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What Value Is Theology If We Ignore Love?

What Value Is Theology If We Ignore Love?

Last updated on: January 29, 2026 at 2:55 am by Henry Karlson

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What Value Is Theology If We Ignore Love? 2026-01-29T02:55:19-05:00 Henry Karlson

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In the modern West, we are used to living in and with a relatively educated populace. Yes, there are many levels of education seen in the West, with some who still are not literate, and others who have post-doctorate degrees, but in general, the majority of the people are far more educated today than at any other time in history. This makes it difficult for us to understand the way Christians lived in the past, when they couldn’t read Scripture, when, what they knew of the Christian faith, was what they were told, and what they were told was often a simplified version of Christian doctrine. When theological fights emerged, the populace often stood behind those they knew without really understanding the theology and theological issues being addressed, as Alice Gardner indicated:

The mob of the large towns might not be able to give clear definitions of substance, similitude, or generation, yet might know very clearly whether it preferred Athanasius or Gregory, Meletius or Euzoius, Macedonius or Paul. And in the country districts and the decaying towns of the Pentapolis, which had probably felt but a distant ripple from the storm-wave of controversy in Alexandria, personal considerations were still more likely to prevail over theological. [1]

It is not likely that illiterate Christians were able to follow along with all the details contained in technical theological vocabulary. They might have heard it and used it, but they did so as a slogan; they could have and likely would have interpreted the terms in a variety of ways, some which would have been as the words were intended to be understood, some in ways which might have been the opposite of those intentions. This is because, as technical vocabulary for theology developed, the meanings of those words which were used changed over time. Indeed, this even meant that those hwo were educated often ended up being confused and fight each other when they really believed the same thing. Some would come to realize this (as St. Cyril of Alexandria eventually did with John of Antioch), but in general, we are able to understand this better today than at any other time, allowing us to have positive developments in ecumenical dialogues, because we can often see various parties in the dialogues intend the same teachings, and what is in question are the words used to explain those teachings.

To be sure, technical theological words are important, as, of course, technical words in any discipline are important. Indeed, in theology, Boff suggests that they are more important than in many other fields of knowledge:

Every science has its technical terms for expressing exactly what it wants to say. Theology has a mass of key words to express what is thought in faith. Words are more important in theology than in any other science, since no one can see or experience God empirically, as the realties of the world are experienced. Technical terms in theology established the consensus reached after many trials, errors insights through generation after generation of Christian thinkers.[2]

When dealing with technical theological words, especially in the ancient world, it was difficult if not impossible to have keep the same meaning over time. If, therefore, this was a problem with dogmatic theology in the past, with those trained in theology finding it difficult to keep up with the changes, we should understand it is even more of a problem with those not extremely educated in theology today. This means, many might even say the wrong thing, in a technical sense, but mean what is right, or they might recite words they have been given, and mean something erroneous with them. This is why we must talk to people, listen to them, and discern what it is they actually mean. And, when dealing with theological issues, we will find most people have a vague, though often correct, understanding of the faith, one which can be improved and developed, but still, despite the vagueness, one which is not wrong. This is enough. If everyone is expected to be skilled theologians to be an authentic Christian, then there will have been and only will be very few Christians ever. But, of course, Christianity is not a science, it is a faith. Christians put their trust in God as revealed in and through Jesus Christ. They open themselves up to the Holy Spirit working in their lives, so that by doing so, they find themselves joining with Jesus Christ and sharing with him the kingdom of God.

No matter how educated we are, no matter how much theology we have studied, we are always going to be far off from comprehending the great mysteries of the faith. To apprehend God properly, to be open to God and the great mystery of the faith, we must accept this; when we do not, we will be far from God. “We understand God correctly when we deny that we know him perfectly.”[3] This does not mean we should remain uneducated, that such ignorance is a virtue; rather, we should seek to understand God the best we can, following and learning from those who seem best suited to teach us the faith. We must do so in such a way we make sure our focus on theoria, on the mystery of faith, which is what theology discusses, does not undermine our praxis. Sadly, that is what we have seen in the great theological disputes of Christian history. This is why mobs were known to cause great problems, not only threatening violence, but committing it, showing that they had not been given the catechesis they needed in regards the moral expectations God has for them. They started following people over Christ, treating the Christian faith like some sort of sport, acting as theologians and theological traditions represent teams we choose to support or reject. This is not the way. We are called to be one. We are called to love each other, looking after each other, working for the best for each other. We need to remember this, so that we do not get lost in the details. We must remember Christ’s way, the teachings he gave us, all which is explored by theology, is meant to helps us in following the way of love, the love which not only is meant to bring us together as one, but meant to bring us together into communion with God.

[1] Alice Gardner, Synesius of Cyrene: Philosopher and Bishop (New York: E&J.B. Young & Co., 1886), 96.

[2] Leonardo Boff, Trinity and Society. Trans Paul Burns (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1988; second printing, 1997), 58.

[3] St. Isidore of Seville, Sententiae. Trans. Thomas L. Knoebel (New York: Newman Press, 2018), 84.

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