Theology

The theology (from the Greek θεος [theos], 'God/deity', and λογος [logos], 'study) is the discipline that studies the body of knowledge about God, his attributes and his perfections. And, more broadly, the study of religious beliefs such as dogmas and concepts, among others.

The use of this word is attributed to the polytheistic thought of Ancient Greece, and to the Greek philosophers between the 4th and 5th centuries BC. C. This term was used for the first time by Plato in The Republic (year 379 BC) to refer to the understanding of divine nature through reason, as opposed to literary understanding. typical of his contemporary poets. Adeimantus asked Socrates what would be the general lines of the reasons we could give about the gods (οἱ τύποι περὶ θεολογιάς τίνες ἄν εἶεν;, Rep. II, XVIII, quoted by Plato, year 379 a.). Later, Aristotle (350 BC) used the term on numerous occasions with two meanings:

• Theology at first as the denomination of mythological thought immediately prior to Philosophy, in a pejorative sense, and above all used to call theologians to the ancient non-philophosphosic thinkers (such as Hesiodo and Ferecides of Siros).
• Theology as a fundamental branch and the most important of Philosophy, also called First philosophy or study of the first principleslater called Metaphysics by his followers and that to distinguish it from the study of the being created by God, the theological philosophy that is also called theodicea or philosophical theology (see Theodicea).

Saint Augustine took the concept natural theology (theologia naturalis) from the great work Antiquitates rerum divinatum by Marcus Terence Varro, as the only theology true of the three presented by Varro: the mythical, the political and the natural. On this, he placed the supernatural theology (theologia supernaturalis ) based on the data of revelation and therefore considered superior. The supernatural theology, located outside the field of action of philosophy, was not below, but above it and considered it its servant, which would help it in understanding of God.

Theodicy is a term currently used as a synonym for natural theology. It was created in the 18th century by Leibniz as the title of one of his works: « Essay of Theodicy. About the goodness of God, the freedom of man and the origin of evil”, although Leibniz referred to theodicy any investigation whose purpose was to explain the existence of evil and justify the goodness of God.

The branches of theology are natural or rational theology, dogmatic and revealed theology, and moral theology. These can be described as Christian; "Catholics", "Protestants", "Orthodox", etc. There is a sacred or Christian rhetoric, the Ars Praedicandi, of important medieval development. Certainly, a large part of all these disciplines has deep development in the areas corresponding to the different religions, although it is in the so-called "religions of the book", especially in Christianity, where they enjoy greater specificity. Two very widespread contemporary distinctions, which merely designate currents of thought and not disciplinary fields, are liberation theology and negative theology. The term "ecclesiastical sciences" (still valid at the end of the 18th century in the work of Juan Andrés) included "theology", canon law, ecclesiastical law, Church history and scripture, which now fall under theology.

In Abrahamic religions

Christianity

Christian Apology

Catholic Theology

The term theology, therefore, is not initially of Christian origin. Only through a progressive process is the Christian use of the term "theology" imposed both in the East and in the West. For Clement of Alexandria, it indicates the "knowledge of divine things." For Origen it expresses the "true doctrine about God and about Jesus Christ as Savior." Eusebius has the privilege of having applied the theologos attribute to John the Evangelist for the first time, since in his gospel he wrote an “eminent doctrine about God”. From him, the Catholic Church affirms that theology indicates the true doctrine, the Christian, in opposition to the false doctrine taught by pagans and heretics.

The term theology is a compound word that, in its literal meaning, can indicate a speaking of God, or a discourse about God. If in general terms theology is a reflection on God (and in this sense there is also a philosophical theology), in the most common sense of the Catholic Church it is a reflection that tries to know and understand faith from reason. Thus, Catholic theology presupposes faith as an experiential foundation and tries in it and through it the knowledge and understanding of faith. In other words, it is an intellectual, methodical and critical activity that presupposes adherence to the Catholic faith. To indicate it synthetically, it is often summarized in the formula of Anselm of Canterbury: "Fides quaerens intellectum": "Faith seeks to understand" (Theology is the will of faith to understand.)

In the constitution of Catholic theological knowledge its object, its sources and its place can be indicated. The "object" of theology is God—directly—and the world and man in the light of God. The "sources of theological knowledge" and their criteria of truth are human reason and divine revelation, in a privileged way. The "place" of theology is the Church as a community of faith and Christianity.

From this it derives that the Church must be able to authoritatively establish criteria for theological reflection. According to the Catholic Church, research and theological work are part of a rational knowledge, the object of which is given by "revelation" - that is, the Word of God - transmitted and interpreted by the Church under the authority of the Magisterium - already that it is impossible to avoid the mediation of the Church—, and accepted by faith (importance of the assent of the community). Theology in some cases reached a high level of speculation and elaboration. This rational knowledge has been considered science by theologians and non-theologians in the medieval past and in contemporary times, although for others of the past or contemporaries it is not a science. To a large extent, this is explained because the concept of science has varied and even at different times it is not homogeneous.

Theology wonders about the nature, properties and essence of God using Revelation as a source and Trinitarian logic as a method. In this sense Catholic theology is for the most part the same as other Christian theology. He also studies other issues, such as soteriology, Mariology, predestination, eschatology, theological ethics and, according to some authors, apologetics.

The first millennium after Christ was characterized by the unity between theological knowledge and the pastoral ministry of the bishops. Some of the greatest theologians were the great doctors of the Church. And these, with a few exceptions, were bishops. The bishop's magisterium developed as a theologian and vice versa; highlighting the unity and complementarity of the two functions. Theology was considered as a commentary and an effort to penetrate the Word of God in order to be able to live it concretely.

In the West, it is above all Augustine who vigorously maintained the religious sense of theology: theology is thus understood as the effort to penetrate more and more into the understanding of Scripture and the Word of God. Anselmo of Aosta advanced in the understanding of theology and considered the basic principle of theology: quaero intelligere ut credam, sed credo ut intelligam (I seek to understand in order to believe, but I believe in order to understand).

In the Middle Ages multiple schisms arose around the nature of Christ and in reference to the virginity of Mary. Regarding the latter, the controversy in part revolved around the fact that in Matthew 1:23 the angel announces the virgin birth, while Isaiah in his prophecy alludes to an almah which in Hebrew means girl or girl. young lady, but not to a bethulah which means virgin. This is a small example of the difficulties of theology, having to find the non-contradiction between philological and philosophical arguments, and the dogmatic affirmations of the Magisterium of the Catholic Church, sustained by being "assisted by the Holy Spirit".

Protestant theology

Starting with Luther, a new theological journey began, separate and independent from traditional Catholic theology. This is how Protestant theology arises, which differs from Catholicism in doctrinal issues that are considered fundamental:

• The Bible is considered infallible Word of God and the most important text of all the books of the world. There are no documents other than the Bible that are accepted as infallible. Moreover, being based on the so-called Palestinian canon or Hebrew canon consisting of 39 books, unlike the Catholic Bible that contains 46 books, because it is taken from the canon of Alexandria that contains seven more books, called apocryphs for Protestant tradition and, also called deuterocanonic books by Catholic tradition.
• No worship is accepted to any kind of image or human person. Therefore, no postration is accepted in front of any image.
• The existence of purgatory is not accepted.
• The baptism of children or infants is not accepted, but until the individual has a moral awareness.
• The Virgin Mary or any other biblical or historical character is not recognized as intercessor to God.

It is worth mentioning that, within Protestant Theology, 5 points that summarize the Theology or beliefs stand out:

• Sola Fide
• Sola Gratia
• Sola Scriptura
• Solus Christus
• Soli Deo Gloria

The “hospitality of Abraham” by Andréi Rubliov: the three angels represent the three people of God.

Which means that Salvation is by Faith Alone (Sola Fide), by God's Grace Alone (Sola Gratia), by the Only Intercessory Work of Christ (Solus Christus), thus giving Glory to God Alone (Soli Deo Gloria) since man has no part in salvation. Likewise, the sufficiency of the Word of God expressed in the Bible is emphasized, in order to know the true God when he reveals himself to men (Sola Scriptura).

Orthodox Theology

Eastern Orthodox theology is characterized by its monotheistic trinitarianism, belief in the incarnation of the Logos (son of God), a balance between cataphatic and apophatic theology, a definite hermeneutic of sacred tradition, a concrete ecclesiology, and a therapeutic soteriology.

Orthodox Christians believe in a single God who is both one and triune (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), although they point out that it is "an indivisible essence" present in all three. The holy trinity is made up of three distinct and distinct persons (hypostases), who share an uncreated, immaterial, and eternal divine essence (ousia). The father is the eternal source of divinity, from which the son obtained it and also from the father the Holy Spirit obtained it. The ousia of God is something that is beyond human comprehension and cannot be defined or dealt with by human understanding.

Islamic

Kalam (علم الكلم) is one of the religious sciences of Islam. In Arabic, the word means 'discussion' and refers to the Islamic tradition of seeking theological principles through dialectic. A kalam scholar is called mutakallam.

In ancient cultures

Greco-Roman Mythology

The Olympic Gods of Greece

Classical mythology, Greco-Roman or Greco-Roman mythology is the mythology of classical Greco-Roman civilization, an essentially common body of mythical narratives (after the Romans adapted the pantheon of Greek religion to their own original religion -Roman religion-), although the names of the gods are different in Greek and Latin. Both mythologies converged in the first century BC. c.

In Greco-Roman antiquity there were scholars who wrote philosophical works where they dealt with the subject of polytheism in a rational way, such as Cicero's De natura deorum, or some texts by Epicurus such as the Letter to Meneceo. Texts such as De divinatione by Cicero, On the nature of things by Lucretius, and Meditations by Marcus Aurelius also enter here.

Egyptian Theology

Papiro with the representation of a part of the Egyptian gods

Ancient Egyptian religion comprises the various religious beliefs and rituals practiced in Ancient Egypt for more than three millennia: from the pre-dynastic period to the adoption of Christianity in the first centuries of this era. These beliefs centered on the worship of multiple deities that represented various aspects of nature, symbolizing ideas and functions of power, expressed through complex and varied archetypes.

Egyptian religion had the interaction between humans and gods as its main focus. These gods were believed to be present in all aspects of the natural world, though their true nature remained. they were also very sensitive about their sexuality.

These deities were worshiped with offerings and prayers by the pharaohs, in the sanctuaries of the temples. The town venerated them during the processions, exposed in external temples, on ritual boats carried by the priests. Supported by royalty, different gods featured at various periods in Egyptian history, and the myths associated with them changed over time, so Egypt never had a coherent hierarchy of deities or a unified mythology; however, the religion contained many general beliefs. These include the divinity of the pharaoh, which helped to politically unify the country,2 and more complex beliefs about an afterlife, which gave rise to the elaborate Egyptian burial customs: embalming, mummification, ritual burials in rich complexes. funerary, with funerary temples, pyramids, mastabas, etc.

Norse Theology

They die riches, they die relatives, even you die; the glory never dies, of him who wins it. Hávamál, estrofa 76.

Norse mythology was a collection of beliefs and stories shared by the North Germanic peoples. It is important to note that this mythology was not shared by the Nordic peoples of Uralic (Finnish, Estonian and Lapp) or Baltic (Lithuanian and Latvian) ethnic groups, who had their own (albeit similar). It was not a revealed religion, as there was no truth handed down by the divines to mortals (although it has accounts of normal people learning the stories of the gods from a visit from, or to, them), and it had no holy book.. This mythology was transmitted orally in the form of a long and regular poetry. Such transmission continued into the Viking Age, and our knowledge of it is based primarily on the Eddas and other medieval texts written during or after Christianization.

In recent times there has been a revival of the beliefs of the ancient Viking peoples; its adherents, who consider themselves odinists or asatruar, have written works and articles in defense of rational paganism.

In a 1992 interview, Jörmundur Ingi Hansen expressed her views on various theological issues, including the nature of the gods and the basis of their pagan beliefs:

From my perspective, the world in its nature is divided into two, the constructive forces, Æsir, and the destructive forces that we call Jötnar. It is basically only to realize this dichotomy and to take advantage of the flank of the Æsir. The best way to do that, in my opinion, is to be self-consistent, to live in harmony with nature, to associate with respect and to submit to public order. ▪ The gods form the dwellings of the people, the earth and the solar system from the material that already exists. In this context we can consider the forces of nature as the gods themselves and to a great extent, that is what people did in ancient times.

Celtic Theology