In 1998, the late theologian John Webster delivered six lectures at the University of Otago in New Zealand as part of the Thomas Burns Memorial Lectures. These lectures were later published by Baker Academic in 2019 under the title The Culture of Theology.^[1] Together, they provide a compelling articulation of the proper setting for theology—a culture that forms the fertile soil from which faithful theology springs.

In the book’s introduction, Ivor Davidson observes, “Webster’s overarching argument is quite simple. Christian theology’s principal setting is not, he proposes in his opening lecture, its intellectual or social context but ‘the word which is brought into being by the staggering good news of Jesus Christ.’”^[2]

While the entire collection of lectures is worth sustained reflection—something I have done elsewhere^[3]—I wish to draw attention to a brief but profound list found in the final lecture, where Webster outlines three traits that theologians should cultivate. Given the brevity of this list—spanning just two pages at the end of the lecture—these traits may be easily overlooked. Yet they deserve careful consideration for their wisdom and relevance. The traits Webster identifies are:

1. A fear of the Lord
   
2. A patient teachability or deference
   
3. Freedom from self-preoccupation
   

Below, I explore each of these traits in turn, highlighting the key insights Webster provides.

1. Fear of the Lord

Webster begins by asserting that theological progress is impossible without a broken will, redirected by God toward the true ends of human flourishing. He explains:

Little progress is possible in theology unless one’s will is broken, in order to be redirected by God to the true ends of human flourishing.

He elaborates on the nature of this fear:

Christian wisdom distinguishes reverence from the sheer terror of God, which is dread of punishment or loathing at being discovered. Fear of God is the result of finding oneself set in the light of God’s truth, and so is a readiness for that dying to self which is the dark side of resurrection. In theological work, fear of God means realizing that what we do when we speak and think about the God of the gospel is a matter for wonder rather than curiosity. (The Culture of Theology, 145)

2. A Patient Teachability or Deference

Webster’s second trait underscores the importance of humility and deference in the theological task—not only to the gospel itself but also to the broader community of faith. He writes:

[We need] a deference to the gospel, finally, as the self-testimony of the risen Christ, but also deference to the company of those who have studied, suffered, and prayed the gospel in the catholic community of faith. This is part of what is meant by orthodoxy. Rather than thinking of orthodoxy as mute subscription to dogmas, it is much better to understand it as participation in a shared, comprehensive culture, within whose scope one learns how to read the world by filling out certain roles, pondering and making use of certain ideas, figuring out how to speak a certain language well, in one or another of its different local dialects. (146)

Much of the beauty in orthodoxy, then, is not mere conformity but an active, communal participation in the life and thought of the Church.

3. Freedom from Self-Preoccupation

Finally, Webster addresses the danger of self-centeredness in theology. He warns:

Orthodoxy becomes dangerous when its maintenance is a matter of self-protection: anxious patrolling of the perimeter fence around our cultural space, sniping at intruders or at any poor souls trying to escape. But there is a mode of cheerful belonging to a tradition which is not obsessive in its attachments, but rather regards them with a free, unharassed relativity. (147)

This freedom requires a mature detachment, cultivated through engagement with diverse articulations of the gospel and the forms of holy life they inspire:

“This healthy irony cannot be exercised too early; if it is, it usually descends into flippancy. It is properly something grown into and entails learning a measure of detachment from any one articulation of the gospel, usually through making oneself familiar with other articulations and seeing the kinds of apostolic, holy life and thought they promote.” (147)

Conclusion

These three traits may not strike students of theology as having preeminent importance for the theological task, yet not only our mind but also our soul would do well to sit under Webster’s teaching, heed his warning, and move towards these three traits of a faithful theologian.

Ronni Kurtz is Assistant Professor of Theology at Cedarville Univeristy.

1. John Webster, The Culture of Theology (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2019). ↑

2. Culture, 3. Davidson is here quoting from page 43. ↑

3. See my full review, Ronni Kurtz, “Against the Theological Nomad: John Webster and the Culture of Theology” in Credo Magazine (Volume 10, Issue 3, 2020) ↑

4. John Webster, The Culture of Theology (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2019). ↑

5. Culture, 3. Davidson is here quoting from page 43. ↑

6. See my full review, Ronni Kurtz, “Against the Theological Nomad: John Webster and the Culture of Theology” in Credo Magazine (Volume 10, Issue 3, 2020) ↑