Non-Ideological Theology

It is easy enough to claim that our positions on these subjects are the result of our faith, of our spiritual development and of the teaching of the church. If we are willing to be honest, I think the truth is more complicated.

We live in a very ideological season. Our national politics seem gripped in an intense competition between liberals and conservatives, the differences seemingly more starkly drawn than has been the case in the past. Many people seem to take obvious pride in being identified as “liberal” or “conservative,” “progressive” or “evangelical.” Ideology and ideological distinctions have always been with us but the differences seem more pronounced and more important now. Instead of being starting points for discussion and inquiry, our ideological loyalties seem to be camps, armed camps at that, in which we gather and in which we stay.

I remember a pastoral visit in which the conversation was about how labor and management negotiate. The person I was speaking with said something that was then confirmed a number of times over in later conversations with others. His point was that when the representatives of labor and management negotiated, usually after some ritualistic posturing, they would settle down into honest and serious negotiations. They would reach an agreement. Then, however, they had to go back to their constituencies and persuade them, the broader communities of labor and management, to accept the negotiated contract. Often the acceptance was not given.

It appears that something like this has been at work in our denomination. Our ideological self-understanding and our loyalty to ideological groups has made it more difficult for us, not so much to negotiate some deal or contract, as to simply hear each other, listen to hear each other, understand each other and learn from each other.

In a society as secular as ours, it is not surprising that many people would turn to ideology. It is a natural replacement for theology in a secular society. But within the fellowship of the church we should be willing to put ideology in its place. We need not try to abandon it or escape it. But we should be wary of allowing our theology to serve our ideology. Worse yet, we should be wary of letting our ideology take the place of our theology.

It is worth wondering if it would be possible to strive toward a non-ideological theology. The term “existential theology” is a bit unsettling. It suggests a sort of romantic theological reflection divorced from our heritage and current experiences. But is it possible to work toward a non-ideological theology? Even allowing for the complexities of our selves and the multiple influences, conscious and unconscious, which are an abiding aspect of our selfhood, could we not seek to release our theological formation and expression as much as possible from ideological passions and formulations?

Such an effort would be easier individually or collectively, if there was something to put in the place of ideology as an influence on our own theological development. A candidate for such a role would be our particular heritage, our Reformed theological heritage. As difficult as it is to define what Reformed Theology is, it is our heritage. What if we recognized it was far more important to be a Reformed Presbyterian than it is to be a conservative Presbyterian or a liberal Presbyterian?

Our basic loyalty in shaping our theology is to Christ, and then to Scripture. But if we take the ordination vow seriously which calls us to serve “in obedience to Jesus Christ, under the authority of Scripture, and be continually guided by our confessions”, then our next loyalty is not to being conservative or liberal, but to our Reformed, confessing heritage and theology.

Laird J. Stuart is pastor of Calvary church, San Francisco.