Doctrine means belief; a body of accepted, systematic learning or teaching.
Doctrine comes from the word for doctor meaning an “expert” or “authority”; doctors are scholars who seem to be right in their understanding of a subject and can teach about their expertise. Orthodoxy means “straight teaching.” Right belief should result in “straight practice” (orthopraxy) and “straight commitment (orthopathos).
What does Scripture says about doctrine or teaching?
Matthew 7:28, 29
Acts 2:42
Romans 16:17
1 Timothy 6:20-21
2 Timothy 4:2-5
Titus 1:9
Hebrews 13:9, 10
Everyone has doctrine. Doctrine produces at least three beliefs:
Everyone believes something, that is, everyone has faith in something or someone.
-
- Who do we trust about cars, stocks, medicine?
- Why do we trust them with our money, cars, health?
- When do we doubt what we have come to trust?
Everyone begins somewhere, that is, everyone begins with their own assumptions about life.
-
- What do we assume to be true about a supernatural world?
- How will we know if our assume is correct?
- When do we find out if our knowledge is correct?
Everyone questions everything, that is, everyone subscribes to a personal philosophy of life.
-
- What do you believe about private property ownership?
- What do you believe about politicians?
- What do you believe about the reason for violence?
Why is doctrine important? Because everyone asks the same questions[1]. Jot down an example for just one of the questions (e.g., “Truth: I have a hard time knowing whose knowledge to trust”).
- What’s Real? (the seen and unseen; metaphysics/theology proper)
- What’s Truth? (the origin, history, and authority of knowledge; epistemology)
- What’s Best? (right and wrong, good and bad; axiology, ethics, aesthetics)
- What’s Human? (dignity and depravity, purpose and meaning; anthropology)
- What’s Ahead? (afterlife and judgment; eschatology)
Look up Rich Mullins’ song lyrics ‘Creed” online. Note the following statement in the refrain: “…what I believe, is what makes me what I am, I did not make it, no it is making me, the very truth of God, not the invention of any man.”
Why is this statement “it is making me” so important to understand, not just for Christians, but for everyone? (for a hint, look at Philippians 3:10 “becoming like him”, see also Romans 8:29).
Notice the close tie between teaching doctrine and singing doctrine (Colossians 3:16). Why should doctrine be sung?!
[1] What is real? Who is God? Who are humans? What is our purpose in life? Where does knowledge come from? What is right and wrong? What is history? What happens after death?
Thank you Dr. Eckel, for your thought-provoking insights. You posed some interesting questions that would make a wonderful sermon. … Would you trust your life to a surgeon who never went to school? How about your eternal salvation and the salvation of others? God bless!
Why should doctrine be sung? A good question. I don’t know much about it There are probably several reasons. Here’s one I think might work:
We are going to sing anyway. We might as well sing true things.
(Citation: I think I’m borrowing from what Linda Zagzebski said about imitating the right people.)
“True things!” Indeed!
Here is something I wrote a few years ago that gets after the why: https://warpandwoof.org/hymns-part-1/
Here is Part Two: https://warpandwoof.org/christmas-hymns-part-2/