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Why Is It Important to Study

Theology
ASSIGNMENT
Write an essay entitled My Faith
Experience in one piece bond paper.
Not less than 300 words
Font: Times New Romans #12
Single space
To be submitted next Thursday
Analysis
Due to the massive devastation of the
typhoon Pablo, many people are
entertaining the idea that the calamity
was sent by God to punish the people
who have become sinful. How will you
deal with this kind of reasoning?
What is Theology
1. St. Anselm: Theology means faith
seeking understanding
2. Christian theology is the central
intellectual activity of the Christian
tradition, consisting of critical
reasoning about what should be taught
in the Christian community, the church.

Theology means simply the word about
God or the study of the Godhead. It is
the formal attempt to understand and
interpret the things of God, both
theoretical and practical, revealed in
both Scripture and tradition, in a
scholarly, methodical, and systematic
manner.

ANSELM OF CANTERBURY gave a
classic formulation to the theological
enterprise as fides quaerens
intellectum, or faith seeking
understanding.

Let us try to understand:
Theology comes from the Greek words Theo,
which means God and Logos, which literally
means word. Therefore, literally, Theology is
the word about God or the study about God.
This study has its Greek because they are the
first to make a systematic study of the things
about every observable things and
phenomena including the divinity.

It is a formal attempt to understand and
interpret the things of God.
Formal here means certain set of rules
have to be followed in our study of
Theology.
Theology is the study of religion,
especially the Christian faith and God's
relation to the world.

Lets take the definition in
detail:
It is a study and religion is the subject of
this study, particularly Christian faith.
Since Christian faith proclaims belief in
God who created the world and governs
everything in it, the work of God as it
relates to the life of humans and the
creation becomes the subject of
Theology.
Theology is, as St. Anselm puts it, faith
seeking understanding. It is therefore an
attempt to understand faith using faith
and reason. Again, this entails a study
but unlike other sciences where the
scientists make use only of reason and
treats faith as irrational, in Theology, the
totality of the person is involved
including intellect and faith.

Why is it important to study
Theology?
1. Theology is essential for
our relationship with God. -
For starters, the word Theology comes from two
Greek words which mean God and word. For this
reason, theologians refer to theology as Words
about God. The goal in theology, therefore, is to
think Gods thoughts after him.
Whoever does not love does not know God, because
God is love. 1 John 4:8. Through Theology, one
arrives to this understanding. How?

Christian Faith Needs
Explanation
One cannot be a Christian unless one believes
certain things about God. This is important because,
as has been said, there is no greater sin than to
think of God other than he is.
For the Christian, we believe that God is triune
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This means that God is
one in essence, but three in persons.
To begin to comprehend this truth, one must study
the Bible thoroughly; but it would also be wise to read
the theologians of the past who have helped the
church understand this great mystery.
Christian Faith Needs
Explanation
Christians believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of
God. Not only did Jesus claim this about himself
(Jn.8:58), but he asked Peter, Who do you say that I
am? Peter responded, You are the Christ, the Son
of the living God (Matt.16:16).
But Jesus also experienced hunger (Matt.21:18) and
other human feelings and emotions (Lk.19:41;
Jn.11:35). This indicates that not only is Jesus God,
but he is also human.
The Bible Needs to Be
Understood in the Right Way
Studying theology helps us think deeply about our
faith, know what we believe, and read the Bible
better, all of which enrich our relationship with God
and cause us to love God more
Matt.22:37; He said to him, You shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart, and with all your soul,
and with all your mind.
cf. 1 Pet.3:15 - but in your hearts sanctify Christ as
Lord. Always be ready to make your defence to
anyone who demands from you an account of the
hope that is in you;
Examples
How do you interpret the following:

Those who eat my flesh and drink my
blood have eternal life, and I will raise
them up on the last day Jn. 6:54

God is love

Thus, anyone who is a follower of Jesus must
believe the truth about Jesus. As Millard
Erickson writes, It is not sufficient to have a
warm, positive, affirming feeling toward
Jesus.
One must have correct understanding and
belief.[5] In this respect, theology is
important because it helps us understand and
believe what is true.
C. S. Lewis
29 November 1898 22 November 1963
writer of The Chronicles of the Narnia
Theology is like the map. Merely learning and
thinking about the Christian doctrines, if you stop
there, is less real and less exciting than the sort of
thing my friend got in the desert. Doctrines are not
God: they are only a kind of map. But that map is
based on the experience of hundreds of people who
really were in touch with God-experiences compared
with which any thrills or pious feelings you and I are
likely to get on our own are very elementary and very
confused.
Theology is Needed in our
Faith Formulation
Creed is kind of faith formulation; it is a
concise expression or summary of ones
faith. Example: The Apostles Creed
It summarizes the whole History of
Salvation, from Creation to the
expectation of the Next Life.
The Creed was a result of the
clarification of our faith. Some people
started to convince people with their
false teachings and the Church had to
make a solemn proclamation of what is
true and in the process rejected the
wrong teachings
Ex. Jesus was God, therefore he did not
really suffer pain.


Examples of Heresies of False
Teachings
Arianism - Jesus was a lesser, created being.
Docetism - Jesus was divine, but only
seemed to be human.
Gnosticism - Dualism of good and bad and
special knowledge for salvation.
Monophysitism - Jesus had only one nature:
divine.
Nestorianism - Jesus was two persons.

2. Theology Fuels Our
Worship.
Hymnology is tied to Theology; the
Church songs are a product of Theology
Liturgy or the rituals and celebrations
are a result of Theology or the
understanding of the life of faith
Therefore, Theology is expressed in
terms of worship and worship is
influenced by the Theology behind it.
Bad Theology Leads to Bad
Living
As G. K. Chesterton said, Heresy
always does affect morality, if its
heretical enough.[13]
We simply cannot escape the fact that
what we believe influences how we live.
The way we live reveals the faith we
believe in.


Example of Bad Theology
Believe in God, have faith in Jesus and
you will prosper.
Why? Does it mean those who are poor do
not believe in God?


Other Reasons to Study
Theology
Theology might be undertaken to help
the theologian:
understand more truly his or her own
religious tradition,
[5]

understand more truly another religious
tradition,
[6]
and promoted understanding
make comparisons among religious
traditions,
[7]
and promote dialogue

defend or justify a religious tradition,
facilitate reform of a particular
tradition,
[8]

assist in the propagation of a religious
tradition,
[9]
or
draw on the resources (teachings) of a
faith tradition to address some present
situation or need,
[10]

draw on the resources of a tradition
(culture and history) to explore possible
ways of interpreting the world,
[11]
or
explore the nature of God without
reference to any specific tradition.
challenge or purify (ex. biblical criticism)
or oppose (ex. irreligion) a religious
tradition or the religious world-view.
Augustine (354-430) -
It is God from whom all those who love him
derive both their existence and their love; it is
God who frees us from any fear that he can
fail to satisfy anyone to whom he becomes
known; it is God who wants himself to be
loved, not in order to gain any reward for
himself but to give to those who love him an
eternal rewardnamely himself, the object of
their love[1]
Life Situations
The State passed the law in favor of RH
in order to put the population under
control. They reasoned that many
people are becoming poor due to the
big number children among poor
families.
A person close to you came to you
criticizing you for believing and
showing reverence to the statues of
Jesus, Mary and the Saints. How would
you react and what would you tell the
person?
Overview of Theology
Courses
Theo 1: Intro to Theology/Basic
Catechism
Theo 2: Intro to Sacred Scriptures
Theo 3: Christology
Theo 4: The Church and the
Sacraments
Theo 5: Christian Morality

Theo 1
The Catechism of the Catholic Church
Foundation of Catholic Teachings
Growing in knowledge of self, others
and God,
Theo 2 Intro to Sacred
Scriptures
Knowing the Bible
Knowing what is the Bible
Knowing God through the experiences
of the people in the Bible
Knowing how the Bible came to be
Knowing what the Bible means for the
Christian believers

Theo 3 Christology
The study on the Life and Words of
Jesus
Who is Jesus for the Jews
Who is Jesus for his disciples
Who is Jesus for the people who
followed his disciples
Who is Jesus for us now
Theo 4 The Church and the
Sacraments
What is the Church
Who makes up the Church
What is the Life of the Church
How the Church nourishes its Life
The Seven Sacraments
Theo 5 Christian Morality
What is our final goal in life in relation to
our faith
Who are we before God and others
What are the choices to make to arrive
to the final goal
How do we evaluate our actions and
make sound decisions in relation to the
final goal

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