Theology Definition in How to Think Theologically,

Theology Definition

In How to Think Theologically, Howard Stone and James Duke argue that theology works with a distinct template and epistemology or theory of knowledge, as do history, sociology and physics. Each theologian will have a distinctive template, but they all rely on Scripture, tradition, reason and experience to a greater of lesser extent (Stone and Duke 43). Martin Luther stated that his theology was based on Scripture and faith experience, for example, but he also accepted the traditions of the Catholic Church councils that defined the Trinity and the nature of Christ. Indeed, tradition has played "almost as prominent a role in Protestantism as in Roman Catholicism," and all churches have developed their own distinctive traditions of poetry, art, hymns and prayers over the centuries (Stone and Duke 49). Even non-Christian traditions can be an important point of comparison, such as the description of God offered in the Bible and the Qur'an, which are quite similar and indicate that Muhammad was familiar with the Christian and Jewish Scriptures and theology. Although few Christians may be aware of this or willing to admit the fact, in reality Islam describes the nature of God in almost identical terms to the other monotheistic religions, although naturally it does not accept the divinity of Christ.

Not all Christian traditions value reason equally, and some like Pentecostal and evangelical Protestantism put more emphasis on personal faith experience and the literal truth of the Bible than systematic theology. This was most certainly not the case with early Protestant Reformers like Luther or John Calvin, who were highly learned scholars and academics and took an active part in the major political and intellectual debates of their time. Although theology is not really one of the hard or exact sciences like chemistry, and cannot produce exact, mathematical results, reason is important for identifying the meaning of the Christian message in the contemporary world (Stone and Duke 51). Catholic theologians like Anselm of Canterbury and Thomas Aquinas argued that Christianity should be rational, and that reason and logic could provide evidence for the existence of God. Aquinas offered as proof the fact that the physical universe had a certain order and design (teleology) that indicated the existence of a Designer, who was also the First Cause and Prime Mover, while Anselm's ontological proof held that God was the most perfect being conceivable, and that existence must necessarily be an aspect of that perfection. Aquinas also defined theology as "the science of God" and claimed that "every topic of theology has to do with God, either because it is God himself, or because it is related to God as the origin and goal of all things" (Summa Theologiae I.1.7). Anselm described theology as having the rational goal of applying human understanding to faith, for while "we first believe in the mysteries of Christian faith before daring to examine them rationally, so likewise it seems to me that, once we have been confirmed in faith, we would be neglectful if we did not then attempt to understand what we believe" (Viladesau and Mark Massa 68).

Both the Bible and the Qur'an describe God's identity and divine truth, as well as expressions of faith identity central to both religions. They agree that God is the omnipotent and omniscient Creator who made the universe in six days, including the sun, the moon, the stars and all the plants and animals on earth. In Genesis 1 and Sura 2, God creates the universe out of nothingness (ex nihilo) and as the Qur'an puts it "He is the Originator of the heavens and the earth, and when he decrees something, He says only, 'Be', and it is" (Sura 1: 117). In this description of God as an all-knowing, all-powerful Creator of the universe, the Bible and the Qur'an are in complete agreement. God created the first human beings, but they committed the sin of disobedience when they ate fruit from the forbidden tree in the Garden (Sura 36: 77). For this they were cast out into a world of toil, death and suffering, but even so God does not simply abandon his beloved creatures no matter that they always fall short of expectations. Since they used their free will to obtain the knowledge of good and evil, God allows them to continue making these choices and suffering the consequences.

Martin Luther insisted in his theology that Protestantism should be based solely on Scripture and faith, yet he also accepted certain traditions inherited from the Catholic Church. He knew that the Roman emperors had called all the church councils in ancient times, and that the bishops were subject to their political authority. In addition, popes, bishops and emperors were only human beings and therefore capable of error, while Luther agreed with Augustine that only the Bible was "inerrant" (Luther 217). Councils, bishops and church leaders had also frequently disagreed among themselves over the centuries, so the better policy was to base the church as closely on the Bible as possible. At the Council of Nicea, the church leaders declared that Jesus was God, and at Constantinople that the Holy Spirit was also divine. At Ephesus and Chalcedon the bishops and theologians declared that Christ was one person with both a human and divine nature, which the Protestant and Reformed churches also accepted. Luther accepted all of this because he thought the councils had based their decisions on the Bible, not because of the authority of the church fathers and bishops. He believed that Christ had risen from the dead and that the Holy Spirit had appeared in the world during the first Pentecost. Although Christ had ascended into heaven, he also promised "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matt. 28:20). Arius and the Unitarians, who had doubted the divinity of Jesus, were denounced as heretics by the councils and later by Luther. He also denied that the emperor Constantine and his family had ever been Arian Christians, but he added that "if there were no Holy Scriptures of the prophets and the apostles, the mere words of the council would be meaningless" (Luther 251).