Are you a theology thug?

Theo Thug is a expression that has been on my mind because of a funny t-shirt my friend Derrick custom-designed last year.  It's a great shirt that expresses our unity among theologians in a humorous way.

I highly recommend owning one.  This shirt practically promises to include you into a secret fraternity that includes Charles Spurgeon, Martin-Lloyd Jones, AW Tozer, and the Puritan kids from down the street.  Plus it's really soft.  There's an added bonus if your name is Theo...all the better!  lol

I'd like to depart from the humor, excellent and commendable aspects of being a proud card-carrying member of the "theo thug" community and consider the opposite side of theo thug that unfortunately can rear its ugly head.  Any good thing can be used for wrong purposes.  Theology is no exception.  Example - So many men in history have used theology to control and manipulate the masses.  Charismatic theologians have led many men and women astray with cults.  We are all familiar with these harmful and intentional abuses of theology.  These are only a few of the kinds of theo thugs, but there are other kinds you might not be aware of.  They may be well-intentioned in some cases, but still harmful.

Become more aware of HOW you wield your theology...

1) College Theo Thugs

Many intelligent, diligent first or second-year ministry students can become theo thugs unaware.  How is this?  With immersion into deep study and rapidly growing knowledge comes a desire to apply it.  They want to test out the new car.  This theology application may be done with fellow ministry students, students of other majors, people at church, and among non-believers.  Applying this growing knowledge isn't thug in itself.  Thug occurs when knowledge is applied without restraint and wisdom, and it's more common than you might think.  Rarely does the "green" ministry student's restraint & wisdom run as fast as his knowledge is increasing.  So, many first or second-year ministry students dump theological terms, isms, church history, sections of systematic theology and quotes from historical theologians on their unsuspecting recipients.  For the average Christian, this feels like being plunged to the bottom of the deep end of a pool.  They struggle to get air.  It can be an intimidating feeling to encounter one of these on-fire fully charged up theo thug walking weapons.  They are walking weapons because they point a fully loaded theology at defenseless civilians.  My advice for the new ministry student is, take it easy on the public.  Be slow to speak, continue to listen more than you speak, and use small words the average person has in their vocabulary.  Ask more questions to find out what others think.  Avoid data dumping everything you know.  You may find that you still have much to learn and will not reveal the depth of your inadequacy or on the reverse side intimidate with your extensive knowledge.  In any case, a theo thug unaware can really turn people off rather than turn them on to curiosity about Christianity or interest diving deeper into the scriptures.  Remember it's better to be a professional swimmer in a kiddie pool than a kiddie in a professional pool.  Don't drown your listener.

2) Whack-A-Mole Theo Thugs

This type of theo thug is just as clueless about his or her behavior as the College Theo Thug, yet does even more harm.  The Whack-a-mole theo thug hammers everyone down everyone brave enough to listen or share with his or her knowledge.  For this type of theo thug, everything is a debate and he alone has all the right answers.  Every conversation is a battle and nobody else is allowed to win.  Every conversation is a battle for supremacy.  Unfortunately, first and second-year theology students can fall into this behavior unaware as well.  This theo thug offends everyone he meets whether his theology is correct or not. This guy's words are more about attitude, dominance of intellect, and oration than about ministering or equipping.

3) Dogma Theo Thugs

To the Dogma Theo Thug is the leading authority on faith and practice.  Every bit of dogma, doctrine and belief become strict oppressive dogma.  Many fundamentalists in the United States have received this reputation.  They are completely inflexible on all issues of faith and practice.  There is only one way and that is their way.  This way is completely without any exceptions and every person that doesn't meet their man-made criteria of holiness is teetering on the brink of annihilation.  That's a stressful way to worship, think, and share a relationship with God.  This type of behavior becomes heavily works based and judgemental.  Love is given far less than condemnation.  Most people attempt to escape this oppression by walking away from the church and their faith for a lifetime.

4) Political Theo Thugs

This is a guy we are seeing more and more in our aggressive controversy-laden society.  Those with political agendas justifying every bill, policy, and action by divine authority.  Let's face it, we use moral and religious values to make good decisions but not every political decision needs a religious reference to hammer the idea home.  If you are not part of their political party then you are automatically a heathen.  These thugs refer to God's sovereignty as a tool to infer their own authority.  This is a misuse of scripture.  Yes, the politician is ultimately given power by God's sovereign control but what he does with that power may not reflect God's desires at all.  There are some decisions in my own life that I am very grateful about God's name not being tied directly to.  Don't tie God to things you may later regret.

5) Soap Box Theo Thugs

The soapbox theo thug is the one who seems to be the most clueless.  You can find these guys yelling on soapboxes at universities or standing in the street with a megaphone pointed at people as they pass.  In these cases, their passion is misguided and their heart misplaced.  These guys turn off everyone from Christianity and are going to incite resistance everywhere they go.  Don't become this guy.

If you are growing in your theological understanding, be careful that you don't become part of the wrong fraternity of theologians, the wrong type of Theo Thug.  It's easy to slip into some of these negative classifications.  It's time to check your heart, slow down and bring others with you in love.  

If you're going to be a "theo thug", learn to use theology the right way.  :)
Extend a loving Theo Hug instead.
Are you theo thuggin' or theo huggin'?