So on the education dig I know that's pointed towards someone on this thread, but I think criticizing any of us on our education background is a bit obnoxious. I mean my theological education was 4 years at the hands of a huckster who was the reason for this forum existing in the first place.
If you want to direct criticism at education, I think VP pretty much is the center of attention there A mail-order doctorate degree. Wild stories to get in hippy girls pants, written up into a fairy tale novel of snow on gas pumps, repeated under the breath by admiring young people, and used to manipulate lives and amass a fortune that others are still using to mistreat people today.
The overall flavor I get as I am reading a lot of these sources, like the two above, is that there is somewhat of an expectation that theology "develops" like other fields we are exposed to like philosophy, mathematics, electrical engineering, computer science. There are "fathers" of say psychology like Sigmund Freud, BF Skinner, who developed significant ideas in their fields that become the foundation of the field for further learning.
The overall question it is starting to leave me with is when we are talking about theology and man's faith, is this something man originated or something God originated? If it is something man originated, then it makes sense to track it as other fields we have. Thoughts can develop over time, become tested with the scientific method, proven, and widely accepted. They can help people over time.
However, if "theology" is something God originated, then the effort to continue constructing man's thought is nothing more than a modern tower of Babel.
I guess it's kind of weird, because we talk about the same thing from two different angles - "faith" in a way to indicate that it's a belief not a mental construct, and "theology" indicating man's systemic study of God which is 100% mental constructs.
So, which one is it folks in your opinion?