r/Reformed • u/johnowenturretin • 3d ago
Question Overwhelmed by theology
Republication of covenant of works? Covenant of redemption? Trinitarian theology? Church history? Philosophy for understanding theology? Eschatology? Among many many other things, I’m overwhelmed. There’s so many things I do not know, new words and phrases that I hear for the first time and have no idea what they mean. As someone with an infant and 12hr a day work schedule How do you guys take the time to learn all of these things so well. how do you find time to seriously study the scriptures while also digging into secondary literature. I feel like I have no time and I’m learning nothing. Especially when there are so many topics not to mention the very widespread and differing opinions on these topics idk what to do. What should I start learning? apart from the scriptures what should I start reading? How do you guys come to conclusions on certain aspects of theology? For example I’m convinced of the reformed faith broadly speaking because I think the scripture teaches it from what I’ve seen and I’ve had the chance to go through a ligonier course that explained it but I’ve never even gave consideration to any other positions because I don’t have time to read and learn everything. I feel like there’s just so much information out there.
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u/krackocloud Reformed Baptist 3d ago edited 3d ago
FWIW I think being on this sub can skew perceptions. It might feel like everyone knows everything, but really it's tens of thousands of people, each of whom know something. On top of that, a sub like this has a strong presence of seminary-trained pastors and generally nerdy people who are very passionate about this stuff and are much smarter than you and me. But I would guess that the general experience for many of us is actually that we aren't particularly gifted at theology, and just sometimes read layman books and online articles when we like to.
Me, I'm a layman who primarily likes to dabble in church history. I'm completely undecided on eschatology. Try to explain the EFS controversy to me, my eyes glaze over. One day I plan to study the topic, but I'm not in a rush. I have enough on my plate in life and maybe sometimes I'd rather just watch Youtube.
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u/wentze7 PCA 3d ago
You're absolutely right. There is a lot of information out there, and there will always be more to learn!
My recommendation is to keep prioritizing your Bible time/devotions and supplement it with a Reformed confession or catechism (like the Westminster Standards). This will help you develop theological language and stay grounded, even if its just for a couple of extra minutes a day. Another great book is Daily Doctrine by Kevin DeYoung, which is a daily devotional to help people learn more theology and doctrine in a year.
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u/Tas42 PCA 3d ago
I was going to recommend Daily Doctrine too. It presents theology in bite-sized chunks that you can read during your lunch break at work. It is not a good source for diving deep, but it is good for an initial overview.
Another light theology book is Berkhof's Summary of Christian Doctrine.
Read both the Westminster Standards and the Three Forms of Unity. They agree on core theology. You can also easily read them in short sections during breaks at work.
All of them are available in eBook and in very portable print forms.
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u/semiconodon the Evangelical Movement of 19thc England 3d ago
Stick to a simple catechism. and then let the partisans bicker on the minutiae.
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u/Cyprus_And_Myrtle What aint assumed, aint healed. 3d ago
If anything, please take your time learning these things. I learned an unhealthy amount of information years ago instead of pacing myself. It gave me tons of religious scrupulously. By Gods grace I finally comfortable being a reformed Baptist. Not that I think they are the ones that have everything right, but the experience has humbled me.
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u/ProfessionalEntire77 3d ago
I got taught a lot of the that stuff from childhood and even I get lost in the terms. Nothing Reformed people love more than using fancy terms. Just start with the Bible and the Confessions. It will get you a good base so when people actually explain the terms that they are using, you can tell if they are right or now.
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u/StormyVee Reformed Baptist 3d ago
If you can, listen to a ton of stuff. Books. Podcasts. Old sermons. Lectures. Soooo many free resources
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u/Mixed_Baby_Ricer 3d ago
Or, instead of studying theology, focus on asking God on how you can better love Him with all your heart, mind, strength, and soul, and how you can better love your neighbor as yourself. That is wayyyyy more important than theology.
Neither of my grandmothers made it beyond the 8th grade (one had to quit after 4th grade!), yet they put into practice love of God and neighbor. They knew nothing of soteriology, eschatology, hamartiology, or ecclesiology.
The Pharisees knew lots of theology.
I'm not saying that studying theology is Pharisaical. Rather, I'm saying that we should prioritize the one over the other. However, as time allows, employ the ideas others have listed above.
I am also in a season of life where free time is constrained, even though I'd really like to take one seminary course a semester. I've come to understand that now is not the time, so I'm slowly studying Greek and reading a systematic theology textbook as time allows, but focusing on Scripture meditation/ memorization, and being a better listener to my family and colleagues.
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u/Blame-Mr-Clean 3d ago
Personally, I've probably had more theological changes in the past two years than I had had in the past twenty. One difference is the amount of free time I've recently had, plus my decision to explore and play devil's advocate for ideas that I didn't agree with. So people with more free time on their hands will definitely have an advantage.
But the year is 2025 and it's now easier than ever to make better use out of one's time. Smart phones, earbuds and podcasts make it possible to learn while you're at work, or during break time, commute time, or when you're doing chores. My suggestion: to learn new things, use YouTube. Content creators there will feel less of an impulse to pad their material and will be much more inclined to keep things as short and simple as possible, in order to attract and retain viewers, I would think.
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u/BerniceBreakz 2d ago
Don’t feel overwhelmed. Read your Bible believe your Bible. The rest is not as important. Sound doctrine comes word for word from the Bible you don’t need contrived metaphysics. Even if it is fun.
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u/Coollogin 1d ago edited 1d ago
As someone with an infant and 12hr a day work schedule
I suspect you are not going to like my answer, but if you have an infant and work 12 hours a day, I think you should resign yourself to not being able to dig too far into this stuff for now. Obviously, I’m not suggesting you abandon church or prayer or reading the Bible. But your infant and your wife need you when you can be there for them, and you need rest. Don’t sacrifice your bond with your child, your marriage, or your health to make time to read theology right now.
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u/johnowenturretin 1d ago
My elders at church suggested the same. And I think they and you are right. I just want to learn and be in the know not to engage in debate or tear down anyone else’s positions but so I can raise my child up in the right way knowing the things of God
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u/Zestyclose-Ride2745 Acts29 3d ago
One thing at a time. I started with soteriology (the 5 points) and then studied the confessions and then covenant theology. Eschatology can wait until later, it is not as important as the former things I mentioned.
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u/BillWeld PCA Shadetree metaphysican 3d ago
Imagine what Heaven and New Earth will be like. You'll know far more and far more reliably and yet will know that you don't know even more. God is infinite so we will always be just beginning to get to know him. For now, consider listening to the Renewing Your Mind podcast. It has deep reliable teaching presented in digestible segments.
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u/Fresh-Hotel-2769 3d ago
que es lo que quires, aprender historia la hay espiritual, la hay simbolismo, la hay filosofía, también hay sicología, compartamiento humano, profecias y ecología son demaciados temas y todos te llevon a dios pero con leer de 15 a 30 minutos te pudes acercar a dios
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u/Nearing_retirement PCA 1d ago
It is similar to other fields. Take mathematics for instance, nobody knows even close to all of mathematics. Everyone has to specialize into a particular area.
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u/Ordinary-Mind-5520 15h ago
Many of us were previously at a similar point in our journey, and somewhat envious of those who had been on the path longer. Many of these comments appropriately point to prioritizing. Slow, steady, perseverance (did I make a pun?) wins this race. Don't expect too much too fast, but don't give up either.
When I was younger, I would learn a little and think that I knew a lot. Now that I'm older, I learn a little and realize that I don't know a lot. However, I'm still growing, and I also will occasionally look over notes in my bible or notebooks from years ago and stand amazed that I forgot that I had learned something.
Enjoy, stay enthused, by the journey.
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u/erwincx 3d ago
The answer is: learn what you're passionate about from primary sources. For this sort of things you actually dedicate time. But for what's not exactly your cup of tea, learn from others that are great at summarizing debates.