WHAT IS THEOLOGY? PART FIVE

Now that I have shared the testimony of my professor and that of myself, I think, it will not be so difficult for those who have read or listened to the first four presentations to understand this. In case you missed, you can read the previous parts here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4.

What I am going to do in this episode is to start by giving you basic definitions which I actually dealt with in those testimonies I started with. I strongly advise that we read or listen to the first episodes since theology is a science of divinities, it is always important whenever we want to understand how something works to learn also from the experiences of people. For now, let’s dive into the definitions quickly:

What is Theology?

To answer this question, one should start with the word THEOLOGY. It is important that we start with the term for two reasons:

The first is because some people have never heard of the term and they need to hear it for the first time. As for my case, I had never heard of the term until my God-father Moses Kyazze Seruwu told me about it and he suggested that he wanted me to study the course. Just like I was, I know many people have never heard of the term and actually few educated people can even spell it.

It was I and some other few theologians in Uganda who popularized this term to Christian circles in Uganda through our facebook page known as ASK THE BIBLICAL THEOLOGIANS. So, I find it important that we always begin with stating and pronouncing the term for public awareness.

The second reason as to why it is important for us to start with the term is because a lot of people have heard of the term, but probably do not know what it means or have been given various definitions to the term contextually (biased definitions). Am very sure my God-father never understood to the bits what theology meant or he had a particular definition, though he referred me to the discipline.

So what does this term Theology mean?

When you write or read the word aloud you will realize that it shares its suffix with many other sciences. It has that: “OLOGY”. Most of us have heard of Soci-ology, Physi-ology, Bio-logy, Anthrop-ology, Gynaec-ology etc. This suffix on the host of all these disciplines is due to the fact that it comes from the Greek word λόγος (Logos) which we meet in the Gospel of John 1:1: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

The word ‘Logos’ is the Greek word that the English translates as: ‘word’ so Logos is the Greek word for the English word for, word. Therefore, Logos can be translated as: word, or an idea, or as Logic. It makes sense when we view it from this angle: the word ‘Biology’ is a combination of two words: ‘bios’ which means ‘life’ and logos which means word. So Biology is a word, or the concept, or the logic of life. In simpler terms, it is the study of life. In that case then, in the term THEOLOGY, the main word is: THEOS which means GOD (as the subject matter), so theology is a word about God, a concept about God or a logic on divine matters.

Theology, therefore, in the most elementary understanding, it is the study or a word or a logical reasoning about God. However, we must also understand that THEOLOGY as a discipline does not just refer to God as an entity, but also to all of those things both ideological and materialistic through which this God has revealed himself. That is why Theology is God’s revelation to humankind segmented into two categories:

1-General Revelation (where God reveals himself in things/the materialistic world) and

2-Special revelation (in which God reveals himself in the written word, which is scripture and also where he reveals himself in the incarnate word who was Jesus Christ).

The role of this discipline known as theology, therefore, is to study God through these mediums of revelation that in essence he himself has provided. That is why I emphasized in my earlier presentations that the primary and most important audience for Theology is God himself. We do Theology for the glory of God and not for ourselves.

Since theology is a study about God by his creatures, then theology is a study of relationships. It is about a relationship between the creator and the creature, the infinite and the finite and through theology, we understand the quality of this relationship and the why of this relationship.

Theology develops modes of approaches to the revelation of this transcendent and sovereign God through channels like;

Prolegomena (Study of first Principles which include; terminology, angelogy, demonology,).

Christology (Study of Christ) is another handle, Pneumatology (the study of the Holy Spirit),

Hamartiology (the study of sin),

Soteriology (Study of how we are saved).

Ecclesiology (Study of the Church),

Eschatology (the study of last things, events or after life).

There is also, what we call: Theology Proper (the study of God Himself. The existence of God. The attributes of God). Theology Proper does not entail to mean that there is theology improper but it communicates the concentration on the prime object of the discipline of who God himself is.

To extend our definition, let me share with you another experience that one of my professors by the name R.C. Sproul shared with me. He told me that he was invited to a certain university that wanted him to head the Faculty of Theology. One of the administrators led him and oriented him throughout the university before he addressed the entire school’s administration. As they walked through he saw one of the faculties connected to his invitation and it had an inscription that read: FACULTY OF RELIGION. The time came for him to address the board of administrators. He asked: “I noticed one department identified as: FACULTY OF RELIGION; was that department always called the Department of Religion?”

All the faculty members looked at him with no answer until one senior member of the school who had been around for over 40 years raised his hand and said: “No, it used to be called the school of Theology.” Then I asked him: “Why did you change it to the Department of Religion?“. Then he said: “I do not know.” And again the faculty of these leaders was looking at me thinking: “What is this guy talking about? What difference does it make?” So I decided to answer to their suspense and said: “Let me tell you the difference between Religion and Theology. Classically the study of Religion in the academic world is a component under the broader context of either Sociology or Anthropology. This so, because, Religion, is the study of how human being behave in a certain environment with their cultic practices.

These cultic practices can range from how they worship, how they pray, how they dress, what they eat, days they venerate, saints both dead and alive they transmit their supplications through, and feasts and all sorts of rituals practiced. On that note then, Religion is the study of human practices.

In fact the translators of the Bible have applied this word “Religion” equivalent to only one Greek word in the New Testament in the books of Acts 26:5 that says: They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that according to the strictest party of our religion I have lived as a Pharisee. And Colossians 2:18 that says: Let no one disqualify you, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, taking his stand on visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind. And finally, in James 1:26-27 that says:  (If anyone considers himself Religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world).

The Greek word translated as Religion, in all these three passages is; Threskos or (θρησκεία,) religion, religious service or worship; especially as expressed in a system of external observances and rituals of purity of identity and distinction. This is what the study of religion is about, whereas the Study of Theology is the study of God. There is a big difference between studying human apprehensions of religion and studying the nature and character of God Himself.

Religion is purely Natural in its orientation while Theology is Supernatural in its orientation. Theology deals with that which is beyond and above the things of this world. Therefore, Authentic Theology is one that is committed to the author and origin of truth who is God himself (John 14:7), and this God is the foundation and source of all other truths. This means that every other thing we learn whether it is Philosophy or Psychology, Mathematics, Economics, Science or Technology, Engineering or Law, mention all professional courses, has to be understood in light of the over-arching reality of the character of God.

In fact, this is the reason as to why in the Middle Ages, Theology was called the QUEEN OF THE SCIENCES and PHILOSOPHY CONSIDERED TO BE HER HAND-MAID. Now of course we all know that the Queen has been ripped from her throne and in many cases we see her being systematically driven to exile and a supplanter now reigns and replacing Theology with Religion. We all know that all Universities both denominational and secular have studies in religion that substitute to what would have been theology in which they disguise all sorts of teaching that do not relate to the core theme of Theology, a.k.a God. We

We all know that all Universities both denominational and secular have studies in religion that substitute to what would have been theology in which they disguise all sorts of teachings that do not relate to the core theme of Theology, a.k.a God. We must, however, understand that the only concern of theology is God, and the things from above, not worldly sociology and anthropology, however useful, they might be.

Finally, let me tell you the difference between Authentic Theology and Pure Religious Studies by saying that: we all as readers exist in a culture and find ourselves reading from the perspective of that culture. We all have our culture, and our beliefs, and that is fine and inevitable. Even if it were possible, we should not demonize or shelve our beliefs when we come to the text. However, we must be honest about what the passage says and does not say, even while we acknowledge our particular leaning. To me, this what Religious so-called Theologians do not do.

I will continue with this in the next episode. God bless you, Am Isaiah-White a pastor and a conservative theologian as its lifetime student.