Why Should We Study Theology?

Theology of Christianity appears in many forms. It is a concentration of the study of both the old and new testaments, as well as Christian traditions. Such theologies discussed by the author are: biblical criticism, systematic theology, historical theology, moral theology, pastoral theology, liberation theology, natural theology, liturgical studies and sacramenta theology, and mystical

As Christians we often believe certain things simply because it’s what our parents and the people around us believe. We often go about our Christian walk without ever giving thought or reason to why we believe what we do. The world of Christian Theology is a place where Christians can find answer to the ‘what and why’ of Christianity. If we are able to begin comprehending Christian Theology and the rudimental knowledge of it, then we can take it with us into more in depth books and discussions about theology, know the importance of it and how vital it is for Christians

Michael J. Himes, in his book Doing the Truth in Love, describes theology as a way of “talking about God.” Talking about God brings many questions to mind: how do people talk about God when God is a mystery? How do people converse about what they do not know for sure? Many may think theology is inherited and even theologians talk about what they have learned from doctrines and the history they have been taught. Even though theologians know very little about God aside from what they studied, they still know it is important to talk about God. As Himes states, “God is simply too important to us not to talk about.” Although theologians are still figuring out the mysteries of God, they attempt to put forth their opinions and ideas about God in order to inspire people to find their own theology.

In Shaped by the Word, by Robert Mulholland Jr., one finds a way to read scripture in order to provide a deeper understanding of God and allow His Word to shape one’s spiritual life. In the Introduction, in chapter 1, the reader is introduced to the idea that there is a movement in the church that seeks to become deeper and stricter in spiritual formation. He claims there are many books written for this purpose, and his intending purpose for this book is for God to use however he may want in the reader’s spiritual life. Mulholland provides the reader with a prayer to pray in preparation of reading this book and states there may be points where God is knocking and calling the reader’s attention to something new.

Having discussed what philosophy is, we now consider why it is important to study philosophy. We will divide our discussion into 2 parts: (1) Why is it important for all persons in general and (2) Why is it specifically important for Christians to study philosophy? We begin, in true philosophic fashion, by examining the question itself: what we do mean by philosophy being important and we introduce the idea of the philosophic mindset. We then examine 5 reasons why it is important for all persons to adopt the philosophic mindset. We will end by providing an overview of the different branches of philosophy.

Faith operates in a unique way by providing the average, the noble, or the distasteful with a means to understand the world we inhabit. However, our worldly experiences also operate as a means to understanding the complexities of our faith. For St. Augustine, faith provides more questions than answers, but consequently leads to his life as a bishop and eventually sainthood. For some, however, the Bible provides the answers to all the questions that go unanswered by common sense. In St. Augustine’s Confessions, Augustine is able to further understand himself and his faith in Christ by reflecting on anecdotes of his past. Conversely, the Bible’s use of etiology provides spiritual justification for physical realities.

In this paper, I am going to share my ideas of theology. I believe that one of the biggest mistakes I made in the past was that I was afraid of being rejected, so I wrote a theology paper and tried to give the previous COM what I thought they wanted to hear instead of what was truly inside of me. Fortunately for me, even though I was not given a green light in order to see the Eccleastical Council, I was licensed to preach and this gave me time

Theology will impact my life in a new way because it will challenge me to dive deeper into the word of God than just scratching the surface. Moreover, it will provide a framework that can be used to reveal God’s presence and revelation in the scriptures, as well as, the many aspects of my life. I did not study theology before, as this class is my first academic opportunity to do so. Actually, I had originally thought of theology as another term used to discuss the Bible and debate interpretations on verse or themes of the Bible. I believed it was based mostly on opinion through personal revelation. This was also a time in my life where I loosely believed that interpretations were founded from personal epiphanies of the reader. Thankfully,

In this chapter, the author states that many feel that theology is unnecessary to understanding God. Most feel that they know more about God because of personal experiences. The author says he agrees with that to some degree; however, he feels that one is very limited with only the personal experience and without what he calls a map, which is what theology would be as related to the Christian religion. Without

Over the past eight weeks my view of theology hasn’t changed much. When I hear the word theology, Immediately I think of God, religious faith, and different belief systems that are developed within one’s self. As I strategically consider what does it really mean to me, after this course, I have been exposed to a more in-depth insight to what Christ purpose was and how significant the books in the bible are today. Now, I know why theology is defined as the study of religious faith, practice and experiences. After completing this last assignment, I will continue to have faith in Christianity, live by the principles in my belief system, and relationship with God will be more intimate

Just what is theology? This question can have a wide variety of answers, from irrelevant facts about God thought up by men centuries ago, to complicated theories discussed by scholars. Typically, the average 21st century man does not consider theology as relevant. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. Theology by definition has the characteristics of both expounding the truth, and impacting the believer with that truth (Himes, 2011). Therefore, theology and the church are intricately combined, in that the church embodies the revelation of God, and is reality, not theory (Himes, 2011). A personal practical theology must begin with revelation, not the individual (Himes, 2011), and proclaim

Theology is the study of God, and further the Theology of the Pentateuch is defined as what is the Pentateuch teaching us about God today. The Pentateuch is another name for the Torah, which consists of the first five books of the Biblical canon. Studying the theological vision contained within the Pentateuch is crucial to scholars since it is this vision that shapes the principal form of this work. Further, the foundation for the theology of God is set forth in the rest of the Bible. One can read numerous intricate, complex stories as concern our Creator, however there is not one contradiction in respect to his attributes that can be found. It is owing to the fact that this is a solid

The primary need of Hermeneutics is to determine and understand the meaning of Biblical text. The purpose of Hermeneutics is to bridge the gap between our minds and the minds of the Biblical writers through a thorough knowledge of the original languages, ancient history and the comparison of Scripture with Scripture. Through Hermeneutics, Biblical Interpretation can be achieved in three ways; historically, the message and the doctrine.

The fields of philosophy and theology are often grounds of debate. While some hold these two to be relevant and dependent on each other, others find them to be completely independent of each other. In John D. Caputo’s work, Philosophy and Theology, he expresses his view of these fields as companions. Caputo states, “Think of philosophers and theologians as fellow sailors on [the] ocean,” depicting his view of the interdependence of these two fields (Caputo 69). Through his illustration we can find the influence philosophy and theology can have on each other in facilitating our toleration of such a mysterious future and world.

Thomas Aquinas makes a strong argument for theology being a science. He demonstrates how a follower of Christ and a nonbeliever could use a scientific method to come up with absolute proof with axioms provided by Holy Scripture. A problem could takes place when someone misconstrues the word of God and forms absolute beliefs on incorrect interpretation of Scripture. Theology leaves no wiggle room for improvement once an absolute syllogism