Who Needs Theology?

So I have had a couple of recent conversations with some people who have posed the question, "Is it good to study the Bible in such an academic way?" As a graduate student in theology the question has obvious ramifications for me personally. I've been working on post with my own answer to this question, but I've been having difficulty finishing it. So I'll throw the question out to see if anyone has any helpful ideas. Is it valuable to study the Bible/God in an academic way? What is the purpose should the study of theology serve?