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Dr. Metzger makes his mark at Multnomah

What do Star Wars, Sesame Street and Power Point have in common? According to Professor Paul Metzger, they are all symptoms of America's lazy thinking culture.

Dr. Metzger, professor of systematic theology at Multnomah Biblical Seminary, spends the first two weeks of class decrying society's abandonment of imagination and integration of data for a flood of mind-numbing television and computer images. Even Christians have lost the art of critical thinking, he said.

According to Dr. Metzger, critical thinking constructs sound theology, and "theology rightly done gives rise to great doxology [praise]." He tries to instill this message into his students' hearts and minds.

Why Theology? Dr. Metzger believes theological understanding deepens Christians' relationship with God. "Our culture has a fixation with the trivial rather than attempting to think great thoughts about God," he said. "A person without a deep theology doesn't have a deep love for God."

Dr. Metzger may be the only MBS professor using jaw-dropping terms such as "drive-by shooting evangelism" and "spiritual masturbation." "People think my words are strong, but Martin Luther often used far less tasteful language," Dr. Metzger said. "Luther probably would not be allowed to teach at Multnomah."

Dr. Metzger constantly re-evaluates his theology, and he does not like the term "system" in systematic theology. "Systematic theology tends to put God in a box," he said. "Theology is not a product; it is a process. God does not change, but theology must be reformed every day."

Dr. Metzger believes in the inerrancy of Scripture, but he also embraces divine mystery. "Too often Christians have the 'Bible Answer Man' mentality," he said. "Yes, I have some answers, but I have even more questions."

Although systematic theology has a reputation as a dry discipline, Dr. Metzger's message is saturated with spirituality and energy. "Reading the Bible as an end in itself is spiritual masturbation," he said. "The Bible should help us understand our union with Christ!"

"Dr. Metzger's message was very convicting," said Brian Martin, a grad student. "It cut to my heart. It made me ask myself, 'Am I in seminary to know the Bible for the sake of knowing the Bible?' The Bible is not a trade to learn; it is a gateway to God."

"Dr. Metzger's heart is on fire for God and every student sees it," said Jenny Kraftcheck, a grad student. "He challenges us to go deeper in our relationship with God."

Some students are less impressed with Dr. Metzger's difficult theological concepts, such as postmodernism. "Dr. Metzger is honest in his own search for God, which is good," Scott Mitchell, a grad student, said. "What frustrates me is that he often deals in abstract contexts without relating his ideas into actual examples." "Some days I walk out of Metzger's class completely lost, like I am in left field," Brian Martin said.

Although Dr. Metzger's passion inspires many students, a lack of passion almost prevented him from getting a job at MBS. Dr. John Wecks, the seminary dean when Multnomah hired Dr. Metzger, said that his first impression was that Dr. Metzger was overly intellectual and dry. This made Dr. Metzger appear unfit to teach at Multnomah, Dr. Wecks said. Dr. Metzger, unlike most seminary professors at Multnomah, also had the drawback of no previous pastoral experience. "We had reservations about Paul, but we simply needed someone to teach theology and there were no other qualified applicants," Dr. Wecks said.

Multnomah hired Dr. Metzger in January, 1999, on a one-year provisional basis. Dr. Wecks recalled that Dr. Metzger struggled at first from the stress of teaching at a new school and revising his doctoral dissertation.

Today, Dr. Wecks knows that Dr. Metzger is a solid part of Multnomah's seminary family. "Paul has relaxed into his role, and he has developed a passion for teaching," Dr. Wecks said. "He provides a broad theological awareness that this seminary needs."

Dr. Metzger also teaches cultural theology, an aspect of theology he believes the church often neglects. He believes Christians should form culturally aware worldviews. "Theology is not simply discovering the meaning of the text. We need to be able to effectively apply the meaning of Scripture to various cultures," Dr. Metzger said. "We need one finger in the Bible and the other in the newspaper. I want to become a better listener to the thought forms and culture of our day."

Dr. Metzger has formed a cutting edge, intercultural studies group at Multnomah to engage students in culture and social issues. He uses "New Wine, New Wineskins: Institute in Intercultural Studies at Multnomah Biblical Seminary" to speak in-depth about Christ in the Church and the broader culture. "New Wine" endeavors to help Christians form solid worldviews about the arts, race relations, homosexuality and poverty. "New Wine is trying to make sure MBC is not falling prey to the Christian bubble syndrome," Dr. Metzger said. "You can't transform a culture by throwing spiritual grenades over a wall. You must get into the culture to transform it."

Although Dr. Metzger is the youngest professor at MBS, his academic vigor and passion for Christ-centered theology make a bright future as a teacher and published theologian inevitable. "Dr. Metzger is a rising star, and I believe one day we will see his name plastered many places," said Dr. Don Brake, dean of seminary. "Our primary goal at MBS is to teach. Publishing and research are secondary. Paul gives us both."

Dr. Metzger's wife, Mariko, insists she did not marry him because of his boyish charm, his' 80s wavy brown hair, or even his ability to quote Calvin and C.S. Lewis verbatim while standing on his head. She married him because of his great love for God.

"My top priority was to marry someone whose first love was God, not me. Paul's theology comes from his heart," Mariko said. "His theology is faith seeking understanding, not understanding seeking faith."