Rigor

I and many of my friends have been criticized for our supposed lack theological rigor. It’s meant as an insult. I take it as a compliment.

Rigor has its place. But it’s not the be and end all of theology. A Turretin is necessary for consolidating a Reformation. He could never have started a Reformation.

Plus, I don’t think even the rigorous are as rigorous as they pretend to be. They also know and see and confess more than they can ever demonstrate. Only madmen confine themselves to provable assertions, and our critics are not, I trust, madmen.

Fresh insights are always un-rigorous. They always come in a flash of intuition, not through brick-by-brick systematization. They always come as a blinding light from heaven, an open door to paradise, a strange warming of the heart. Rigor is always a late-comer. Lack of rigor might be a sign of laziness and falsehood. But it might just as well be a sign of vitality and truth.

When someone says, “You’re not rigorous,” I cheerfully translate as, “You do theology like Luther and Paul.” Which is, as I say, a compliment.