Introduction to Theology

Understanding Theology

• Theology is the intellectual and practical science involving the systematic study of physical, natural structure and behavior through observation/experimentation.
• William of Auxerre, a French Scholastic Theologian, stated that theology, like other sciences, possesses principles and conclusions, but the principles of theology are the articles of faith, which aren't a conclusion.
• Theology was considered the highest form of knowledge during the Middle Ages, incorporating natural and divine realms, integrating religious beliefs with reason to explore fundamental questions.
• A strong connection between the Church and education influenced the field.

Theology and Religion Defined

• Theology is the rational and reflective study of the divine and its relationship with humanity.
• Religion serves as the institutional system of beliefs and worship, expressing personal and communal faith and relationship with the divine.
• The word "theology" originates from the Greek words "theos" (God) and "logos" (science/study/Word of God/principle of divine reason and creative order).
• Plato first used the term in the 4th century BC in "The Republic" calling it "discourse on God."
• Proposed Definition: Theology is known as a rational discourse and prayerful reflection on the mystery of God, His teaching, and relationship with humanity and all creation, founded on the history of salvation, which is revealed in the Sacred Scriptures and teachings of the Church.

Defining Faith

• Faith can be described as complete trust or confidence.
• It represents a strong belief in God or religious doctrines, often rooted in spiritual apprehension rather than concrete proof.
• Faith is also portrayed as meaning-making, which is one way of seeing one's self in relation to others using a shared meaning and purpose.
• Etymologically, the English term derives from:
• Greek: pistis (faith, belief, firm, persuasion, assurance).
• Latin: fides (faith).
• Scriptural Definition (Hebrews 11:1): Faith means having confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
• Catholic Understanding:
• Faith involves a personal and communal response to God, reflecting personal adherence and free agreement to God's revealed truth.
• It is a freely given gift that requires ones response
• As the foundation of our relationship with God, it is necessary for salvation because with it we cannot accept God’s grace, follow Christ, or receive eternal life.
• Faith encompasses trust and obedience rooted in listening to or hearing in order to show unconditional submission.
• Lastly, faith must be lived through action, making it necessary for meaningful life by connecting individuals to God through one's purpose.

Faith and Its Importance

• Faith has the ability to provide hope and strength during difficult times, making suffering feel less meaningless, allowing people to endure suffering with hope and resilience, and also seeing trials as an opportunity for spiritual growth.
• It can also guide morality and relationships, offering a moral compass which aids just and compassionate choices, and encouraging people to serve others, fostering deeper relationships.
• Faith can create an eternal perspective, going beyond earthly life and offering a vision of joy and justice, while anchoring life in a deeper overall purpose.
• James W. Fowler III:
• He was an American theologian and Professor of Theology and Human Development at Emory University.
• He was a minister in the United Methodist Church, who published his book "Stages of Faith" in 1981; he used the developmental process of "human faith", based on Jean Piaget's cognitive development theory and Kohlberg's stages of moral development, to analyze human faith.

Stages of Faith Development (Fowler)

• Pre-stage: Infancy and Undifferentiated Faith
• Stage One: Intuitive-Projected Faith
• Stage Two: Mythic-Literal Faith
• Stage Three: Synthetic Conventional Faith
• Stage Four: Individuative-Reflective Faith
• Stage Five: Conjunctive Faith
• Stage Six: Universalizing Faith

Catholic Teachings on Faith

• Essential faith must be lived out through love and good works.
• Salvation is by grace; we must cooperate with that grace through good works.
• Grace is the free, undeserved help from God, which will allow us to become children of God, adoptive sons, or partakers of the divine nature and eternal life through participation in the life of God.
• Judgment depends on how individuals love and deserve each other.
• Faith is the starting point of theology, preceeding it and leading on to a more deeper understanding of God's revelation rather than remaining a purely simply intellectual exercise.
• CCC 159 says, "Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth."
• Faith is the ground-stone that theology is built on.
• Theology seeks to interpret, clarify, and articulate faith with reason and revelation, which will allow theologians to approach the subject matter with humility while seeking the truth.
• Each theologians master story of the center of values and images, has a powerful influence; these narratives interpret events in life and gives one answers to fundamental questions.

Summary on Faith

• Faith is a complex mystery that evolves or develops over time (James Fowler's Stages in Faith Development).
• It's both a gift and responsibility, expressed through personal and communal acts of love, compassion, and mercy toward others and the rest of God's creation.

Other Definitions of Theology

• St. Anselm of Canterbury (Benedictine monk, abbot, philosopher, and theologian of the Catholic Church; Archbishop of Canterbury from 1093-1109):
• Faith seeking understanding (defines quaerens intellectum).
• Thomas Aquinas (Italian Dominican friar, Catholic priest, and Doctor of the Church):
• Theology is a science founded on principles established through a higher science, namely, God's wisdom.
• Sacred science establishes on divinely revealed principles.
• Richard McBrien: (Catholic priest and Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame):
• Theology is the process where our knowledge of God has the ability to be concretely expressed in loving obedience to God's will.
• 'Knowledge of GOD' can be a dynamic, relational activity involving expression of actions within lived response of obedient to the Lord.
• Loving action is the primary principle because without loving action, God is not known.

Theologizing Defined

• Involves engaging in prayerful, enlightened reflection on personal experience with faith, using Sacred Scriptures and the Church's teachings.
• Leads to understanding and also a profound relationship with God.
• Can be a reflective, interpretive process that utilizes religious beliefs and experiences in light of theological principles, sacred texts, traditions, and human experiences to deepen one's understanding of faith and its implications for life.

Tradition Defined

• Tradition is a range of beliefs, practices, rituals, texts, ethical teachings, and community structures that are passed down within a religious community, embodying the cultural, historical, and theological heritage.

Key Aspects to Theologizing

• Interpretation: Understanding and explaining religious doctrines, scriptures, and traditions.
• Contextualization: Applying theological insights to contemporary issues, cultures, and communities.
• Critical Reflection: Engaging with various philosophical, scientific, and social realities.
• Spiritual Formation: Deepening personal faith and the guiding of religious practice.
• Dialogue: Engaging with diverse religious/ philosophical traditions to enrich theological understanding.
• Theologizing deepens one's understanding and relationship with God, self, others, and also creation.
• Strengthens the commitment to love and the mission to serve.

How to Theologize

• Through reflecting on human experiences related to the mystery of faith within one relationship with a living God, connection with others and creation, and through using sacred scripture, tradition, and the churches general teachings.
• Faith is considered both a personal and crucial relationship to the mission.

The Process of Theological Reflection

• According to John Trokan, that process consists of retrieving significant experiences, retelling these experiences, reframing it, reconnecting the experience to the Christian narrative, and lastly, revisioning. Another model in theologizing involves:
• Retrieving/recalling significant experiences to allow God's presence to be felt more
• Retelling events by sorting out the religious significance and finding one's own inter impact
• Reconnecting through faith with the story of Christ, and one's search for their deeper meaning
• Attempting to reconstruct the personal experience by finding new meaning based on the context with God and oneself.

Theology and Philosophy

• Theology searches human and divine truths through faith and divine revelation
• Philosophy searches for the same, but through using reason.
• Theology primarily draws on divine revelation, religious traditions, and sacred texts to understand God, faith, and spiritual realities.
• Philosophy: relies on experience in order to address fundamental questions about one’s purpose, knowledge, and existence.
• The methodology in theology uses the use of exegesis, along with tradition with authority. In philosophy, the use of critical thinking with logical frameworks are a must.
• And for objectives' with the goal to deepen the knowledge of the religion and follow theological practices; a philosophical seeks logical understanding with reality through rational inquiry:
• Theology: begins with faith.
• Philosophy: begins with reason.
• Theologizing is the action of reflection, the process begins through human experience along with scriptures to interpret the experiences in the word of God.

Explore theology as the intellectual study of the divine and its relationship with humanity. Understand its historical significance, particularly during the Middle Ages, and its connection to religion as a system of beliefs and worship.