How to Think Theologically by Howard Stone and James Duke

Reading and Readers

Everyone wants to know how to make money, how to lose weight, how to make friends and influence people. But before all that, more importantly, the first thing we got to know is how to think -- and as people who live our lives before God -- specifically, it is knowing how to think theologically.

Hi, my name is Terence and I’m your host for Reading and Readers, a podcast where I review Christian books for you. Today I review “How to Think Theologically” by Howard W. Stone and James O. Duke. 142 pages, published by Fortress Press in 2006. 2006 is the second edition. The fourth edition, published in 2023 is available in Amazon Kindle for USD14.99.

Reviewing the 2nd not the 4th Edition

Why am I reviewing the 2nd edition and not the 4th edition? Because I got the 2nd edition for free. Even though I was not reviewing books for the past 6 months, I still made sure to get the Logos free book of the month. For June, the free book was “How to Think Theologically”.

You might be wondering whether it’s worth listening to a review of the second edition when, if you do read the book you would get the latest edition. In any case, my review is still helpful in your buying, reading, decision.

First, whatever is good in the 2nd edition will be in the 4th edition. That is why there is a 4th edition.

Second, when you hear all the good things I have to say about today’s book, you might resolve, like I have, to never miss a free book deal. And if you did get the Logos free book for June, this review might just persuade you to read it.

I Could Not Help You... Until Today

The book resonates with me because it describes the one thing I have been trying to excel in all these years.

When I was a young Christian I did not know what thinking theologically meant. I knew it was imperative for us to think biblically but what does that mean?

I only understood after I read books like Don Carson’s “Showing the Spirit”, a commentary on 1 Corinthian 12-14. That book fundamentally transformed my thinking process.

Now, many good books later, I try to bring the Bible to bear in everything, to understand God and his work in myself, the people around me and the world across space and time.

If you ask me, “Terence, I want to learn how to think theologically too, can you help? Can you do what you do best and recommend a book?”

A few weeks ago, my answer would be, “I wish I had a simple guide for you. Everything I practise, I learnt it the hard way through many books, by many writers, on many diverse issues, over many years. You could read Don Carson’s book but you would learn by observing the master. The master is not explaining what or why or how. He is busy doing the thinking through the Bible on the topic. In Don Carson’s case, thinking through 1 Cor 12-14 on the topic of the Holy Spirit. I wish I have that one book to recommend to you.”

And today, I have!

Buy this book. Read this book: “How to Think Theologically” by Howard W. Stone and James O. Duke.

Dynamic Duo

Howard Stone is a psychologist, marriage and family therapist, theologian ,and professor emeritus at Texas Christian University. James Duke is Professor of the History of Christianity and the History of Christian Thought at Brite Divinity School.

They have put together this concise how-to guide for Christians who never knew they were theologians and don’t know where to start.

So let me share my thoughts on the book.

Embedded vs. Deliberative

First, I found the distinction between embedded theology and deliberative theology to be immensely helpful.

This is the way I understand it. Embedded theology is what you grew up with in church; it's the air you breath. It's instinct, reflex, it's how you do the faith.

Deliberative theology is questioning your growing up years; it's putting the air you breath into a mass spectrometer. It's inquisitive, reflective, it's asking why you do faith in this way and not that.

Deliberative theology is the theology I tend to force unto the people around me. Embedded theology is what they wish we could all do instead.

When we make a distinction, we are drawing a line, we are pointing out differences. Sometimes, often times, that leads to quarrels. Other times, making that distinction helps people to reconcile.

We recognise that embedded theology is what everyone practises and it is good enough until it isn't. And then deliberative theology becomes necessary. Christians who are able to do deliberative theology within the faith are less likely to deconstruct themselves out of the faith.

They are more equipped to handle crisis. In this book, the authors use many real world examples. But two stick out the most.

First is the Great Hymnal Controversy. The church wrestles with whether to buy new and different hymnbooks to replace the ones falling to pieces. You can replace this controversy with the one you have in your church.

The second crisis moves away from the religious assembly to the personal home. Tom’s mother has terminal cancer and the doctor suggests removing life support. Tom doesn’t know what is the right thing to do. All of us have faced devastating dilemmas before. And if you have not, you will.

Do you know what to do? Do you know how to think theologically?

The Reason You Read This Book: How-To

Stone and Duke are here to help. They will teach us in a systematic way.

The first three chapters of the book sets up the motivation and principles. Then the next four chapters show us how to do it, and lastly the final two chapters describes how thinking theologically works in the Christian community and in spiritual formation.

When we come to the how-to chapters, the authors give us a template to work from. Three sets of diagnostic exercises covering three areas: The Gospel, the Human Condition and Vocation.

I quote:

Each question in turn (though not necessarily in order) can be applied to every issue that calls for our theological deliberation. The exercises surely will not cover all that could be said about the meaning of the Christian message of God. But they strike near the very heart of the concerns of Christian faith. In exploring these questions, something is disclosed of the breadth and depth of the Christian message. They provide a staging area for later, more complete, reflection.

Let’s look at the questions in the first set, the Gospel set.

1. What is the gospel?
2. How does the gospel reach the people?
3. How do people receive the gospel and its benefits?

Hmm... the questions are not ground-breaking. A bit basic. And that’s the point, to go back to basics and re-evaluate our situation in light of the basics, the gospel!

This is how it works, I quote:

For the church council debating the purchase of new hymnals, a clearer understanding of the church’s role in promulgating the gospel might have facilitated the discussion. Tom, who is already searching the Scriptures on his own for help in dealing with his mother’s imminent death, might be prompted to seek more help from the church: as a companion to the Scripture in making the gospel of Jesus known and as a potential source of guidance and strength in making his hard decision regarding life-support removal.

We now turn to the chapter on Human Condition. The questions are:

1. What is the basic problem with the human condition? (What is Sin?)
2. What is the resolution to that problem in the human condition? (What is Salvation?)
3. How is the problem resolved? (What is the means of Salvation?)

This chapter reminds me of another book I read, “Gospel Fluency” by Jeff Vanderstelt. Vanderstelt makes this audacious claim: “For every problem, the gospel is the solution.”

When I first heard it, I thought, "That couldn’t possibly be true."

But as Vanderstelt explains, I begin to realise that, indeed, underlying every quarrel, addiction, fear and anger, is sin. And once I saw the True Enemy, it was easier to see The Solution, because there is only one solution to Sin, and that is Jesus Christ.

So far we have only looked at two sets of questions. You can do so much with these questions.

Find a quiet place to sit. Reflect on the questions that Stone and Duke ask in their book. Don’t give the Sunday School answers. See the issue as a Christian.

And when you do some reflections, you can be surprised at how an incidental reading leads to unexpected assurance.

That was what I got.

What is Sin is Not Incidental

It all started when someone told me, “Nobody is born with a sin nature. We are all born as a blank slate.” In theology, this means a denial of Original Sin.

I believe we are all born with Sin. But I went back to study why I believe so. Along the way, I read Augustine’s Anti-Pelagian writing, which became a podcast review. I searched for Christian books that deny Original Sin, I couldn't find any. There are books that deny Original Sin, but they were not within the broad spectrum of the Christian faith.

But the biggest pushback I faced seems to not be whether to affirm or deny Original Sin, but whether it even matters. The issue is not veracity, but practicality or necessity.

Some say: “Why don’t we accept both interpretations as equally valid? After all, many Christians hold different interpretations on many parts of Scripture and have learnt to look past these differences to unite on the main thing, the Gospel.”

So I have been questioning myself over and over again, whether am I being unnecessarily difficult. Yet, over and over again, as I study Scripture, I cannot see how one church can hold two opposing interpretations on what Sin means.

Stone and Duke's chapter on the Human Condition just reinforces my conviction that this matter is of critical importance.

To be clear, this is not a book written to affirm or deny Original Sin. But I note that one of the questions they ask is: What is the basic problem with the human condition? In other words, What is Sin?

How you answer this question affects how you understand salvation. What did Jesus do? He saved us from our sins. But what is Sin?

And as the book makes clear, answering these questions affects how we live life. The authors do not see Sin as something out there, something that lives in the books of dead theologians to be dissected by theologians who have too much time in their hands.

Sin is the basic problem with the human condition. Just this fact demands our every effort to get what it is right. We should not just sweep distinctions aside and claim all interpretations leads to Jesus.

Not Just a Series of Questions

I have only discussed two sets of the diagnostic exercises. The third set covers Vocation. The questions are:

1. What deeds are Christians called to do?
2. What are the reasons for performing a service or action?
3. Why is one course of action the most fitting in a given situation?

You could say, "If I knew how to answer those questions in the first place, I wouldn't be in a dilemma!"

That is why we have to understand, the book is not just a series of questions. If it was, it would be two pages long and not 142 pages.

There is more to the practise of theological reflection and the authors do a good job explaining them. Except when they don't.

More Explanations Would Be Better

Some parts could be better explained.

In chapter 3, the authors quote theologian David Kelsey. Kelsey lists four ways theologians draw biblical texts into theological reflections. According to Kelsey, the Word of God is identified in:

1. Propositions about divine truth
2. Symbolic expressions of faith experiences
3. Recitals of God’s identity
4. Invitations to existential possibilities for new life

Then without further explanation the authors challenge the reader, I quote:

Try listening for Kelsey’s categories in the next sermon you hear. When the minister quotes Scripture, ask yourself: What is this speaker using the Bible to ask me to do? Or, put the same question to a sermon or lesson that you deliver: What are you asking your hearers to do when you quote the Bible?

Challenge not accepted. I don't understand what Kelsey means by those four ways. I could guess but I should not have to.

In chapter 8, the authors ask us to think critically using a process that includes description, analysis, framing a view, judgment and response.

They explain what description means. They explain what analysis means. But they explain framing a view by describing how a camera frames the subject. I like photography. I know how to frame a subject. But I don't know how to transfer my photography skills into theological thinking.

What is the difference between analysis and framing a view? The authors do not explain. I could guess but I should not have to.

I appreciate how the authors want to keep the book short. They succeeded in doing that. But I wish they could have a few more extra pages so that they can explain things properly. And I guess many other readers thought so too because the 4th edition has 40 more pages. The book must be good if people want more of it right?

Two Starting Points and One Correction

However there was one part of the book that I felt needed correction.

In the authors' introduction to the theological method, they describe two starting points. I quote:

Christian theology is reflection on the faith in the Christian message of God in Jesus Christ. The connection between faith and God’s message is an invitation to reflect either on the human side of the connection (faith) or on its divine side (God’s message).

These two tracks have given rise to a distinction between theologies with an anthropological or human starting point and those that begin with divine revelation.

They then proceed to explain the merits and risks of each starting point. They give the impression that both are equally valid starting points. I disagree. I believe we should always start with divine revelation.

When preparing for a sermon or bible study, we must start with the text. We mustn't allow the congregation's felt needs direct where the text wants us to go.

When a preacher is doing a book series, preaching verse by verse, how much more amazing it is when we hear how the Word of God speak to the people's needs without the preacher ever knowing about them.

The problem with the church today is our tendency to put us, our wants and needs, first and not God. We think we know better, but we don't. I could rant about this for hours but let's just skip to the part where I changed my mind.

As I was preparing for this book review, I read up on the authors. Stone describes himself as psychologist, marriage and family therapist first, then theologian. So I started thinking from his perspective.

And I realised I was framing the discussion wrongly. I was interpreting the two approaches strictly from a preaching or bible study point of view.

In preaching, I still hold strongly to everything I just said. We start with the text.

But when it comes to counselling, if I have Tom in front of me, and he has all these questions. If he agrees to the medical experts to withdraw life support for his mother, is it euthanasia or is it allow nature to carry its course? Is he honouring God or participating in the culture of death?

As I listen to him, obviously my starting point is him. I would be scrambling to pick from my mind anything from Scripture that deals with his issue. So in counselling, the Word of God is responding to the believer's confusion, pain, doubts and fears.

Then when I zoom out, reframe this conversation I am having with myself, I remind myself that the point of the book, is for everyone to think theologically about all parts of life. I was so zealous to establish divine revelation's primacy that I had tunnel vision.

So instead of correcting the authors, I found myself corrected. And this is good. That means I am growing.

Every Christian should experience correction. If a Christian never finds himself or herself corrected in the Christian walk, then humanity has just found the next perfect person after Jesus Christ.

The People Who Should Read This Book and Don't

Speaking of correction, I can think of many categories of people who should read this book but won't.

1. Those who think theology is for overly-intellectual people. That is not true, the authors refute that from the get go.
2. On the other extreme, those who think they already know how to think theologically. They are seasoned fighters in theological MMA. Bashing people online over doctrine is not theological thinking. You should read this.

In an ideal world, everybody would read this book. In an ideal world, this book would be required reading to graduate from elementary school. Okay that's a bit exaggerated. Required reading to graduate from high school.

This is because theology needs to be done in community. I quote:

[Indeed,] theological reflection is insufficient if it is done in isolation. Theological reflection occurs in the context of community. Because it is communal, it is also collaborative and dialogical. Even though we eventually come up with our own unique operational theology, its formation occurs in testing, sharing, talking, and listening to others.

If you and I both read this book, when we have a dispute, maybe over hymnbooks or something else, then if we say let's look at this biblically. We understand each other. Naturally, we each want to prove that we are right, but we now engage in a process of exploration and discovery.

Even if I totally disagree with you, it is edifying for me that we looked at the issue through the Gospel, the Human Condition and Vocation, and went further from there. Although we have different answers to the questions, I could, in the years to come, reflect on your answers and eventually it might make sense to me and the process leads to my correction.

So the experience is not of two warriors grappling in the octagon, trying to bash the other senseless, but it is of two seekers continually exploring the divine landscape in search of truth. Sharing what they have found in hopes that the other will join them on the correct path.

Outro

In conclusion, this book is not the only way to learn how to think theologically. But it might be the most concise and practical guide for all Christians in that process.

This is a Reading and Reader’s review of “How to Think Theologically” by Howard W. Stone and James O. Duke. 142 pages, published by Fortress Press in 2006, which is the second edition. The fourth edition, published in 2023 is available in Amazon Kindle for USD14.99.

For more book reviews and contact details, you can visit readingandreaders.com. Thanks for listening. Bye bye.

Book List

• How to Think Theologically by Howard W. Stone and James O. Duke. Amazon 4th Ed. Logos 2nd Ed.