Christian theology in a Sudanese context. Theology is to be considered and experienced.
I have found the following exercise helpful using my Bible.
Read a chosen section quietly and carefully. Underline every word that describes God, or every phrase that teaches something about God. After finishing the reading, copy a list of all the different underlined words on to a sheet of paper. The result is the beginning of a theology: a study of the existence and nature of God.
For example, doing this with Genesis 1:1-2:3 (NIV text) would produce a list like something like this:
“God created, the Spirit of God, God said, God saw, God separated, God called, God made, God blessed, God rested, God made holy”.
A little more thinking may add still more to that list, from the same verses. These are not specific words about God but ideas about Him implied by what the Bible says:
‘God has no beginning, He was already there’, verse 1. ‘God judges between what is good and what is bad’, verse 4. ‘God sets specific purposes for certain things He makes’, verse 14. ‘God wants things to happen’, verse 22. ‘God speaks to Himself within Himself’, verse 26. ‘God gave mankind a special role in His creation’, verse 28.
An exercise like this can be done with any part of Scripture. It should always be remembered that the result is only a part of what the Bible says God is like. Until you have done it with the whole Bible you will not have a complete picture.
Thinking it through.
Amongst otherBible passages for this exercise, try:
Psalm 145:1-21
Isaiah 55:1-13
John 17:1-26
Ephesians 1:1-22
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