Theology: The Academic Subject
Created | Updated Aug 11, 2003
Theology means 'talk about God'. God in the context of Theology is the God of Christianity. It is a reasoned reflection on God, the things of God and the relationship of God and Humanity. It is an academic subject, which is analytical and critical. As an academic subject it does not require a belief in God. Theology undergraduates come from a wide variety of religious, (and none religious), backgrounds. Irrespective of their backgrounds however, their ideas are certainly tested by the academic nature of the subject.
Other religions have theologies, but Theology simply means the study of Christianity.
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Theology touches on the possibility of faith; at the same time, it involves understanding – since we should not talk nonsense – and it tries to think through the implications of saying that our relationship to God is the core of who we are.
Theology and Metaphysics
Metaphysics, as theoretical philosophy, is concerned with the being of everything in the world. But Metaphysics is concerned with the world as it can be understood by reason and the senses only. It is not a reasoned reflection on God, the things of God and the relationship of God and Humanity – or the revelation of Him in Jesus of Nazareth – for that is Theology.
Naïve, serious questions
Theology has always fascinated people because it tries to deal with the fundamental questions about human life, in the following sense. It proposes that the only truly serious questions are ones that even a child can formulate. Only the most naïve of questions are truly serious. These ‘naïve, serious questions’ are important because an understanding of what life is about is altered by the answers reached:
• Is there a God who is not one of the things in the world but who is responsible for the existence of the world?
• If so, what can we know about God and what can we say about God?
• If we have knowledge of God, where does it come from; from ourselves, from others or from God?
The meaning of the Universe?
If there is a God, there can be no kind of knowledge more important than Theology. For the nature of man, and the nature of the universe in which he finds himself, then depend on the nature of God. It is possible to deny that there is a God. The question of whether there is a God is, however, important; for the answer to this question makes the greatest possible difference to everything in the world.
• Does God communicate with human beings and enable them to love God?
• Is there a spiritual dimension to human life which we need to acknowledge?
• Are there moments in human history and experience that cast light on the mystery of God?
Theology: God revealed in Jesus
Christian Theology, that is to say Theology, is taken to be from a standpoint of the Biblical Old Covenant as mediated through the New Covenant – the one being in continuum with the other. It is the academics of God as revealed by and in Jesus of Nazareth (as both God and human) proclaimed to the world. Christians believe that there is no, nor can be, any other God outside of the Trinity. The Bible always assumes that there is a God. Genesis does not begin with a proof of the existence of God: it begins with the words, 'In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth'.
Academic Disciplines Utilised
Detailed historical and linguistic study enriches Biblical studies by a judicious use of insights from other disciplines, such as literary criticism, sociology and archaeology. A wide range of further disciplines are drawn upon:
• It draws upon the approaches of philosophers throughout the centuries because philosophy can help us to think clearly about these things.
• It studies the Biblical texts in their social, historical and literary contexts because of the important place they play in shaping Jewish and Christian thought.
• It examines the history of the Christian community and its traditions because the context in which traditions develop needs to be understood.
• It learns from the approaches developed in the social sciences (e.g., psychology and sociology) because they throw light on how human beings interpret themselves.
• It studies the mystical and spiritual traditions because they often reflect intense experiences of God which men and women have.
• It is in dialogue with other religious traditions because they bring to light the character of the human search for the divine.
• It takes seriously the challenges of agnosticism and atheism.
The editing and translation of classic texts of the Christian traditions, as well as commentaries on the books of the Bible, also continues to be an important contribution to the study of the Christian tradition.
A course usually has a compulsory core of biblical and doctrinal subjects, and students are required to gain a thorough knowledge of the historical and textual basis of the Christian faith, as well as studying its subsequent interpretation down to the present day. For this purpose it is often prescribed that students should have a sufficient knowledge of either New Testament Greek or Biblical Hebrew to be able to grasp points of interpretation which depend on linguistic factors.
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At the same time the wide range of options available through various course units may allow students to work more intensively in other fields of biblical, historical or doctrinal studies, or instead to branch out and study non-Christian traditions.
• Students read and analyze large quantities of material at high speed, to communicate their ideas accurately and concisely in writing, and to defend them vigorously in discussion.
• Tutors look for skills acquired in for example, language and historical skills, the ability to analyze texts, and to think logically and critically. The key factor is academic potential.
• Employers look to high quality Arts graduates not for specific subject-related skills but for abilities which can be transferred into the world of work.
The whole course is bound together with all the various disciplines being brought to bear upon the contemporary interpretation of the Christian faith. It gives the opportunity to show an aptitude in language, to learn how to appreciate ancient cultures, to undertake close reading of ancient and modern texts, and to learn skills in analytical reason.
Faith Seeking Understanding
The modern world raises many new questions for religious faith, such as the relations between science and religion, the interaction of social theory and Theology, issues related to peace and justice, and the need to take account of the plurality of world religions in the formulation of belief.
Theology facilitates Christian ministerial formation, enabling the relation of the Christian faith to the wider community, by enabling students to acquire an increasingly integrated knowledge of biblical, doctrinal and historical studies, and to acquire skills for ministry.
Theology enables a believer’s faith and experience to relate to contemporary issues, and to understand personal beliefs and their relationship to spiritual, emotional, and intellectual development.
1In 1970 the name of the Cambridge University Divinity Faculty course was changed to 'Theology and Religious Studies' and now Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism are all studied in their own right alongside Christianity within the Tripos, (the three year degree course).2Oxford University written examinations candidates, for example, are provided with a copy of the ‘New Revised Standard Version with the Apocrypha (Anglicised Edition)’, except when they are answering questions on Hebrew or Greek texts. Those wishing to answer questions on Hebrew or Greek texts use in these cases, ‘The Greek New Testament (United Bible Societies, 4th edn. 1993)’ and ‘Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (Stuttgart, 1977)’.
