do with the changing cultures.  We now have an entirely new vocabulary since some of the commentaries were written 100 years ago (not the old Beacons of course), and new people groups who have come to accept the Gospel.  Many times our creativity is expressed in the translation of the Bible to new people groups.  In our missions class we learned one people group highly valued pigs over sheep, so Christ became the Pig of God to portray the value Christ has in our life.  That is creative!  Maybe not what Tom had in mind, but never the less, a needed creative theology.

It seems like a lot rides on what, exactly, you mean by ‘creative theology.‘  We know that theology is the study of God and His nature.  Certainly every person will think and reason about Him within the context of their culture, their time and their experience of life.  These provide the lens through which we view Him.  If we think of Wesley’s quadrilateral, it seems like Scripture and church tradition provide the foundation for our theology. 
Our experience and our reasoning are where we begin integrating that information.  It also seems like this would be the area in which we would use our creativity, to capture connections between the world we experience and the truths that were captured and communicated to believers in past times and cultures.  There is plenty of room for creativity in thinking about what the message of the Scriptures meant to the original audience and how that would told in today’s world.  There is also a wide open field for seeing who God is as He has revealed Himself through His creation (Rom 1:20) now that we have such a vast amount of new knowledge and insight about the universe and all that it contains.
But, I don’t think ‘creative theology’ can stray from the anchor and foundation of the Holy Spirit.  Whatever is of the Spirit I believe will resonate with the revelation of the Scriptures.  We need to have discernment.  There are several admonishments by Paul regarding the fact that there is a line between knowing God, and ‘vain reasonings,’ ‘philosophy and empty deception,’ and ‘fruitless discussions (Romans 1:20-24, Col 2:6-8, 1Tim 1:2-7).’

There is clearly need for balance here (which I believe that you did try to provide).  Although there are many who would insist that creativity in theology might mess with our concept of a God who is the same yesterday, today, and forever, it is the glaring deficiency of modern thinking to believe that everything that we have to say today is superior to what has been said before.  No doubt, there have been many advances in technology which have increased our knowledge of the universe.  However, we are also further removed from many of the things that we are trying to do a better job of interpreting.  I remember reading that Wesley was an avid reader of Christian writings, but often gave precedence to those written closer to the time of Christ and less confused by the thinking of people who did not have direct contact with him and his teachings.  We need a good balance and I fear that although postmodern thought has debunked the myth that we are smarter today in every way, we still find ourselves often caught in the trap of modern thought and shown the fool by those who see through it.

When I consider creative theology I can see how many people especially from the “old school” would have a problem with it. Theology consists of biblical truths and stories that have been passed down and shared throughout generations. And of course the argument that God is unchanging and so should our theology.

However, this is not completely true for theology. Yes, there are certain things that we hold true to but other things that have not properly been explained and explored in the past that require us to look further into and explain. “Unless we think a person or group in the past comprehended God entirely, there is always room to “grow in the knowledge of the love of Christ.””

There is always the need to grow and as the times change so should our approach in how we present theology.

For me, the idea of creative theology does not imply that we are saying the way we studied Scripture in the past is wrong and we need to move in a new direction.  I view creative theology as an opportunity for you and I to continue to study Scripture while using the new advances in technology and science to better understand who we are in God and our role in this world.

For my first thought, I am a bit offended by the picture on the Fast Company cover.  I may be old fashioned, but I don’t want to see pictures of men dressed in women’s lingerie.
Okay, I am passed that now and onto creative theology.  I think the basics of theology are well suited for continued interpretation of Scripture.  Just like I am learning and understanding more as I am getting older, I see God revealing the truth found in Scripture to be the same way.  So, ultimately, when we are seeking to know God more over time, we will better understand the truth of His character. 
I don’t think creative theology necessarily focuses on method of interpretation, but is critical to the communication of the truth of the Gospel and the character of God.  There is a difference between knowing the truth found in Scripture and communicating that truth in such a way that people are not rejecting the truth before they hear the whole truth.  For example from this illustration I heard, there was a blind man begging with a sign that said, “I am blind, please help me.”  He was having some results of people helping, but when a passerby re-wrote the sign to say “it is a beautiful day and I can’t see it” the people’s response was phenomenal.  This is the kind of creative theology we need.

In N.T. Wright’s foreward to “The King Jesus Gospel: The Original Good News Revisited” (book authored by Scot McKnight), he writes, “Part of the genius of genuine Christianity is that each generation has to think it through afresh. Precisely because (so Christians believe) God wants every single Christian to grow up in understanding as well as trust, the Christian faith has never been something that one generation can sort out in such a way as to leave their successors with no work to do.” (2011, Zondervan, EPub Edition for Kindle, p. 11)

In this reading, Wright tends to agree with the necessity for creativity, if simply in the ways in which we work out (he uses ‘grow up’ and ‘sort out’). This process leads us toward what he calls ‘genuine Christianity.’

I have, at time, become particularly frustrated with Christians unwilling to enter into conversations leading them beyond the theological mindset that they have pre-established will always be the way they view things. They defend their position with anger and hostility, with an arrogance and a revolted shock toward any who consider new insight or new paths of understanding Scripture or theology. (Of course, in defending their own view to the exclusion of new ways of thinking, it follows that they are pretty adamant that their ways are particularly better than every other existing theology as well.)

I appreciate good discussion. I am served well by people who formulate theories and present arguments in which that genuinely make me think. I think neither theological defensiveness nor the guarding of Orthodox belief (as we see it) are spiritual gifts or our job.

Great post. Thank you!!

Klaus Nürnberger, in “An Inductive Approach to the Concept of God,” said, “To regain its plausibility theology only has to go beyond deduction, but also beyond historical critique (p. 120).”  I liked this as I believe that induction is also necessary in order to see new in what is old.  In science, it is not uncommon for statements to include the possibility that there is more still to know.  If we look at this concept, then surely there is more to know regarding God, creation, etc.  Early in science history, the focus was earth, wind, fire and water.  Then we found that there were other substances.  We found carbon in living and non-living material.  Then we discovered that carbon, though it always has 6 protons, it can have varying numbers of masses to give carbon -12, carbon-13, and carbon-14.  Neutrons, electrons, and later quarks were found to exist.  There were two reasons for this continuous learning.  First, scientists did not give up looking for more.  Second, the technology and information sharing improved.  There is no reason to assume that theology is not the same.  After all, the study of the One who created a field that keeps growing should also grow in light of new knowledge.

Thank you for this helpful post. I have been one of those people you mention who equate the mystery of God with reason to stay set in traditional ways of looking at things theologically. However, it really is true that we need to continue to be pressing forward in our approaches to theology. Certainly, we have done so in the pursuit of science, race relations, economics, and public policy, etc. It makes good sense that we ought to be doing the same in theology.
  Your example of exploring the need for a creative theology for the problem of evil was challenging, but I found your reference to a creative theology in addressing religious pluralism to be equaling helpful. As a youngster in this country, I related almost exclusively to other “Christians” through much of my life. The most divergent group was those of the Catholic persuasion of Christianity. Today, I live in a place (Hawaii) where we have very high percentages of at least a dozen faiths, including some I have never encountered before in large numbers. The point is that we have to do a better job of figuring out theological models to interacting with these groups that is honoring to our own faith but also respectful and consistent with the values of our culture and Biblical integrity. It seems to me that the desire to do so can be accomplished without compromising our core beliefs and deference to those who have gone before and provided the theological foundation on which we stand.
  As always, a good, thought provoking, and helpful post.

I really believed that this blog was very good and I believe it is important to move forward in our thinking concerning theology. I believe the smarter we become the more God will reveal to us. This is why it’s important to have an open mind and look for new ways of thinking. We need to look at the past and the present as well as the future to be able to understand who we are as Christians and how we need to draw closer to God. This is why I believe we need to tie our Christian beliefs with the sciences. Together we can begin to understand who we are and where we come from. Professor Oord states, “In a changing world with changing people and changing ideas, some things do stay the same. But as long as we know in part, there will be plenty of room for creative theological endeavor.” We must be willing to open our hearts to new and exciting ideas. Is change good? It can be very good if we considered the possibilities of who we are and where we come from.