Eastern Orthodoxy and theological study
“Western believers might learn from [Eastern] Orthodoxy that the ultimate context of academic study must be the Christian community at worship. Without the liturgical context of worship, theology becomes ‘scholastic’ in the worst sense of the word, rather than a guide to worshiping God in spirit and in truth.”
—Daniel B. Clendenin, Eastern Orthodox Christianity: A Western Perspective (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1994), p. 149.
Protestantism, at least in its evangelical forms, has an internal schism: rationalistic scholasticism on the one side and pietistic revivalism on the other. Oversimplified? Yes, of course--but a true blending of head and heart is almost impossible to achieve apart from theological reflection being grounded in prayer and worship. Dan's got it right.
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