The study of theology will be shaped by certain elements, be it the thoughts and presumptions of the time, or due to personal experience. As theology can be shaped around people's own experience, the term "practical theology" has been coined, as people's theological views will be based around incidents that have already occurred.
As experiences/beliefs change or are re-examined, this means that "theological reflection" also occurs. This is the process by which theological ideas are created. As past events are re-examined a different conclusion can be drawn from them, which will lead to a whole new set of theological ideas being created. For instance, the Catholic Church has changed its view point on what happens to children who die without being baptised, from previously (and dogmatically) believing that children who died without baptism were unable to enter heaven to now believing that “there are reasons to hope that God will save these infants precisely because it was not possible to do for them that what would have been most desirable— to baptize them in the faith of the Church and incorporate them visibly into the Body of Christ.”[1] Therefore, it is clear that theological ideas can and do change if the viewpoints that they are based on are re-evaluated.
A further way of examining theology is contextually. This takes into account the situation when the theological ideas where created. For instance, the German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote whilst in a Nazi prison “What is bothering me increasingly is the question... who Christ really is for us today” and “We are moving towards a completely religion less time”[2] Of course, Bonhoeffer was living in what must have seemed like a Godless society at the time, and as such his work must be treated with a degree of caution, but clearly Bonhoeffer believes that the world is moving towards an increasingly atheist/secular society. Furthermore, after looking at theology contextually, a variety of new types of theology have emerged, such as feminist theology, which examines how women were treated in the Bible and challenging how women were portrayed in the bible.[3] It could be argued therefore, that contextual theology can often be combined with theological reflection. This is because people will examine the times when an idea was created, and ma challenge it as it does not agree with what they believe in
To conclude, all theology is practical, as it is based on the experiences of certain people. Theological ideas can also be changed due to theological reflection, as the times and ideas may change. Finally, theological notions can be examined contextually, which will shed some light on both the writer and the time in which the writer was working in.
Tuesday, 11 October 2011
Monday, 3 October 2011
What is theology?
In the past, there have been several attempts to define what is meant by the term "theology". This article will attempt to dissect these definitions and to add some clarity as to what is meant by theology.
To begin with, Professor Alister McGrath, Professor of Historical theology at Oxford University, defines theology as "talk about god", and Christian Theology as "talk about God from a Christian perspective". He then goes onto say "It begins by recognizing that Christians have quite distinct ideas about who God is and What God is Like. We find these expressed in the Bible." This definition clearly takes an evangelical route, as it works on the basis that the things that Christians believe about God stem from biblical teachings. Whilst these would seem a logical assumption, it rules out the notion that Christians have the capacity to form their own views on who God is, but must instead be almost forced fed views from the bible.
A second definition of what theology is comes from Professor David Ford, who is a professor of Divinity at Cambridge University. He states that theology is the process of thinking about questions that religion can raise, such as the question as to why people will suffer, fight and die for religion. He then goes onto note the roles that the major religions have had on previous civilisations, certain nations cultures and political systems. Furthermore, he also wrote about how religions can help mould people's thoughts and actions. Professor Ford is therefore taking a liberal attitude to the question as to what theology actually is, as he is using the term theology as a way of showing how religion and "works of God" can influence both people and countries.
Finally, there have been several "definitions" of theology that take a far more critical role. For instance, American revolutionary Thomas Paine wrote "The study of theology, as it stands in Christian churches, is the study of nothing...", and the 19th century philosopher Ludwig Feuerbach claimed that theology was a "web of contradictions and delusions". Whilst they are, of course, entitled to their opinions, it must be noted that these men were famed as atheists, which means that their writings must be treated with a degree of suspicion, as they will be writing with a certain degree of bias.
To conclude, there have been several attempts to give a concrete definition as to what theology is. Based on the above examples, it would seem that theology is either a study of lies, mistakes and falsehoods, or a study of what God is, how it can affect society as a whole, and where specific beliefs can stem from.
To begin with, Professor Alister McGrath, Professor of Historical theology at Oxford University, defines theology as "talk about god", and Christian Theology as "talk about God from a Christian perspective". He then goes onto say "It begins by recognizing that Christians have quite distinct ideas about who God is and What God is Like. We find these expressed in the Bible." This definition clearly takes an evangelical route, as it works on the basis that the things that Christians believe about God stem from biblical teachings. Whilst these would seem a logical assumption, it rules out the notion that Christians have the capacity to form their own views on who God is, but must instead be almost forced fed views from the bible.
A second definition of what theology is comes from Professor David Ford, who is a professor of Divinity at Cambridge University. He states that theology is the process of thinking about questions that religion can raise, such as the question as to why people will suffer, fight and die for religion. He then goes onto note the roles that the major religions have had on previous civilisations, certain nations cultures and political systems. Furthermore, he also wrote about how religions can help mould people's thoughts and actions. Professor Ford is therefore taking a liberal attitude to the question as to what theology actually is, as he is using the term theology as a way of showing how religion and "works of God" can influence both people and countries.
Finally, there have been several "definitions" of theology that take a far more critical role. For instance, American revolutionary Thomas Paine wrote "The study of theology, as it stands in Christian churches, is the study of nothing...", and the 19th century philosopher Ludwig Feuerbach claimed that theology was a "web of contradictions and delusions". Whilst they are, of course, entitled to their opinions, it must be noted that these men were famed as atheists, which means that their writings must be treated with a degree of suspicion, as they will be writing with a certain degree of bias.
To conclude, there have been several attempts to give a concrete definition as to what theology is. Based on the above examples, it would seem that theology is either a study of lies, mistakes and falsehoods, or a study of what God is, how it can affect society as a whole, and where specific beliefs can stem from.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)