Join the Reconquista discord server only if you're mainline Protestant: / discord Join the Zoomer discord, open to all denominations: / discord Find a traditional church to attend: www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edi...
Hahaha - warm regards to all theology nerds from the city of BONN in Germany 🇩🇪💐😊 I've been a follower of Redeemed Zoomer's contributions for about a year now. Love your channel ❤
Reformed Baptist here. I’ve found that the more the nerdy theology gets, the more the personal relationship and awe of Christ grows. Especially considering the theology of the Incarnation of Christ
The vast majority of Christians who've ever lived were at least relatively ignorant about theology. The printing press wasn't invented until the 15th century and papermaking didn't reach Europe before what we call the High Middle Ages. Even after this point, the vast majority of literate Christians studied just the Bible or basic instructional texts. Before this, of course, religion was basically two things: publicly sitting through Mass and privately cultivating personal righteousness. Heck, it could be said that your average Christian was not even Nicene. More like the elites over them had memorized such creeds, and they respected the general authority of those elites. If we go down the religious intellectualism rabbit hole and take it to its logical conclusion, then it appears that only a few learned scribes, most likely from wealthy families, have been saved before modern times. The masses were condemned to hell by the fact of being born peasants. To which I say, what a laughably ineffectual Gospel this would've been. Thank goodness that's not the way it actually is.
Its more a matter of diligence and access to the word I believe. We are to delight and meditate in His word but if we are incapable of obtaining it for study or are unable to read it should we obtain it, then what good is our diligence or access. American christians have no excuse for thier biblical illiteracy, just as they have no excuse for thier general illiteracy. So I believe they will be judged according to thier complete lack of diligence to the word despite having unmatched access. Meanwhile I believe many from older periods may have an easier time at judgement for trying thier best to prioritize God despite thier ignorance due to lack of access.
@@eugenesteinbeck9469I know we can’t say people went to hell because the printing press wasn’t invented but wow, think about how much it really did for so many souls. (To clarify only Jesus saves ofc)
@@eugenesteinbeck9469 On the other hand, the vast majority of people who have ever lived weren't Christian and didn't grow up in a Christian culture. This kind of why I find the Calvinist doctrine of predestination to be essential in interpreting Christian theology. If we accept that faith in Christ is a necessary precondition to salvation, we have to acknowledge the fact that most people throughout history would fail to meet that standard by ignorance alone.
Simple faith is just as necessary as nerdy theology for the church. My temperament is much more towards nerdy theology, but both are absolutely necessary
Instead of an "either or" this is a "both and" situation. Both seeking truth and having a personal relationship is necessary. The tension comes between those who value truth and those who value harmony most. Those valuing harmony are more willing to compromise truth, and those who value truth can never accept this state. Until truth is most important, there can be no harmony. This is a major challenge both within Christianity and the secular world.
Yep. Have you read "The Thrill of Orthdoxy" (Orthodoxy in a sense of correct belief, not the Eastern Church) by Trevin Wax? It says this same thing almost word-for-word
There’s a difference between “nerdy theology” and understanding the who, what, why, and how of Christianity. Most people today say they’re Christian but have no concept of the basic mechanics behind the covenant God has made with us.
I grew up in a nondenominational evangelical church and you are spot-on about the link between pietism and theological liberalism. For me, learning about theology and learning how to talk about theology was akin to learning how to prioritize going to the gym and dieting for the first time. You activate certain brain muscles that you didn't even know you had.
I love this series, a relaxing minecraft building session while talking about christian theology is like combining my 2 favorite things, minecraft and theology
As a now Catholic who grew up Southern Baptist (imagine that lol) watching your videos got me more interested in Theology and the history of the church and has had a more positive impact on my faith: Thank you for that! We need Theology because so many people believe these days without actually knowing what they believe, which makes us all guillible.
@@KenoReplay. I became Catholic before I found Zoomer, but yes he encouraged me to research more theology and as a result it strengthened my faith in the chruch, so in a sense yes lol
6:14 Growing up me and my brothers wrestled and fought and thats how we grew stronger, nothing wrong with competitive debate and discourse. As you said, Iron Sharpens Iron.
@@redeemedzoomer6053 I joined both of your servers, but I'm just wondering if the KingdomCraft minecraft server is accessible to the public or if it's still whitelisted. I can't find links to it anywhere.
My Lutheran denomination is Pietist, but we still have people that study theology and it is still considered important. most people in the church aren't really into it though.
It kinda reminds me of all those christians videos saying that in Christianity you don't have to follow a bunch of rules or that Christianity ain't a religion its a relationship
Hey RZ, I just wanna thank you for these videos man. I recently attended a Lutheran Church after growing up in the heretical Oneness Pentecostal church and I learned so much from these videos. God Bless
Most people don't. Some people do. But without the nerdy theology, people wouldn't have the Councils and the maintenance of apostolic tradition that pietsm presupposes. Christianity would've been buried under a million gnostic cults and heresies. (Not that I think that would've actually happened, because the Truth can't be buried.)
I was recently reading in 2cnd Thessalonians, and while it does sound more of what you describe as Pietist, I think it means there is an upper limit to how "nerdy" the theology should get. Soteriology is important. A lot of higher theology is because it informs our view of God and how we should generally act. But there's a line which shouldn't be crossed, even if I'm not entirely sure where it is.
I would argue that the bare minimum theological knowledge you need should at least be enough do defend what you believe in relatively well. Many leave the church or turn to liberalism simply because they don’t know what they believe in and are easily swayed.
Maybe I'm stupid but I don't think I even see the tension between a personal relationship and nerdy theology. The way I see it, neglecting your theological study is the same as neglecting your personal relationship with the Lord and vice versa.
I can appreciate this channel for what it is: a dive into the topic of Christian theology, especially from a Protestant perspective. I find your videos entertaining and informing even if some of my comments might seem to suggest otherwise.
Good video, you bring up a interesting topic esspecially for young chrisians. its so easy to fall into the 'me and my bible' side of christianity often times its a cope to try and avoid asking the serious questions that might make you doubt what you believe. But I believe God meant for us to ask questions, discuss, debate, and try seeking the answers. We see Jesus answering peoples questions all the time in the NT. I Believe having sound theology and having a relationship with God are inceperable. and having one without the other can be troublesome for a christian.
It's important to point out that widespread literacy is a very recent thing. The majority of people who lived in the past were tradespeople and the only education they received was the essentials of their particular line of work. They didn't have the ability to understand complex theology. It's good that most people are literate today and we get to be nerdy about theology but if you consider theology to be of major importance then that means that most people in history were at a spiritual disadvantage compared to the intellectual elites of the time.
Hey Zoomer I think your video the other day summed it up really well. Jesus died for your sins, but who is Jesus? What are sins? Why did Jesus have to die? These are all deeply theological questions despite seeming very basic. Love and prayers from Boston, -GWB
As a non-clergy insider, my observation is that pietism currently reigns for 2 reasons: emotional experiences are an easy way to attract new church members, and the clergy is DOMINATED by feeling personality types. And that includes male clergy.
Pietism is the best default. Not everyone needs theology, since only 14% of the population is mentally wired for both abstract, logical thought, and that's a reality you'll have to just accept as you get older. In Job, it's clear God desires a personal relationship with us, and Jesus instructed us how to pray to God Almighty and build a personal relationship with Him in private, so I completely understand why public theological debates between denominations appear to discourage unity among the body of Christ to bystanders. "Strain at a gnat but swallow a camel" means theologians (context of Pharisees) often worry or think too much about something that is not important, often forgetting about something that is much more important with God's Word.
I agree completely! Very well said. The reason why faith is enough is because everyone is capable of having faith. Not everyone is capable of deep thought, which is why although it’s important, it’s not of the most importance.
I think the only real danger of being super nerdy theologically is coming off as a know-it-all self-righteous idiot who berates people with theological terms without love or grace. But that's more a matter of having humility, patience, and to be graceful. I think new Christians or younger believers should focus more on their personal relationship with God and having a community, but when you've matured spiritually, you should want to dig deeper. If you just stay in the shallow end and never dig deeper, you're more likely to deconstruct. I agree with you here, if your personal devotion and prayer life are weak, you need to build that up. But don't abandon the more nerdy theology. That's why I like having bible studies along with Sunday sermons. Also that Beatles joke is like people who wear Nirvana shirts but don't listen to any of their songs XD
One of the easier faiths to debunk, yet in the perspective of a Mormon, impossible to refute. Interesting to see what they say when you do attack them. They try to make it seem like you agree and whatever you use to refute them they act like they agree with it but have different meanings. Can be an annoying conversation sometimes hahah
@@CanesGunners Native Americans genetically are not Jews or Middle Easterners. They are a mixture of Ancient East Asians and Ancient North Eurasians. There I debunked Mormonism.
Once I stopped being obsessed on having the right theology, I noticed I became a little happier in life and felt better. Turns out it’s just not as important as living the best and correct way which pretty much leads to ‘love thy neighbor’ anyway.
@@TitusCastiglione1503 Exactly. Theology determines how you look at God and your entire world view. Predestination theology is good, but not most important. I think it is much more important to focus on the correct view of the sacraments by studying Scripture and the early church. How you view the gospel and law. If one can truly have assurance of salvation.
@@Catholic-Perennialist That's theology, and that's exactly why theology matters. When you have people like the IFB that condemn everyone to Hell unless you agree with them in every single point then I'd say theology matters. Again, theology determines your world view. So it's important people don't have bad theology...
I agree with most of your criticism of pietism, but I would like to push back on your takeaway. One of the main reasons that pietism sprang up was an overfocus on theology to the exclusion of the more subjective/heartfelt/spiritual sides of Christianity, so I would think that to address that legitimate concern the main takeaway would not be to merely refocus on theology, but to strive to incorporate good theology with subjective experience of it in community. I'm really glad to hear about the deep dives (sad they broke up though), since its very true that in a community that deeply cares about God, arguments about him can be very good and a sign of that care and it can be easy to miss that. I guess what I'm positing is that Pietism is right to emphasize our need for the emotional side of Christianity, but they are wrong for rejecting the intellectual side in their attempts to cater to it. The church as the body of Christ needs both expressed more, not one or the other. I was reading 2 Corinthians recently and was appreciating 5:13, and it kind of puts this in perspective --> 2 Cor 5:13 "For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you." Thanks for your videos and your pursuit of the Lord, I'm really grateful for them. Its always refreshing to see fellow Gen-Zers who care about God and his church. May God bless you and all you do.
I think this is a problem of extremes more than anything. If a person pursues nerdy theology all day but is never involved in any "practical Christianity" like spreading the gospel, discipling, etc, then that's problematic. If someone is deeply involved in practical Christianity, but neglects a good understanding of the scriptures and theology, their actions can become easily misguided and their way of thinking progressive. I don't think it's often very benficial to most people for a pastor to give a sermon on some very abstract form of theology because it's not very practical. We need balance.
One should have a good understanding of theology before any type of work. Also all Christians are called for different tasks. Some Christians are not gifted with good communicative abilities for example.
Pietism had a great impact on Lutheranism in the Midwest. A lot of the more conservative elements of the ELCA have a great influence from pietism, but that’s one element.
To the point about how Bible studies weren’t a thing until Lutheranism, it’s worth noting that the Bible was usually only printed in Latin until Lutheran translated it
Hello Brother, would you please recommend me any book about the history of christianity which includes denominational divisions and councils that occured. Thank you. God bless.
I liked you point about the Bible Study and theological Liberalism emerging from Pietism. Numerous Liberal theologians were pietists. However the rational theology versus lived out theology is a debate that goes much farther back than Pietism. The whole Palamas controversy initially did not concern energies and essences but rather how to approach knowledge of God whether through the lived out life of ascetism or scholastic pursuit. There are other earlier examples as well, I would just be careful grounding the struggle between scholasticism and mystical/lived out experiences solely into pietism.
Brother Zoomer, I love your videos, and I enjoy your content a lot. But the music…Brother, as a musician, the background you choose is too corny 😭🤣🤣 Much love, keep up the good work❤️🔥💯✝️
Could you make a video breaking down the proceedings in your church. Church traditions are foreign to me and also does your church have female leaders/teachers?
Before watching the video, I'm going to say "in theory, no; but in practice, yes" based on the results of the less "nerdy" denominations. There's a reason all atheist anti-Christian memes are unknowingly directed at evangelicals and the like. I'm reminded of a joke you did about a Christian school where the history *and* science class were both "Gawd made ev'rythin' in seven lit'ral days!"
I know you're not his biggest fan, RZ, but it is worth mentioning that John MacArthur has been trying to warn the church about this Pietist, seeker-friendly, milk-toast version of Christianity for many years now. I personally don't care if people call theology "nerdy" or "divisive"; as you said, "you can't really be something if you don't even know what it is."
As a Catholic, I don't think it's quite accurate to say that Catholic laity were actively discouraged from studying the Bible. It's important to remember that for most of Catholic history, there was no printing, meaning that for laity to regularly read and study the Bible would be extremely impractical if not outright impossible.
So wait… the Christian college group you were a part of was so concerned about your subgroup having theological arguments that they had a theological argument with you that was so bad they kicked y’all out?
The short answer is you need both. You need nerdy theology to learn who God so then you can begin to understand God on a personal level through prayer and relationship development through the word of God
Would I be a (that word that I can’t spell) because I stress a balance. I think if either is being neglected that’s a problem but the overall focus should be on the Gospel of Jesus. At least from a church meeting standpoint. I love theology but I don’t think that it should be a Sunday sermon. Not the deeper more specific stuff. Sometimes I feel that the Church as whole could do better if we focused more on evangelizing and reaching the lost over fighting over theology. Still want to say I’m not against theology but I believe there is health in a balance.
The critique is of those who sit atop a castle of interlocking abstractions whose faith will disintegrate the very moment any of the foundational propositions can be falsified. Christianity must be experiential if it is to be durable.
*Aus Fürst Otto von Bismarcks Memoiren „Gedanken und Erinnerungen“:* Ein Gespräch, das ich 1853 in Ostende, wo ich dem Prinzen näher getreten war, mit ihm hatte […] ist mir in Erinnerung geblieben, weil es mich betroffen machte über des Prinzen Unbekanntschaft mit unsern staatlichen Einrichtungen und der politischen Situation. Eines Tages sprach er mit einer gewissen Animosität über den General von Gerlach, der aus Mangel an Übereinstimmung und, wie es schien, verstimmt aus der Adjutantenstellung geschieden war. Der Prinz bezeichnete ihn als einen Pietisten. Ich: „Was denken Ew. Königliche Hoheit sich unter einen Pietisten?“ Er: „Einen Menschen, der in der Religion heuchelt, um Karriere zu machen.“ Ich: „Das liegt Gerlach fern, was kann der werden? Im heutigen Sprachgebrauch versteht man unter einem Pietisten etwas andres, nämlich einen Menschen, der orthodox an die christliche Offenbarung glaubt und aus seinem Glauben kein Geheimnis macht; und deren gibt es viele, die mit dem Staate gar nichts zu tun haben und an Karriere nicht denken.“ Er: „Was versteht man unter orthodox?“ Ich: „Beispielsweise jemanden, der ernstlich daran glaubt, daß Jesus Gottes Sohn und für uns gestorben ist als Opfer, zur Vergebung unsrer Sünden. Ich kann es im Augenblick nicht präziser fassen, aber es ist das Wesentliche der Glaubensverschiedenheit.“ Er, hoch errötend: „Wer ist denn so von Gott verlassen, daß er das nicht glaubte!“ Ich: „Wenn diese Äußerung öffentlich bekannt würde, so würden Ew. Königliche Hoheit selbst zu den Pietisten gezählt werden.“
*From Prince Otto von Bismarckʼs memoirs „Gedanken und Erinnerungen“:* A conversation I had with the prince in 1853 in Ostend, where I had become closer to the prince [...] has remained in my memory, because it made me concerned about the princeʼs ignorance of our state institutions and the political situation. One day he spoke with a certain animosity of General von Gerlach, who, for lack of agreement and, as it seemed, had resigned disgruntled from the adjutantʼs post. The prince refered to him as a pietist. Me (Otto von Bismarch): “Your Royal Highness, what do think is a pietist?” He (the Prince of Prussia): “A person who hypocrites in religion in order to make a career.” Me: “Thatʼs far from Gerlachʼs mind, what can he become? In todayʼs usage one understands something different under ‘pietistʼ: A man, who has an orthodox belief in Christian revelation and makes no secret of his faith; there are many of them who have nothing to do with the state [politics] and who are not interested in careers.” He: “What does orthodox mean?” Me: “For example someone, who firmly believes that Jesus is the Son of God and died for us as a sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins. I canʼt put it more precisely at the moment but this is the nature of differences between faiths.” He (blushing visibly): “Who is so forsaken by God that he does not believe this?” Me: “Your Royal Highness yourself would be counted among the pietists if this statement was ever to become public.”
yo. Historical Pietism isnt nearly as critical of theological thought as you make it our to be. Check out Bengel for example who was one of the first scholars to catalogue manuscripts of the bible. He was extremely deep into theology and especially eschatological thought. Pietism is alive and well in Germany still. I am pastoring in a neopietist congregation and there are a lot of those here. Pietist congregations are often times connected to the protestant mainline church in Germany and are trying to conserve good, conservative theology by not just leaving. - A bit like your reconquista project it seems. Much to say about Pietism - read up on Gnadauer Movement if you want to dig deeper. Valuable thoughts and great video eitherway! Greetings from Germany :D
Saying you shouldn't focus on theology and just on Christ has the same logic as being anti-metaphysical. Being naturalist IS a kind of metaphysics, no matter how much you want to be outside it. Same with being "anti-theology"
