Theology is a human undertaking that seeks to apprehend, understand, and speak of God. Theology is similar to the sciences (academic disciplines) in the sense that they also seek to apprehend a specific object and its environment and in a manner that is directed by the phenomenon itself. They seek to understand the object (phenomenon) on its own terms along with the implications of the existence of the object.
Christian theology is concerned with the God who claims to be revealed in the person of Jesus Christ, as described in the Bible. Christian theology seeks to apprehend, understand, and speak of this God and of the deeds of this God in history.
This God is greater than and stands in judgement over all human endeavours, including theology. It cannot claim an authority that is greater than God. Thus, this theology should not be equated with any theology that claims to be definitive, whether Reformed theology, Catholic theology, Feminist theology, Evangelical theology, Liberation Theology, Pentecostal theology, Liberal theology, ... Hence humility and a spirit of generosity must be central to authentic Christian theology.
Christian theology is concerned with Jesus, the incarnation of God. This is Emmanuel; God is with us! Thus, this theology is joyful and thankful.
What I have written above is largely a paraphrase of what Karl Barth writes in the first chapter of Evangelical Theology: An Introduction, based on lectures he gave sixty years ago. I chose to subsitute "Christian" for "Evangelical" because in today's world, "evangelical" has taken on a sociological and political meaning, particularly being associated with some of the strongest supporters of Donald Trump.
I believe this perspective of what Christian theology is can be quite helpful in considering the relationship between theology and the sciences (natural and social). This perspective facilitates the exploration of concrete similarities and differences, particularly with regard to four areas I discussed in more detail earlier: the life and experience of individuals, communities and institutions, bodies of knowledge, and underlying realities.
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