bad theology

Theology is an attempt to explain the infinite. Bad theology is an attempt to explain the infinite in a way that makes the infinite look stupid. The classic example of bad theology in the modern world is the notion that God sends people to Hell because they sign up for the wrong religion. This concept is profoundly insulting to pretty much everybody, and it makes God look like a big jerk. Like other bad theology, this idea saves atheists the trouble of creating their own straw man arguments.

Most bad theology is good theology that gets imported to the wrong time and/or place. The only way to avoid bad theology is to realize that each person is going to need to construct a concept of God that they can understand as an ultimate good.

NOTE:Even though I slipped into talking about "God" in this article, the word God is no more integral to theology than any other particular word. However, since it's the term for the ultimate used in my theological tradition, I'm not going to try to avoid it.

Theology that exhibits a large degree of ignorance and/or intellectual laziness, usually the result of amateur religion. The sort of thing that begins to blow away on the wind as soon as one serious question gets asked.

My own examples would have to include "All religions are true"* and "Everyone gets the afterlife they want."**

* Just for kicks, try learning what, say, Muslims and Hindus actually believe and try that one again.
** Annnd...conflicting desires are handled how? And what if some unrepentant murderous fascist bastard feels he ought to go to Heaven?