I Have Never Had An Original Thought…
(…and why that is a good thing)
As human beings, we like things that are novel, or new. We like to be dazzled. This is illustrated clearly by the fact that every time Apple comes out with a new version of the iPhone, stores sell out within days or even hours. This is nothing new, as we read through Proverbs and the book of Ecclesiastes, we see that Solomon also liked new things. In fact, he gave his life to the pursuit of more and better things continually.
Desiring things that are new and improved is not in and of itself wrong, but we must be careful about applying this desire to certain areas of our life. For example, I wear an insulin pump and a glucose sensor. From time to time, those things need to be upgraded, they need to be made new, so that they can function in ways that promote health and stability.
What About Theology?
Should we be looking for new interpretations? New iterations of what has been recorded for us in the ages of Scripture? I do not necessarily mean new revelation from God, it is clear from Scripture that what he has given us in the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments is sufficient, and final (As seen in Heb 1 for example). We are not waiting for further revelation from God. But what about ideas? What about systems of theology? What about interpretations of the Bible that are new, or novel?
R.C Sproul once quipped something like, “If you come up with a new or fresh interpretation of the Scripture at this point in history, and it contradicts what has historically been agreed upon by the church, it is probably heretical.” Even though I butchered the quote, I hope you can see his point. As it stands now, we should be very cautious about “new” ideas that do not align with the historic, orthodox faith of the Protestant Christian church. Not that history or tradition are infallible, they are not. But we are not the first generation to read and interpret the Scriptures, and it is right and good for us to stand on the shoulders of godly men who have previously wrestled through the issues of textual interpretation, and under the influence of the Holy Spirit, established what we call orthodox theology (orthodox meaning right thinking).
Solomon’s Wisdom
I think that Solomon can help me make my point here. As I mentioned, he spent (or maybe we should say wasted) his life in the pursuit of the next best thing. The new version, the upgrade. But at the end of it all, he recognized the vanity in this way of living, and in a moment of inspired clarity, he says this:
“What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun.
Is there a thing of which it is said,
“See, this is new”?
It has been already in the ages before us.”
We often quote verse 9 when talking about sin and depravity. When we see the degradation around us, we sigh and say, “Well, there really is nothing new under the sun.” And that’s true.
But my point in this article is that the same verse can be applied in a helpful way to our thinking about theological or doctrinal matters as well. At this point in redemptive history, I think we should be very cautious about teachers of the Bible who have a “new way” of understanding a text, especially if it does not align with other places in the Bible, or with the historic understanding of the text. This “new way” may even turn out to be an old road already tried and proven false. Ecclesiastes 1:10 also touches on theology and ideas.
This is why I can and should say that I have never had an original thought, and that’s a good thing! Again, to puppet R.C Sproul, he said that there was nothing in him theologically or doctrinally that was not first in the Reformers. And there was nothing in the Reformers that was not first in Augustine, and there was nothing in Augustine that was not first in Paul, and nothing in Paul that was not first in Jesus. We have and hold to a historic faith that has been tested, proven, fought for, and defended for thousands of years, and we should see that as a great blessing. We should not feel the pressure to come up with new or novel things, but rather we should rejoice that we stand in a historic stream of faithful men who have interpreted the Scriptures with clarity.
An Important Caveat
This idea does not however, take us off the hook for study and seeking understanding when we handle the Bible. We must still apply ourselves to know and understand the scriptures. It is not enough to simply repeat what someone else said, or to relegate the study of the Word to professionals, we must engage the Bible. For example, when I am preparing to teach or preach, before I look to commentaries or historical theology, I first work the text through myself. I interact with it, I connect it to other Scriptures, and pray for the Lords help in my understanding. In this sense, I am discovering things that may be “new” to me, but they are not new in the sense that no one else has ever had that thought before me. After my work in the text, I will then consult trusted resources and commentators to compare my findings to theirs, and ensure that I am thinking clearly, and staying within the bounds of orthodox, historical theology. This is why I can say that I have never had an original thought. All of what I say has (hopefully) been said before albeit in a different context or application, and we should praise God for the theological works that have been preserved for us through history.
This is not to say that all of the historic interpretations are correct, or even that we agree with all of them. But I think the value of studying church history as we are doing currently in our Sunday School at GBC, is that we are able to see the battles that were fought for orthodox theology (think Nicaea, Chalcedon, and the Reformation), and how God in his faithfulness has sovereignly seen to it that not only is his word preserved, but right theology is also established and preserved throughout history.
Study With Discernment
You may be able to see how this is applicable to those who regularly handle and teach the Bible, but does this have any implication for the church body in general? I believe it does. If we understand what Solomon said, that there is nothing new under the sun, then it should cause all of us to exercise a greater level of discernment when choosing books to read, sermons or podcasts to listen to, and even our adherence to certain theological frameworks and systems.
It is no accident that we live when we live, and personally I am thankful that I will never have an original thought, that I stand in a tradition of faithful interpretation. So may God grant us strength to faithfully handle his word, and take full advantage of the means of grace that he has provided though those who have gone before us.