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Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Why?

Doctrine tells us what to do, theology tells us what to think, but stories show us how to serve God

Bootstrap wrote:Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Why?

Doctrine tells us what to do, theology tells us what to think, but stories show us how to serve God

For the life of me, I cannot remember where I just heard or read that- was it on MN? (having an 'almost' senior moment here)

Valerie wrote:

Bootstrap wrote:Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Why?

Doctrine tells us what to do, theology tells us what to think, but stories show us how to serve God

For the life of me, I cannot remember where I just heard or read that- was it on MN? (having an 'almost' senior moment here)

Now I wonder why...

Bootstrap wrote:Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Why?

Doctrine tells us what to do, theology tells us what to think, but stories show us how to serve God

I'll let you hash it out for a bit, then I'll add my two cents. I'm interested in knowing what people think. I can still change it, if it leaves a wrong impression.

I would argue that stories are how human beings communicate ideas, including doctrine and theology.

lesterb wrote:

Valerie wrote:

Bootstrap wrote:Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Why?

For the life of me, I cannot remember where I just heard or read that- was it on MN? (having an 'almost' senior moment here)

Now I wonder why...

Glad you had a laugh out of that!

Yesterday, I listened to Christian radio while housecleaning- read posts on facebook & listened to 2 panels of pastors who were answering questions presented to them, so admittedly I was exposed to a lot of thinking from others, & statements- (in -between chores)
I remember chewing on this statement when I (apparently) read it though- and wasn't sure what to think exactly- it was 'profound', I can see the validity but not sure because I really get perplexed about the difference between doctrine and theology. Stories, I think of parables or stories that are used as examples to draw from.

Haha that's from lester's website Valerie, I think both doctrine and theology (don't really know the difference to be honest) teach us the Biblical truth of who God is, who we are and how we can serve Him Biblically. And stories show us how theology or doctrine is lived out (or not) in everyday life.

Paul wrote:Haha that's from lester's website Valerie, I think both doctrine and theology (don't really know the difference to be honest) teach us the Biblical truth of who God is, who we are and how we can serve Him Biblically. And stories show us how theology or doctrine is lived out (or not) in everyday life.

I realized that when I saw Lester's enjoyment of me trying to recollect it, that gave it away!

Okay, doctrine is a "Biblical" word, as in:

Acts 2:42
“And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.”

I'm trying not to 'google' for a definition yet, waiting to see how y'all are hashing this out. Off the top of my head, I think that for example each denomination holds a particular 'doctrine' and theology would possibly be how they arrived at their doctrine by their particular interpretations of Scripture?

Paul wrote:Haha that's from lester's website Valerie, I think both doctrine and theology (don't really know the difference to be honest) teach us the Biblical truth of who God is, who we are and how we can serve Him Biblically. And stories show us how theology or doctrine is lived out (or not) in everyday life.

I realized that when I saw Lester's enjoyment of me trying to recollect it, that gave it away!

Okay, doctrine is a "Biblical" word, as in:

Acts 2:42
“And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.”

I'm trying not to 'google' for a definition yet, waiting to see how y'all are hashing this out. Off the top of my head, I think that for example each denomination holds a particular 'doctrine' and theology would possibly be how they arrived at their doctrine by their particular interpretations of Scripture?

I know that a lot of people feel doctrine and theology is the same thing. I don't, but maybe the difference is too subtle for a headline like this. Doctrine (in my opinion) is the communication of the simple truths of the Bible. Theology is the study of doctrine and doctrinal subjects from man's perspective. Most theology is apologetic in nature, and therefore includes a lot of man's ideas. I'm not particularly fond of systematic theologies.

You will see various Bible book studies on my website. I try to take an inspirational expository approach to this kind of writing. That seems to me to be more in line with the Anabaptist approach to Bible study.

I am amazed at Jesus's use of parables in the Gospels. He took simple, everyday accounts and taught profound lessons with them. I think that approach will touch hearts a lot quicker than the theological approach. Even if I write an expository, I like to show how what I am writing about fits into everyday life. I'm still growing in that, but it's my goal.

Simple, inspirational, interesting, and spiritual. Many people need the gospel message badly. They should see it pictured in our lives, and in our writing.

I think the headline probably needs some tweaking. I'm still thinking about that.