why doctrine is important

with the election of the new Pope, Benedict XVI, we've heard of the jubilation of some (he will continue the theological direction of John Paul II), and we've heard disappointment (he's too conservative - the Church needs to get in line with the world). it's really interesting to me how many people, how many Christians, don't understand the importance of doctrine, and just dismiss it as if it were the source of all the Church's (and the world's) problems. surely some of the world's problems can be traced back to doctrine, or is it really a misunderstanding of, or manipulation of true doctrine?

I would submit to you that doctrine is not only necessary, but it's critical to the life of the Christian faith. Doctrine forms for us the very core of what it means to be a Christian, and believe the Christian faith is true. Unconvinced?

The following are just a few core doctrines that are what we can call within orthodoxy. Belief in One God. Belief that our One God is mysteriously made up of Three persons (we know God as the Trinity). Belief that Jesus is the Son of God, begotten of the Father, not made. Belief that the Holy Spirit is the love that connects the Father and the Son, who dwells in us, transforming us for the purposes, the glory of God. Belief that one day Jesus will return, and there will be a day of judgment. Belief in the resurrection of the body. Belief in the forgiveness of sins for all who recognize their own sinfullness, and call out for the grace of God in Christ Jesus. Belief that Jesus ordained the Church, and that on some mysterious level, we are one body of believers, both locally and worldwide, and that, again mysteriously, our salvation is a communal act and process as much as a personal one.

For a better, shorter, and more articulate understanding of core Christian beliefs (or doctrines), just check out the Apostles' and the Nicene Creeds. They are the earliest, best known statements of faith concerning Christianity on the part of thoughtful Christians from the earlier years of the Church's existence.

But here's the proverbial rub, in and of itself, even the best doctrine is useless if it's not lived out. Hence we have much of the Church's problems at different times over its history. It's fair to say that many of the complaints that are leveled at the Church by various people have at least some merit. As humans, even Christians struggle with their own humanity, their own sinful nature. And, as Jesus' parable of the wheat and the tares (Matthew 13:24-30) tells us, there are men and women in the Church who are not believers. From that parable, and certainly from various points in Church history, one can conclude that there have been men and women who attained positions of authority, who were neither called nor qualified, but who were able to use their office for their own personal gain, or worse, to reign at the expense of the people whom they should have been serving. We certainly know that the religious wars between Catholics and Protestants during the 16th century turned the hearts and minds of many people away from the Church to the point of where the Enlightenment sought to get away from thoughtful doctrine, and produced the idol of the 'clock-maker God' and natural theology.

But all of that's to say, throwing the baby out with the bath water is never a good solution. In point of fact, we struggle today against the secularist mindset that is the natural progression of that original Enlightenment mindset. Again, however, too many Christians fall into the trap of playing on a field that our faith isn't necessarily called to be, so we get caught up in arguments science, when we should be living the faith we so earnestly talk about.

When "used" properly, doctrine is the schematic for Christians. It gives us depth beyond the old Sunday School answer. It shows us to be thinking people. Doctrine can give us confidence to live what we believe. It equips us to be the people God created us to be. But when we treat it as mere Bible trivia, or worse, we put ourselves in an indefensible position, turning into uneducated fundamentalists whose mantra is 'the Bible says it; I believe it; that settles it.'

Let's joyfully embrace the orthodox doctrines of our faith, living out what we think and say, so that all people can see, whether they want to agree with our doctrine or not, they cannot find fault with who they find us to be in Jesus Christ.