is;;] THEOLOGY AND THE CHURCH 315 



country is by no means an unambiguous sign of a healthy 

 interest in theology. On the contrary, this is rather 

 to be regarded as one of many signs that we are lament 

 ably deficient in theological interest of the right kind, 

 that we have very little sense of the real services which 

 theology ought to perform for the Church and kingdom 

 of Christ. When we observe that our whole theological 

 literature, even when not apologetical in subject, is 

 impregnated with an apologetic flavour ; that the most 

 popular commentaries, the most current works on doc 

 trine, do little or nothing to carry theology forward to 

 new results, and direct all their energy to the refutation 

 of attacks from without, we are constrained to ask, 

 whether the Church itself is likely to be aggressive if her 

 theology is purely defensive. But, in fact, the mass of 

 men seem to think that, for all purposes except the 

 refutation of new objections, our theology is already 

 quite perfect enough. It is not felt that one main 

 reason why the Church falls short of her true ideal is 

 that the ideal has not yet been accurately conceived in 

 thought. 



But, in truth, where the need for a growing theology is 

 not felt, the theological results which the Church has 

 already reached are sure to be very inadequately mastered 

 by individuals, and very imperfectly applied to the 

 details of Church work. When the Church as a whole 

 is quite content with the theology which she already 

 possesses, individual ministers and students will very 

 readily be content with the amount of theology which 

 they already possess. If all our ministers were fully 

 impressed with the conviction that a thorough discharge 

 of their ministry is only possible if they bring to bear on 

 the details of their work the most developed theological 

 grasp of the meaning of the Church and the Church s 

 work as a whole, we should no longer have to complain 

 of a stationary theology. But, in the meantime, the 

 general indifference to the growth of theology finds 



