Theological shallowness breeds confusion – Cardinal Turkson urges reflection among emerging Churches

Ghanaian Cardinal and Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and Social Sciences, His Eminence Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, has expressed concern over the theological shallowness of many newly emerging Christian movements, warning that scriptural interpretation without grounding in tradition leads to confusion and detachment from real-life issues.

Speaking in an interview on Channel One TV, monitored by Catholic Trends, Cardinal Turkson said, “Several faith groups that have emerged lately do not have much of a theology.”

He explained that theology is essential to properly understand and apply Scripture across different times and circumstances.

“And what is theology? It is like God has spoken to us in scriptures at a particular point in history and as times change, it is up to us to apply what God said to changing situations.”

This, he said, is what allows believers to draw enduring principles from God’s Word and apply them meaningfully in today’s world

“That application of the revelation of scripture in changing situations enables us to reflect and formulate principles and ways we can apply what God has spoken to us in the past,” the Ghanaian Cardinal said.

Cardinal Turkson praised the long-standing theological tradition of the Catholic Church and acknowledged that many Protestant churches also engage deeply in theological reflection. However, he expressed concern that many of the new churches bypass this process altogether.

“A whole lot of the new Churches do not have this. They just grab the Bible,” he said.

To illustrate the danger of using Scripture without a proper theological foundation, the Cardinal used an analogy. Saying that, “The Bible did not drop from heaven. It was the Christian community that created the Bible, so it’s almost like going to Burkina Faso to grab their constitution and you go elsewhere and start another nation. You cannot start a nation with someone else’s constitution.”

He emphasised that the Bible is the product of a believing community. Thus, Israel in the Old Testament and Christians in the New Testament and that only in this context can it be correctly understood.

“It’s the product of a believing group and you need that believing group to always shed light on the sense that was then.”

“It makes it difficult sometimes when somebody disassociated with the original believing group grabs the Bible and starts whatever. Interpretation becomes very confusing and we do have that problem. Because it’s not dealing with the issues of life.”