Is everyone a theologian whether they realise it or not?
Question 0005
The word “theologian” carries a certain mystique. We imagine scholars in book-lined studies, poring over ancient manuscripts, debating the fine points of doctrine in language most people cannot understand, which for some, is true! Theology seems like a specialist pursuit, for the select few. But in reality, every person who has ever thought about God—whether to believe in Him, question Him, or deny Him—has engaged in theology. The question is not whether we are theologians but whether we are good or bad ones.
What Is Theology?
The word “theology” comes from two Greek words: θεός (Theos), meaning “God,” and λόγος (logos), meaning “word,” “reason,” or “study.” Theology, at its simplest, is the study of God—or, as the older definitions put it, thinking God’s thoughts after Him. Whenever you ask a question about who God is, what He has done, or what He requires of us, you are doing theology. Whenever you form an opinion about right and wrong, purpose and meaning, life and death, you are drawing on theological assumptions—whether consciously or not. It is why it was once called the ‘Queen of Sciences’.
This is why R.C. Sproul famously said, “Everyone’s a theologian. The question is whether you’re going to be a good one or a bad one.” The point is not that everyone has formal training or can articulate their beliefs with precision. The point is that everyone holds beliefs about ultimate reality, and those beliefs function as a theology—a framework for understanding God and the world.
Everyone Holds Theological Beliefs
Consider the person who says, “I’m not religious; I’m spiritual.” This statement has theological content. It implies a distinction between organised religion (rejected) and personal spirituality (embraced). It assumes something about the nature of God, or transcendence, or the human soul. It may not be carefully thought through, but it is theology nonetheless.
Or consider the atheist who insists there is no God. This, too, is a theological position. It is a claim about ultimate reality—a claim that the universe exists without a divine creator, that human beings are the products of blind, purposeless forces, that meaning and morality must be constructed rather than discovered. The atheist may not call this theology, but that is precisely what it is: a set of beliefs about God (namely, that He does not exist) that shapes everything else.
Even the person who says, “I don’t really think about these things,” is operating with an implicit theology. The assumption that one can live well without thinking about God is itself a theological claim. It assumes that God, if He exists, is not relevant to daily life—that He does not require our attention, obedience, or worship. This is not the absence of theology but the presence of a particular kind of theology: a functional deism at best, a practical atheism at worst.
Scripture Addresses This Reality
Scripture addresses this reality from its opening pages. Genesis 1:1 declares, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” This is a theological statement of immense consequence. It tells us that God exists (simply assumes and does not explain), that He is the source of all that is, that the universe is not eternal or self-existent but contingent upon His creative act. To accept this verse is to embrace a particular theology. To reject it is to embrace another.
Paul makes a similar point in Romans 1. He writes that what can be known about God is plain to all people, “because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made” (Romans 1:19-20). According to Paul, everyone has access to basic theological knowledge through creation. The existence of God, His power, and His divine nature are evident to all. The question is not whether people have this knowledge but what they do with it. Those who suppress the truth in unrighteousness are still operating theologically—they are simply doing it badly.
Implications for Discipleship
This has implications for how we think about discipleship and education. If everyone is already a theologian, then the task of the church is not to make people into theologians but to make them into better ones. Every sermon, every Bible study, every Sunday school lesson is a theological exercise. We are helping people think more accurately about God, more biblically about salvation, more faithfully about discipleship.
Children, too, are theologians. They ask questions that cut to the heart of theology: Where did I come from? Why do people die? Is God real? Can I talk to Him? The answers we give shape their understanding of God and the world. If we are dismissive or vague, we teach them that these questions are unimportant. If we engage thoughtfully and biblically, we lay the foundation for a lifetime of faith.
Theology in Culture
The same principle applies to culture at large. Every film, novel, song, and advertisement carries implicit theological messages. Stories about meaning and purpose, about good and evil, about love and death—these are all touching on theological territory. A film that portrays human beings as random collections of atoms with no ultimate significance is making a theological claim. A song that celebrates self-expression as the highest good is making a theological claim. A news broadcast that treats moral questions as matters of personal opinion is making a theological claim. We swim in theology constantly, whether we recognise it or not.
This is precisely why the church must be intentional about teaching sound doctrine. If we do not train believers to think theologically, they will absorb the theology of the surrounding culture by default. And the theology of our culture is, on the whole, not the theology of Scripture. It is a theology of autonomy, of self-fulfilment, of moral relativism. It is a theology that places the self at the centre rather than God. Only by deliberate, sustained teaching can the church equip believers to discern truth from error.
The Call to Faithful Theology
Paul’s charge to Timothy is relevant here: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). Rightly handling the word of truth is theological work. It requires effort, study, and care. It is not enough to have good intentions. We must be workers who labour to understand and apply Scripture correctly.
Let us also recognise the humility this ought to produce. If everyone is a theologian, then we are all on a journey of learning. None of us has arrived. Even the most learned scholar sees through a glass darkly. Paul himself confessed, “Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known” (1 Corinthians 13:12). We approach theology not as those who have mastered God (because if we master Him, who is God?) but as those who are being mastered by Him—humbled, awed, and ever growing in understanding.
Conclusion
So yes, everyone is a theologian. The question is whether we will be thoughtful or careless, biblical or worldly, humble or arrogant. The stakes are high. What we believe about God affects everything—how we view ourselves, how we treat others, how we face suffering, how we approach death. Theology is the Queen of Sciences and it is the most practical subject in the world.
May we all pursue it with diligence, in submission to Scripture, and for the glory of the God who has revealed Himself to us.
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”
2 Timothy 2:15
