Muddy Waters

Are Theologians Necessary

Canadianchristianity Magazine interviewed J I Packer--and asked him, amongst other things, whether theologians are necessary to the Church.

Distinguished theologian J.I. Packer is the author of more than 40 books -- including Knowing God, which has sold nearly two million copies and has been translated into 25 languages. He is the Board of Governors Professor of Theology at Regent College.
 
Meg Johnstone: You've been quoted as saying: "In all my teaching and writing, I am trying to show that theology is extremely practical." So, are theologians really necessary?

J.I. Packer: (chuckling) I think the answer is yes, but you have to define what a theologian is. His business is to make sure that the church has what I will call a pure water system -- thinking of the word of God as the water of life. You could describe him, therefore, as a kind of ecclesiastical plumber, or sewage engineer. In the church, there's always going to be muddy water, there's always going to be mistaken ideas going around; theologians are the people whose business is to keep the flow clear and pure. In order to do that, they have to understand the faith as a whole, and that usually means that they have to do something like specialist work in the exposition of Bible truth -- because the people who are stirring up the mud are also doing specialist work. . . . Any section of the church which doesn't have theologians -- as point people and whistle blowers and plumbers and water engineers -- is, sooner or later, going to be bogged down in muddy water.

Hat Tip: Justin Taylor