21. THE ACQUISITION OF THE THEOLOGICAL HABITUDE.

Our Lutheran dogmaticians have rightly emphasized the great truth that "the theologian is not born, but made." (Theologus non nascitur, sed fit.) By this axiom they wished to say that no man by nature is a theologian nor can become a theologian by his own reason or strength. Theology is a God-given habitude. (Theologia est habitus practicus θεόσδοτος.) Hence the Holy Spirit Himself must make a person a theologian. How the Holy Spirit accomplishes this is excellently described by Luther in the famous dictum: Oratio, meditatio, tentatio faciunt theologum. This is the best description of theological methodology which has ever been attempted; for it names, briefly, yet fully, all the elements that cooperate in the making of a true theologian.

It recognizes first of all the necessity of prayer. With regard to prayer as a means by which to acquire the theological habitude, Luther writes: "For this reason you should despair of your wisdom and reason; for with these you will acquire nothing, but by your arrogance cast yourself and others into the pit of hell, as did Lucifer. Kneel down in your chamber and ask God in true humility and seriousness to grant you His Holy Spirit through His beloved Son in order that He may enlighten you, guide you, and grant you a true wisdom." St. L., XIV, 434 ff. That sincere and constant prayer is an indispensable factor in the acquisition of the theological habitude is attested not only by all true theologians who have served the Christian Church in the spirit of its divine Lord, but also by Holy Scripture itself. John 15, 7. 8: "If ye abide in Me and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is My Father glorified that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be My disciples"; 16, 24: "Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full." James. 1, 5: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."

The second requisite in Luther's methodology is meditation, or study. Of this Luther writes: "In the second place, you should meditate, and not only in your heart, but also outwardly, the oral Word and the express words that are written in the Book, which you must always consider and reconsider and read and read over with diligent attention and reflection to see what the Holy Ghost means thereby. And take care that you do not become weary of it, thinking that you have read it sufficiently if you have read, heard, or said it once or twice and understand it perfectly. For in this way no great theologian is made, but they who do not study are like immature fruit, which falls down before it is half ripe. For this reason you see in this psalm Ps. 119 that David is always boasting that he would speak, meditate, declare, sing, hear, read, day and night and forever, yet nothing else than alone the Word and the commandments of God. For God does not purpose to give you His Spirit without the external Word. Be guided by that. For He did not command in vain to write, preach, read, hear, sing, and declare His external Word." By meditation, Luther, then, understands the constant study of Holy Scripture as the pure and infallible Word of God, by which the Holy Ghost not only converts and sanctifies sinners, but also renders the theologian capable of doing the work of a truly Christian teacher in the fear of God, in other words, by which He bestows the theological habitude. It is clear that such constant study of God's Word is commanded also in Holy Scripture. 1 Tim. 4, 13: "Till I come, give attendance to reading"; v. 15: "Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them, that thy profiting may appear to all"; 6, 20: "O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings and oppositions of science falsely so called."

Concerning temptation as a means by which the Holy Spirit creates or enhances the theological habitude, Luther writes: "In the third place, there is tentatio, that is, trial. That is the true touchstone, which teaches you not only to know and understand, but also to experience, how true, sincere, sweet, lovely, powerful, comforting, the Word of God is, so that it is the wisdom above all wisdom. Thus you see how David, in the psalm just mentioned, complains about all manner of enemies, wicked princes and tyrants, false prophets and factions, which he must endure because he always meditates, that is, deals with God's Word in every possible way, as stated. For as soon as the Word of God bears fruit through you, the devil will trouble you, make you a real teacher, and teach you through tribulation to seek and to love the Word of God. For I myself- if I am permitted to voice my humble opinion -must thank my papists very much for so buffeting, distressing, and terrifying me by the devil's fury that they made me a fairly good theologian, which otherwise I should never have become."

As Luther here says, his whole theology grew out of his trials and troubles, which forced him to seek strength and comfort in Holy Scripture. And Luther experienced trials both from within and from without. First he was troubled by temptations within his heart. Before he became a Christian theologian, he was plagued with the agony of a troubled conscience, produced by his insistence on work-righteousness as the means of obtaining pardon. From this state of dread and anguish he was at last rescued by the knowledge and understanding of the blessed Gospel, from which he indeed learned how "true, sincere, sweet, lovely, and powerful the Word of God is." Afterwards, when he began to proclaim the Gospel of Christ in its purity and truth, trials came to him from without. He was stigmatized as a heretic and schismatic, not only by the Romanists, but also by the enthusiasts of his time, so that again he was forced "to seek and love the Word"; and thus he became so established in, and convinced of, the divine truth that he could say : "Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise." Trials, or temptations, therefore, made Luther a "fairly good theologian," because they compelled him to anchor his hope only in the Word of God. And so every Christian who aspires to become a true theologian must seek, study, and cling to, Holy Scripture until he regards it as the "wisdom above all wisdom."

Luther concludes his remarks on his famous axiom with the words: "Then namely, if you follow the rule of David exhibited in Ps. 119 you will find how shallow and unworthy will appear to you the writings of the Fathers, and you will contemn not only the books of the opponents, but also be ever less pleased with your own writing and teaching. If you have arrived at this stage, you may surely hope that you have just begun to be a real theologian, one who is able to teach not only the young and unlearned, but also the advanced and well-instructed Christians. For Christ's Church includes all manner of Christians- young, old, weak, sick, healthy, strong, aggressive, indolent, simple, wise, etc. But if you consider yourself learned and imagine that you have attained the goal and feel proud of your booklets, teaching and writing, as though you had done marvelously and preached wondrously, and if you are much pleased because people praise you before others and you must be praised or otherwise you are disappointed and feel like giving up,- if you are minded like that, my friend, just grab yourself by the ears, and if you grab rightly, you will find a fine pair of big, long, rough donkey ears. Then go to a little more expense and adorn yourself with golden bells, so that, wherever you go, people can hear you, admiringly point at you with their fingers, and say, 'Lo and behold, there is that wonderful man who can write such excellent books and preach so remarkably!' Then certainly you will be blessed, yes, more than blessed, in the kingdom of heaven- indeed, in that kingdom in which the fire of hell has been prepared for the devil and his angels I In fine, let us seek honor and be haughty wherever we may. In this Book, God's glory alone is set forth, and it says: 'Deus superbis resistit, humilibus autem dat gratiam. . . . Cui est gloria in secula seculorum. Amen.'"

Luther's emphasis upon true humility as a requisite of a true theologian is certainly in place, since the Holy Spirit with His sanctifying and sustaining gifts is present only in a contrite, humble heart. To the humble alone God gives the grace of true theology.

Overview chap. 2