Speculation versus Doctrine

Quick preface: I am departing from uploading the book I have been working on to simply posting thoughts of Yahveh that come to my mind every now and then. If you wish to get a copy of God Likes Us, then email me at jgardner@southern.edu. Same rules still apply as in the introduction.
The Bible is an amazing book. It truly is; in its pages are the words of life and what we need to know about God. It is the standard of truth by which all other things claiming to be truth are measured. It gives us something sound and sure to base our lives on.
All that said, the Bible certainly does not tell us everything. In fact, it does not tell us everything about God. There are a lot of blank spots when it comes to God that Word of God simply does not fill. This is where the issue of speculation versus doctrine comes in.
We humans are a rather curious bunch. We have this need to figure everything out and know everything. That is what got us into this whole sin mess to begin with; a need to know and have an answer for everything. Sometimes, whether we like to admit it or not, there is not an answer that we can grasp. Somethings of God are simply beyond our understanding.
But because we mustknow the truth and we must have an answer, we make one up that somewhat makes sense to us and go with that. This is what is called speculation, meaning that we come up with an explanation for something that is not based on clear, irrefutable evidence, but is instead a guess. Educated guess it maybe, but a guess it is nonetheless.
In his book Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis gave an analogy for speculation when he was dealing with how Christ's death saves us. He said that exactly how it works is like a physicists model of the atom. While the model helps us understand the atom and gives us picture to go with, no physicist would claim that the model is exactly what the atom looks like. The reality of the atom is in the mathematical formula, but that does not help us visualize it. So it is true with models of Christ's saving death. I would venture to say that such a principle applies to all forms of speculation.
Doctrine, on the other hand, is the formula. It represents something that is real, even if it makes no sense. Jesus' death saves me from my sins. That is irrefutable in the Bible; that is the truth; that is what happens. This tells me nothing about how exactly it works, just that it does. A formula tells us what happens, not what it looks like, nor even exactly how it happens. Just that it does. That is doctrine.
Here is where things become a problem: often people (theologians are particularly guilty of this) confuse speculation with doctrine. They think that their model is absolute truth and everyone else's is wrong. What they fail to see is that their position is no more provable than their opponents. And so we get into huge debates about things that we really do not understand.
Let me give you an example of this: for over a century in the early Christian church, there was a huge debate of the nature of the Trinity. No one was really denying that there was a Trinity; instead people were debating how the persons of the Trinity related to each other. Some said that God was only one conscious, but three manifestations of it. Others said that God created God. Others proposed three individual entities that were God.
Who was right? God (literally) only knows. Why? Because this is all speculation. The Bible is clear that God is one and yet made up of three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But that is where the Bible stops. The Bible does not explain exactly how the Trinity works or exactly how they relate to each other. In all likelihood, the true answer is something completely beyond our comprehension. Truth be told, it does not really matter exactly how the Trinity works. If it did, God would have bothered to make that point very clear. But he did not, so we must assume that such knowledge is a) beyond our understanding and b) not dreadfully important to our salvation.
The point here is not to discourage speculation, but to caution it. It is good for us to stretch our minds and imaginations when reaching closer to God. We are designed to want to get to know him more fully. We are meant to draw closer and closer to him. So taking guesses and coming up with pictures that help us understand God more is a good thing, as long as we remember that we are still just guessing.
We must remember the line between speculation and doctrine. When it comes to something that is doctrine, we defend it with all our might. When it comes to speculation, we temper it by knowing that it is simply a guess. Above all, we DO NOT hold speculation as doctrine. We leave each in their respective realms.
We must understand that with speculation, it is not the real thing, nor does it accurately portray the real thing, like the model of the atom does not accurately portray the real atom. Rather it is a device that helps us comprehend the incomprehensible. So we must understand that whatever it is we speculate on, the reality is probably still much different.
I do not know exactly how Christ's death saves me, neither do I know exactly how the Trinity works. I simply know that Christ's death does justify me and that God is three and one at the same time. And yes, I do have speculative models that help me understand how these things work. Yet these are just models and nothing more. I would never hold such an opinion as doctrinal truth.
So, continue pursuing a deeper knowledge of God. But as you do, remember that at times, often even, you will probably be out of your depth. That is okay, as long as you know it.