The Greek word “theology” simply means discourse about God. Theology is “God-talk”; it deals with God for man and God with man, and hence with the divine-human relatedness.
Theology is also related to the world. God cares for the living as well as the non-living, both man and matter. So in the broad sense, theology deals with God's creative work and providence in the total cosmos.
Branches of Theology
Theology is subdivided into many branches: biblical theology, historical theology, systematic theology, apologetic theology, and moral theology.
1. Biblical theology refers to the concepts of God, man, sin, and salvation in the Old and New Testaments. However, the books of the Bible do not have the same theology, so some (especially Protestant liberals) wonder if it is possible to have a truly biblical theology.
Others assert that the scriptures have a certain unity because they represent a basic Hebraic world-view different from that of the Greeks, India, and the Chinese third group try to find one main theme in the entire Bible.
In our day, Weichrodt maintained that from Genesis to Revelation, there is one central covenant. A fourth group (Karl Barth and the Neo-orthodox theologians) believes that the scriptures represent the norm of revelation; hence, we should limit theology to what is taught in the Bible.
A fifth group (John Macquarie, Anglicans, and liberal Catholics) contends that biblical theology is only one part, the first part, of historical theology, which includes the whole spectrum of Christian thought; therefore, the Bible is not the only authority.
2. Historical theology begins with post-New Testament history, studying past Christian thinkers and their systems. Once we learn what the Christian message was for Origen and Augustine, Aquinas and Calvin, we can better understand what it is for our time.
Sometimes, rather naively, Protestants think they can ignore everything between the Bible and their day. But no one who wants an adequate theology can bypass 2000 years of Christian thinking. Hence, the history of Christian thought is a valuable resource for the modern Christian.
3. Next, we must mention systematic theology. Both biblical and historical theology are primarily focused on the past. By contrast, systematic theology is mainly interested in the present: What is the word of God for us today?
Systematic theology treats all the essentials of our faith in a rational and orderly manner. We try to make every doctrine fit with the others in a coherent pattern.
4. Apologetic theology is designed to answer critics. The apologist starts where the critic is and tries to lead him to an appreciative understanding of Christianity. Paul Tillich is often called an apologetic theologian because he says the world asks the questions to which faith must give satisfying answers.
We should listen to the world and ask what its questions and its problems are-and then find answers and solutions within the Christian faith. Ethics goes hand in hand with belief, even though Christian ethics is ordinarily taught in a separate course rather than as a part of theology.
Catholics call Christian ethics moral theology, and Protestants call it practical theology or applied theology. Ethics today is a highly specialized academic discipline covering numerous topics.
For example, besides philosophical ethics, there are personal ethics, family ethics, marriage ethics, Church ethics, social ethics, business ethics, medical ethics, national ethics, and international law ethics.
Each would require a full book to itself and requires a specialist in the field. In this complex and complicated world, it is impossible to set up a code of ethics that applies to all situations.
Sources of Theology
What are the sources of theology?
1. Tradition refers to an ongoing historical process, preserved in the Bible and past theological literature. Tradition contains the experiences of the Church as a whole. Tradition means what we have learned from our past as a Christian community.
Until recently, Protestants have disagreed with Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox about the value of tradition. Protestants put scripture above tradition; Catholics and Orthodox put tradition and scripture on the same level as equally authoritative sources for theology.
Occasionally, they seem to put tradition above the Bible, as when Catholics create dogmas like the infallibility of the pope, the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary, and her physical assumption into heaven.
None of these ideas is mentioned in the New Testament, yet they have been made essential to Catholic faith. Because of discussions within the ecumenical movement, mainline Protestants now recognize that they accept tradition as well as scripture as sources for theology, as the Catholics do.
There is a tension between the given Christian tradition and our contemporary experiences. What is given to us is the Bible and past interpretations of the Christian message. The writers of the Bible and the classical theologians lived before the Age of Reason. We live on this side of the Enlightenment.
Thus, we cannot return to a pre-scientific worldview. We see our world differently; we live in a world in process. We are future-oriented. It is useless for us to try to preserve ancient forms that have lost all meaning.
Yet, Christians have received scripture and tradition from the past. Consequently, it is necessary to look at the Christian tradition both appreciatively and critically. Nevertheless, the Bible and Christian writings in the past 2000 years are sources of theology.
2. Experience is also a source for theology. What we think about God, man, and salvation is determined to some extent by our total experience as individuals and churches. However, experience should not be interpreted too narrowly. Our Our nonreligious as well as our religious experiences affect our theology.
3. Reason is a source for theology. Men can be satisfied with nothing less than a reasonable faith. Every theologian uses reason to make their religious ideas clear.
Theology implies a critical analysis of doctrine. No person will believe a doctrine which he knows is untrue, even though many of our religious ideas cannot be proved by reason alone. Our faith has to make sense.
4. One's own culture, one's social, political, and economic situation, contributes to his theology. Theology is always written in a cultural context, and thus, theology needs to be constantly rewritten.
That is also why indigenous theology (Asian theology, African theology, or Latin American theology, for instance) is apt to be different from the Europe-centered theologies of the past.
5. Revelation is the most important source for theology. When one is inspired or receives new insights, a reinterpretation of theology takes place. This topic will be treated later.