1. Theology and Theologians


Defining Theology

Etymology: God words

Anselm’s definition: Faith Seeking Understanding

≠ Religious Studies

≠ Catechesis

≠ University Ministry


Three Major Areas of Theology

  1. Biblical
  2. Moral
  3. Systematic

Reading Responses

IS THEOLOGY NECESSARILY CHRISTIAN?

Is Theology only tied to the Abrahamic religions or can it be attached to any religion?

Do some theologians not believe in a God?

I read that theology takes faith as a starting point. Is faith a given?

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THEOLOGY AND FAITH? QUESTIONING?

faith seems to be something that “just is”.

made me wonder if having a theological education would increase, or perhaps decrease one's faith

I always believed that believing in God is only emotion, but there can be a long journey to actually understand what we believe in.

while I think I do have faith, I just have a lot of questions. I felt a little better about my questioning outlook after this reading

MORAL THEOLOGY

can an atheist or a person who is not a Christan also have the same beliefs and options about social issues, economics, and medical ethics?

I was always taught that church and state were to be kept separate, so would that be the same for Theology and the law?

SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY/PHILOSOPHY

I always viewed Theology as Philosophy but with religion as its main focus or a better way to say it...filter.

more philosophical than bible camp

I found a lot of the same topics that I went over last semester in my philosophy class when we covered Anselm

SCRIPTURE

a theologians job is to understand the beliefs or traditions that were created hundreds or even thousands of years ago... In turn they seek to understand, but seek to also understand how it ties into a evolving world where different cultures and ideas are being born.