In this video, James White calls young Christians to apply theology to issues of Artificial Intelligence. This is an issue we’ve engaged with extensively on this blog, and will continue to do into the future. You can find all that here.
In this post, I want to echo this call to young theologians. You have been told from the culture that your voice matters because of your unique experience as being young. Though your voice does matter, it does not matter because of your youth.
You are called to “set an example for the believers” (1 Timothy 4:12). Your voice will matter only insofar as your theology reflects the truth and grace of God. Within the boundaries of sound doctrine, there is room for you to play and cultivate beautiful theology — but only within those boundaries. There are new fields of study, research, and doctrine to develop in light of modern issues — but you will be of benefit to the church only insofar as you remain faithful to the soil from which you cultivate.
Right now, we need spaces “in which theologians may play freely and cultivate such plants as are cultivable in the space which is so defined” (Colin Gunton, Intellect and Action, Chapter 1). We desperately need older generation to support new generations with solid, grounded theology. Likewise, we desperately need the new generation to cultivate healthy theology to meet with modern, deadly ideologies. For the sake of young and old, we must not fail to meet the challenges we are encountering.
Colin Gunton’s warning is apt. In the garden of Christian theology,
If the boundaries are too restrictive, the expression of the truth for today will be impeded; if too vague or absent altogether, other masters will rule than the gospel, and the garden will become a desert.
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