Practicing Christian Doctrine: An Introduction to Thinking and Living Theologically

by Beth Felker Jones

The early church articulated this connection with the phrase lex orandi, lex credendi, “the law of prayer is the law of belief.” Theologian Geoffrey Wainwright points out that this expression contains a double suggestion; it “makes the rule of prayer a norm for belief,” but it also implies that “what must be believed governs what may and should be prayed.”[1] The “law of prayer” suggests the whole of an active life of discipleship, a life in which individuals and churches are in personal relationship with God. That living relationship informs orthodox or correct belief even while belief informs the life of faith. So, the connection between academic theology and theology that happens in the life of the church runs both ways. While shaping our words, theology also shapes our reason, our lives as disciples, our worship as the church, and our mission to the world. As theology affects the way we talk about God, it also affects the way we think. We are to love God with our minds, and so part of our task is to think well about God. This is not easy, because as sinners we are “estranged and hostile in mind” (Col. 1:21). Before we can hope to reason correctly, we need God’s grace to transform our minds. This transformation takes place, in part, through the process of learning how to speak rightly