Recently I’ve been reading through the Mountain of Silence by Kyriacos Markides. This book is an absolute wonder. If you have yet to read it, please do. The book is exceptional in that it gets to the heart of Orthodox spirituality. Specifically, it does so through the exploration of one man, Father Maximos, a monk from one of the monasteries at Mt. Athos in Greece. There are so many pearls of wisdom offered here that one is left with a virtual treasure trove to reflect upon by the time one finishes the book.

One such pearl of wisdom centers around the definition of the term: theologian. Markides recounts for us a day in his life of shadowing Father Maximos in which they encounter a group of men “who introduc(e) themselves as a group of young theologians”. Markides recalls Father Maximos saying,

“To call yourselves theologians means that you have become graced by the knowledge of God, like St. John the Theologian or St. Basil the Great. Have you? Can you truly call yourselves theologians because you just read some books and earned a degree in so-called “theology”? Don’t you think this is rather presumptuous on your part?”

You see, according to Father Maximos,

“Knowledge of God is not gained through books on theology and dogma. Knowledge of God can only be obtained through long and arduous theological practices.”

This passage hints at the distinct difference in understanding of theological education between Orthodox Christians and their western counterparts.

To further highlight this difference, let me touch on a recent entry over at Christianity Today’s, Out of Ur blog. Here is a man recounting a recent quest to compare the advantages and disadvantages of non-denominational evangelical and mainline Protestant churches. This fellow, who is about to begin “the 4-5 year Doctor of Theology (Th.D.) program at Duke Divinity School”, writes,

“Occupational hazard,” that is what my wife and I call it. We cannot help but thoroughly analyze churches we visit. My wife and I both have M.Div. degrees and have served as pastors. So when we need to pick a new church, overanalyzing churches is almost inevitable—an occupational hazard.”

Of one particular church and its evident blemishes, he writes:

“I know an evangelical megachurch (which I like) with 100 staff members and only the senior pastor has a Master of Divinity.”

Now, I certainly am not against theological education; I have some of my own to speak of. However, I am frequently surprised by the degree to which people (in the West anyway) place priority on theological education; as if it were the key to spiritual growth.

The author of this post expresses his chagrin that a mega-church with 100 staff-members would have only one person on board with an MDiv. But what about asking how many of those people are mature believers who reflect the character of Christ?

Of course, even if this fellow wanted to, he couldn’t really account for this measurement, because all he is really doing is comparing religious services. And I hope all of us realize that this is certainly no measurement of the true life of a church.

Western obsessions with head knowledge; and specifically head knowledge regarding a particular subset of Christian theology based on Mondernistic assumptions about reality, are, at best, perplexing... at worst, a case of seriously missing the forest for the trees.

This is a prime example where Eastern Orthodoxy – as evidenced in the Mountain of Silence - is appealing; because it places emphasis on the spiritual practices and devotion that lead to Christlikeness, as opposed to the mere acculation of head knowledge.

Just think of Jesus and his disciples: not a one had an MDiv. Who'd want to go to that church? Ah, but Jesus, John the Baptist, the Desert Fathers: these people spent time away from society, training their bodies and minds to grow in devotion to God.

I wonder if this lifelong “theologian” who posted at Out of Ur might want to consider spending five years doing something similar, as opposed to wandering the hallowed halls of Duke. He might not get another plaque for his wall when he’s done; but just maybe he’d be that much more in tune with the life that Christ came to invite us into.

And this of course touches on something essential, something we westerners have barely begun to explore; especially we western Protestants. I am speaking of the idea that to develop the character of Christ, one must, and here the old adage works well, “walk a mile in his shoes”. In other words, we can only hope to grow like Him, by living like Him and His early followers.

Please understand, I am very far from this reality myself. But it is something worth considering; is it not? This would mean not merely partaking in the life of Christ, but also the lifestyle of Christ. Now doesn't that sound like a worthwhile theological education?