Immerse | A Journal of Faith, Life, and Youth Ministry

Lessons from the Master of Humor and Fun

When I was a full-time youth minister, I sought to teach kids to love Jesus, read the Bible as much as they could, and consider how their faiths affected their actions. Like most youth workers, I suppose.

But if someone had asked me eight years ago if I were teaching Christian doctrine, I probably would’ve shaken my head knowingly and—with a deep sigh suggesting all the hard work of guiding youth—answered, “No, we’re not there yet.” (And then I would’ve locked myself in my office and frantically researched the teaching of doctrine.)

Doctrine. It sounds so “church history-ish,” so full of complicated theological ideas that basically boil down to Jesus is Lord, Scripture is the inspired Word of God, and one day we’ll all be resurrected to new life in God’s heavenly Kingdom. Isn’t that at least the gist of what I taught those students somewhere between the soup kitchens and the ski trips? Oh, if I could do some things over again.

The adolescent years are actually a fertile time to discover and wrestle with doctrinal teachings. When their formative minds are struggling to know what to believe and how to assert their intellectual capabilities, discussing Christian doctrine can be a good way of teaching youth how to “work out their salvation with fear and trembling.” And learning the ways Scripture and tradition have articulated the tenets of our faith is a viable vehicle through which our postmodern young people can learn that, as Christians, they’re grafted into an already-existing narrative and they’re invited to take up a part in the ongoing story.

‘That We May Know the Truth’

The writer of Luke’s Gospel begins by stating the book’s goal: That we may know the truth about the “events that have been fulfilled among us.” I find this a helpful way to grapple with the purpose of doctrine. In the broadest sense doctrine is about setting faithful boundaries and providing people with a framework to think about the tenets of the Christian faith. How do we understand God, humanity, Christ, and Christ’s work? How do we understand the role of the Holy Spirit and the purpose of the church? What is God’s vision for the world, and what are we to expect when God’s Kingdom fully reigns? These are all questions reflected upon through various church doctrines.

Let’s not confuse church dogma with church doctrine—there’s a notable distinction between the two. Dogma is the church’s teaching about the agreed-upon basics of the faith, undisputable and necessary for an accurate understanding of Christianity. Doctrine is teaching that explains church dogma but theoretically is still open for discussion. For example, the idea that Christians are saved by God’s grace is a dogma of the church, but there are different interpretations of what that entails. Therefore various denominations may offer nuanced doctrines regarding salvation. Some may stress the role of human works while others may stress God’s predestination of who will be saved, etc.

Identity Formation

Although there may be different ideas about what constitutes a particular doctrine—even if we don’t agree with certain doctrinal tenets—there’s still much to gain from the study of doctrinal developments. Doing so helps us understand the theological processes of our church fathers and mothers. Liken it to the significance of knowing where you come from even if you find you have no desire to live there.

In this sense understanding and reflecting upon doctrine plays an important role in our identity formation as Christians. Doctrine forces us to turn to Scripture and tradition and engage in dialogue not only with one another but also with the saints who’ve gone before us, the cloud of faithful witnesses. We learn and are reminded that, as Christians, a particular narrative forms us that’s been tried and tested by both Scripture and tradition. Different faith traditions may emphasize different doctrinal points, but the doctrinal foundations remain the same—the story of God’s work in the world and the salvation of humanity through Jesus Christ.

Theological Formation

Doctrine helps us to understand the tenets of Christianity that make us a unique community of people, distinguishing us from everyone (and everything) else. The Western world we inhabit has pressed us to be children of the post-Enlightenment era, teaching us that human reason and autonomy are the lay of the land. Naively taking this for granted, we too teach our youth to be independent individuals who think for themselves and avoid following the crowd. But Christians do follow a crowd—the community of faith and the body of Christ. And we give up our autonomy in imitation of Christ, seeking to be in communion with God.

If your students believe studying doctrine is only for stuffy academics or an endeavor only adults are interested in, ask them for their ideas on a few of these subjects: how the world was created, what the purpose of human life is, what happens when they die, why it’s important to act fairly and to think of others before themselves. Your students’ thoughts on these issues are part of what encompass their own theological perspectives—indeed their doctrinal beliefs. Knowing the latter will go a long way in debunking the idea of doctrine as a far-off concept.

In addition, awareness of church doctrine should help young people shape more faithful theologies. Coming to terms with various Christian doctrines helps us to know and to better articulate what we believe about the “events that have been fulfilled among us.” And if we know what we believe, then we’re better able to discern between faithful thoughts and actions that witness to our beliefs and those that don’t. Our eyes are more open to the competing belief systems that vie for our hearts and minds and nefariously mimic Christian truths. Leo Tolstoy, the famed 19^th-century Russian novelist and educator, wrote this about church doctrine while contemplating the horrors of war that his fellow countrymen performed in the name of Christ: “I have no doubt that there is truth in the doctrine; but there can be no doubt that it harbors a lie; and I must find the truth in the lie so I can tell them apart.”[1]

Discerning the Truth from the Lie

As we struggle to discern the truth from the lie, we’re struggling to know God. St. John of Damascus might support this important aspect of doctrine. A seventh-century orthodox mystic, John is known for, among many things, the idea of the via negativa (the way of negation). This idea suggests that knowing who God is lies in knowing who God is not. In other words, as finite beings we can never fully know the infinite God, but we can learn of God by ruling out what we discern God is not.

What does this have to do with doctrine? Studying and reflecting upon different doctrines help us in that search to know God. As we learn more about the tenets of particular doctrines, it helps us reflect on what those tenets have to do with our faith in Christ and our love for God. Therefore, when studying doctrine, the means are not merely the path to the end but are also part of the end:What are the practical implications of thinking through St. Basil’s doctrine of the Trinity? How can understanding the biblical teachings of the Spirit affect the way we live our lives and the way we worship? What can we learn about God’s justice by seeking to understand Anselm’s doctrine of atonement? What does St. Cyril have to teach us about Christian redemption through his Christological doctrines?

The more we know of and affirm these doctrines—and encourage our students to do the same—the more readily we all might boldly proclaim that we believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. That we believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, and who suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried, and who descended to the dead but on the third day rose again, and ascended into heaven where he sits at the right hand of God the Father, and will come again to judge the living and the dead. That we believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.

Renowned theologian, Karl Barth, put it another way in Vol. 1/2 of Church Dogmatics: “If the Yes does not in some way contain a No, it will not be the Yes of a confession. If we have not the confidence…to say damnamus [what we refuse] then we might as well omit the credimus [what we believe].”

[1] Leo Tolstoy, Confession (orig. published 1885; New York: W.W. Norton, 1983), 88-91 as published in Christopher Morse,Not Every Spirit: A Dogmatics of Christian Belief (Pennsylvania: Trinity Press International, 1994), 12.

Enuma Okoro directs the Duke University Center for Theological Writing and serves as a spiritual formation leader for Duke seminarians. She’s a first generation American raised in the USA, Africa, and England, and she leads workshops and retreats for young people on Theology & Poetry, Art as a Mirror for the Divine, Writing as a Spiritual Practice, and Engaging the Spiritual Disciplines for Discernment.