Women Need to Study Theology

“Weak theology makes weak women. And weak women raise weak children. It’s not cute, it’s dangerous” -Mary Kassian

When I was growing up in the church, I had a lot of questions. I was and still am a very inquisitive person. I love to learn. When my family and I first started going to church, I quickly learned the correct facts and information needed to be a “true” Christian girl. I had to know the most and “win” in order for everyone else to know that I knew things, that I knew what I was talking about, that I needed to be seen, heard, and known for something. I knew who God was in an abstract, fact-based way, but I did not know Him in an intimate, personal way. My head was full of knowledge, but my heart was closed off. So while I grew up in the church, I did not have a true, personal relationship until I was much older, and I realized that my heart was longing for something no amount of quick facts could fill for me.

When I realized that I needed something deeper, I began to ask questions again. This time, instead of turning to my Sunday School teacher, I sought out women in my church for help. While I knew a lot of the Bible trivia, kinds of things. I knew where certain things were in the Bible, but I did not know my Bible. And I knew that a large portion of my heart’s longings would be solved once I began my personal relationship with Christ. I had struggled with my Bible reading for one main reason: reading the Bible made zero sense to me. The text was dry, I could not understand the phrasing, the words used, why certain passages were written (I’m looking at you, 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 among others, for example). When I would ask the women in my church about how they read their Bibles, how to do Bible Study, I pretty much got the same answer: “Just open your Bible, read a few verses, think about it, and God will just speak to you something you need to learn.”

So I sat down, opened up my Bible, and expected God to speak to me as I read, “

After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked the Lord, “Who of us is to go up first to fight against the Canaanites?”

² The Lord answered, “Judah shall go up; I have given the land into their hands.”

³ The men of Judah then said to the Simeonites their fellow Israelites, “Come up with us into the territory allotted to us, to fight against the Canaanites. We in turn will go with you into yours.” So the Simeonites went with them.

⁴ When Judah attacked, the Lord gave the Canaanites and Perizzites into their hands, and they struck down ten thousand men at Bezek. ⁵ It was there that they found Adoni-Bezek and fought against him, putting to rout the Canaanites and Perizzites. ⁶ Adoni-Bezek fled, but they chased him and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes. – Joshua 1:1-6, NIV

Please do not ask me why I decided to read the Book of Judges at this moment, but it illustrates an essential note for us. All Scripture is God breathed and useful for teaching, learning, and training (2 Timothy 3:16-17). So knowing this is the truth, if I wanted to open the Book of Judges and study that Scripture, there would be something there to learn, challenge my way of thinking, or grow from. But, the instructions I had been given were to: open my Bible, read a few verses, and God was going to reveal something to me.

Now, hear me when I say this: God totally can and does reveal Himself to us by speaking to us. However, God is not a genie who is going to audibly speak every single time we open our Bibles as if on command. That removes the work we are to do to search and maintain a relationship with Him. If all you did with your personal friendships was read their Facebook posts but did not reply to what they said, or read their texts without conversing back, that’s not a true relationship. The primary source for us to hear the voice of God is to read our Bibles. But we need to know how to read our Bibles.

So, instead of wallowing in my confusion, I did something about it. I began extensive research on Bible study methods and tried many different tools and ideas until I found a system that worked for me. There are so many ways to dive into the holy Word of God, which makes it so amazing. I have a few different ways I come to my Bible study that work for me (stay tuned for that post coming soon!). But the main thing that I took away from all of this is that by studying the Word of God, I was learning more and more about God’s character, to serve the will of God, to glorify God’s holiness, to enjoy the attributes of God, to love the perfection of God, to absorb the Word of God, and to worship the person of God. All of these things I was learning is called theology.

Theology, which means “the study of God,” is a term that causes many Christians, predominantly female Christians, to pull back. Many claim that theology is too much for them, that it is reserved for “those smart” people, and that they don’t need it. But all thoughtful, inspired, and dedicated Christians want to better understand the Bible and God and deepen their walk with God. We need theology in our lives because it is through sanctification that we become more and more like God.

Women, especially, have been sold the lie (predominantly through our enemy, Satan) that theology is not for them. Genesis 1:27 tells us, “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” This verse tells us that God created both man AND woman in his image. This makes women just as much God’s image bearers as men are. Women, as image-bearers of God, as people who need Christ, who need a Savior, are vessels of the gospel. This means that we as women are just as responsible for sharing the gospel as any role you think only a man should have. Whether you are a CEO, teacher, nurse, stay-at-home mom, student, or anything else, you are responsible for sharing the gospel. And for that reason, we need training. Just as you would for any significant moment, you need training to grow and complete your calling. As such, we as women can take the difficult truth, we need deep theology, and we need to study apologetics to disciple those God has placed in our lives to defend and grow our faith in an adversarial world.

Theology is not a man’s study: it is a believer’s pursuit. Over the last 20 years or so, the world, and quite frankly, much of the church, has been cheapening women’s ministry. Women are starving spiritually; they desire to have a proper meal at the table with the Lord and are instead given milk and cupcakes (Hebrews 5:12-14). Jesus encouraged women to sit at his feet. Many women’s ministries encourage women to treat their feelings, not train their minds. Women need theology.

Elisabeth Elliot said, “The fact that I am a woman does not make me a different kind of Christian, but the fact that I am a Christian makes me a different kind of woman.” If women do not understand who God is or do not know how to share that knowledge with others, then our faith is not going to grow. This is where the heart of this ministry, The Pink Theologian, comes from. My heart is to help other women learn how to study and apply the Word of God to their own lives. To know how to dive into the theological truths that are in the Bible for themselves so that they, or I should say, you, can study theology, can study who God is for yourselves, and don’t need anyone else to do it for you.

If I can help just one woman grow in her faith, that would be enough for me. So I hope that you will join me here as we explore theological ideas, the history of the Bible and the Church, biblical studies, archaeology, apologetics, and beyond!