3. Method and Unity of Theology
The theological method is the organized body of principles and procedures that theologians use in order to study the faith. Science properly proceeds by argumentation; it uses what is already known (premises) to reach new truths (conclusions). The goal of theology is to formulate new propositions about God (theological conclusions) based essentially on God’s own revelation; it also uses logic and other resources of human culture to aid in this purpose.
Theology is not the same as religious philosophy. It would be highly improper for a theologian to mechanically analyze revelation with a philosophical method. That is the work of the philosophy of religion.
The use of immanentistic philosophy (trying to grasp the evidence of Christian faith from an initial or methodical doubt) would be even worse.
It is as easy now as it was at the time of Jesus Christ to say No, to deny or to put aside the truth of faith. You who call yourself a Catholic have to start from Yes.
Later, after some study, you will be able to explain the reasons for your certainty, and that there is no contradiction—there can be none—between Truth and science, between Truth and life.1
Since theology is the science of revelation, theological argumentation has characteristics that are distinct from the methods used to argue other sciences. An important difference is its extensive use of the argument of authority. Theology usually bases its conclusion on the personal testimony of God, on the authority of that same God who reveals it. In using this technique, theology does not limit itself to reasons intrinsic to the subject matter, which are mediately or immediately evident in themselves. Theology’s strongest argument is Deus dixit—“God said so.”
Faithfulness means—it must be—a resolute and stable orientation that inspires research and follows it closely. Faithfulness means putting the word of God, which the Church “listens to religiously” (cf. DV, 1), at the very origin of the theological process and referring to this word all the acquired knowledge and conclusions gradually reached. It implies a careful and permanent confrontation with what the Church believes and professes.2
Arguments of authority (backing a proposition on the testimony of a prestigious authority in the field) carry little weight in the human sciences. Although frequently used in ordinary life, their scientific value is only provisional. They are not science, but merely prudent opinion. In theology, however, arguments based on the authority of God have full scientific validity. They produce a stronger certitude than any argument based on intrinsic reasons.3
Certitude based on God himself, through the word of God, rests on the most solid and unshakable foundation that can be found. It does not rest on the fallible truth of created beings perceived through a created intellect, but on the First Truth, the source and origin of all truth. This Truth is perceived through faith—a participation of divine light, much higher than the light of human reason.
9. Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition
The immutable foundation of the theological method is divine revelation: the Gospel of salvation, the word of God that the Church presents to the faithful, which can be received through faith. The specific method of theology is to go, time and time again, to the faith of the Church, to recall and to meditate upon the word of God in order to reach the knowledge of God (cf. Lk 2:19, 51).
Note that the theologian does not scrutinize Sacred Scripture and other testimonies of divine revelation because he doubts the accuracy of ordinary, simple faith. Before starting to research, the theologian is completely convinced that, by merely listening faithfully to the Church, he has all the knowledge required for salvation.
Despite this conviction, studying the sources of revelation with scientific rigor is not, for the theologian, a mere academic exercise where no important discovery is expected. On the contrary, the theologian’s research may discover new aspects or nuances of revelation, not explicitly realized, that can fruitfully enrich the catechesis and life of the Church.
9a) The Church and the Transmission of the Gospel
How can the theologian have access to revelation? Christ made sure that his saving revelation—the Gospel—could reach all people in its integrity. By divine will, the content of revelation (the revealed truths and institutions, moral precepts, the way of praying, sacraments) is transmitted through people, through the Church, as an inviolable deposit of faith.4
The Church continues the mission of the apostles, faithfully transmitting the Gospel of Christ to mankind generation after generation. This task of transmitting revelation is called Sacred Tradition.
The Tradition of the Church is sacred because the Church received supernatural assistance from God to transmit the Gospel: “I am with you always, to the close of the age” (Mt 28:20); “and the powers of death shall not prevail against it” (Mt 16:18). To clarify this truth, Pope Pius VI declared, “The proposition, ‘In the last centuries the most important truths of religion, which were the foundation of the faith and moral doctrine of Jesus Christ, have been darkened’ is heretical.”5
The word tradition comes from the Latin tradere, which means “to hand over.” It requires faithfully transmitting the deposit of revelation—the word of God, which is the object of faith. The Second Vatican Council describes Tradition by saying: “The Church, in her doctrine, life and worship, perpetuates and transmits to every generation all that she herself is, all that she believes.”6
Because of Tradition, the Gospel is conserved faithfully and without error in the Church. Thus, the Second Vatican Council teaches:
The whole body of the faithful who have an anointing that comes from the holy one (cf. 1 Jn 2:20 and 27) cannot err in matters of belief. This characteristic is shown in the supernatural appreciation of the faith (sensus fidei) of the whole people, when, “from the bishops to the last of the faithful” they manifest a universal consent in matters of faith and morals. By this appreciation of the faith, aroused and sustained by the Spirit of truth, the People of God, guided by the sacred teaching authority (Magisterium), and obeying it, receives not the mere word of men, but truly the word of God (cf. 1 Thes 2:13), the faith once for all delivered to the saints (cf. Jude 3). The People unfailingly adheres to this faith, penetrates it more deeply with right judgment, and applies it more fully in daily life.7
This characteristic of the people of God is called the sensus fidelium (the “sense of the faithful”) because it enables them to recognize the true faith of the Church in an instinctive way.
9b) Tradition as a Source of Theology
The theologian must be certain that any new formulation of the faith remains faithful to the true meaning transmitted by the Church. The testimonies of faith from the first Christian generations—their liturgy, the writings of the Fathers of the Church, and their archaeological remains—are especially useful in this regard. These and other sources of Tradition (in its passive meaning) are the object of Sacred Liturgy, Church history, patrology, and canon law.
i) Liturgy is a living witness of the faith and practice of the Church. It is absolutely necessary in order to understand the Christian spirit.8 Ecclesiastical prayers and sacramental rites express the faith of the Church with full authority.9 The liturgical and canonical practice of the Church is a decisive argument for the theologian in matters like the sacraments, morals, or spirituality. For example, in matters referring to the Baptism of children, indulgences, or veneration of images, it provides definitive answers.10
ii) Many of the events in the history of the Church have been prompted by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit sheds light on the unsuspected scope of Christ’s teachings. Thus, the life of the Church contains elements that can spur theological research, such as Marian devotion, the lives of the saints, and lay spirituality.
iii) The Holy Fathers, or Fathers of the Church, are saints of the early Church; by a special grace of God, they left us, in their writings, a privileged testimony of the living Tradition of the Gospel. To the Church, they are like fathers and doctors of the faith: “Fathers of the Church is the name rightly given to those saints who, by the power of their faith, the depth and riches of their teachings, gave her new life and great increase in the course of the first centuries” (cf. Gal 4:19; St. Vincent of Lerins, Commonitorium 1.3). They are truly Fathers of the Church; through the Gospel preached by them, the Church received life (cf. 1 Cor 4:15). And they are builders of the Church as well, since they built the primary structure of the Church over the only foundation laid down by the Apostles: Christ.”11
The Church recognizes the Fathers of the Church as such if they meet the following conditions:
i) Antiquity. The Patristic age was closed in the East with St. John Damascene (d. circa 749). In the West, the last Fathers are St. Gregory (d. 604) and St. Isidore (d. 636). With St. Augustine and St. Benedict, they are the spiritual teachers of the High Middle Ages.
ii) Holiness.
iii) Eminent doctrine. They produced outstanding insights, in perfect communion with the Church, and with some approval by the Magisterium (councils, popes).
Some ancient authors who lack one or more of these conditions (like Origen and Eusebius of Caesarea) are called simply ecclesiastical writers.
The first Fathers, who were active during the first century and beginnings of the second, were the disciples of the apostles themselves: St. Clement of Rome, St. Ignatius of Antioch, and St. Polycarp of Smyrna. These men are called the Apostolic Fathers.
The Second Vatican Council teaches that “the sayings of the Holy Fathers are a witness to the life-giving presence of this Tradition, showing how its riches are poured out in the practice and life of the Church, in her belief and her prayer.”12
The Fathers of the Church have exceptional doctrinal authority. For an issue to fall under this authority, it must refer to faith or morals, and their stand must be in agreement with the teaching of the Church. Their unanimous agreement (unanimis consensus Patrum) on one issue is a sure rule of faith, showing the true sense of the Church’s interpretation of revelation. However, only their moral consensus on a point of doctrine is required; there may still be some dissenting voices among them. The real value of the doctrine of the Fathers lies not in being their personal interpretations, but in the fact that the doctrine they produce transmits the faith they received from the Church.
Saints who played an eminent role in the doctrinal life of the Church are honored with the title “Doctors of the Church.” St. Thomas Aquinas, St. John of the Cross, and St. Alphonsus of Liguori are such saints.
9c) Sacred Scripture as a Source of Theology
The four Gospels and the other sacred books of the New Testament were written during the life of the apostles, by special divine providence, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. They contain the essentials of the apostolic teachings. The Church believes that God is truly the author of these books, as well as those of the Old Testament, and that Sacred Scripture authentically contains the word of God.13
The essential trait of Sacred Scripture is that it is inspired by God, not that it is a religious writing, or that it relates the history of revelation. God is the true author of every sacred book through the hagiographer or human writer. Consequently, the sacred books cannot contain any error (inerrancy). The Bible does not simply contain revelations from God; it is the word of God, written by God, for our salvation. The Bible is a form of salvific revelation.
The Church preserves and transmits to all people the sacred texts inspired by God. It determines the canon, or list of sacred books, and gives their authentic interpretation with the assistance of the Holy Spirit.
“The ‘study of the sacred page’ should be the very soul of sacred theology,” the Second Vatican Council says.14 Pope John Paul II stresses it again: “The study of Sacred Scripture is, as it were, the soul of Sacred Theology, which rests upon the written word of God together with the living Tradition, as its perpetual foundation.”15 Theologians should always have recourse to Sacred Scripture to stimulate, inspire, and adjust their intellectual work.
Still, Sacred Scripture is not the only source of theology; it is not fruitful to restrict oneself to this source exclusively. The Second Vatican Council teaches that “Sacred Tradition and sacred Scripture make up a single sacred deposit of the word of God, which is entrusted to the Church.”16 Thus, “sacred theology relies on the written word of God, taken together with sacred Tradition, as on a permanent foundation. By this word it is most firmly strengthened and constantly rejuvenated, as it searches out, under the light of faith, the full truth stored up in the mystery of Christ.”17
10. The Magisterium of the Church
Christ promised his Church personal assistance in its task of the evangelization and salvation of mankind. Ordinarily, he lends that assistance through the pastors who, as his vicars, lead the Church in his name. Christ gave this assistance first to the apostles, then to the bishops, who succeeded them in the pastoral ministry.18
One of the functions that Christ entrusted to the pastors of his Church is the Magisterium, the teaching of the Gospel of Christ in the name of Christ, who is the only teacher and pastor of our souls: “He who hears you hears me” (Lk 10:16).
The Second Vatican Council declared: “The task of giving an authentic interpretation of the word of God, whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition, has been entrusted to the living teaching office of the Church alone.”19 The Magisterium of the Church is an explanatory source of theology because it interprets revelation without adding or removing anything from the deposit of faith. The Magisterium is subordinate to Sacred Scripture.
Since the Church alone authentically preaches and faithfully interprets the word of God, the Magisterium—although not the ultimate standard of theological truth—is the proximate and universal standard of truth. It is the theologian’s safest guide for understanding salvific truth.
There are three groups of truths to which the believer adheres.
i) The first group (divinely revealed truths or doctrines de fide credenda) is constituted by all those truths contained in the word of God, whether written or handed down in Tradition. The Church infallibly sets forth these truths to be believed as divinely revealed by either the extraordinary or the ordinary Magisterium. These truths require an assent of theological faith by the faithful. Whoever doubts or denies them falls into heresy.
ii) The second group (truths of Catholic doctrine or doctrines de fide tenenda) includes everything definitively proposed by the Church regarding faith and morals. This is infallibly set forth by either the extraordinary Magisterium (by a defining act) or taught—also infallibly—by the ordinary and universal Magisterium of the Church (a non-defining act) as a truth that is to be held definitively and absolutely--sententia definitive tenenda. Every believer is to give firm and definitive assent to these truths. The assent is based on faith in the Holy Spirit’s assistance to the Magisterium and on the Catholic doctrine of the infallibility of the Magisterium.
Thus, Church teaches that a doctrine belongs to the first or second group by:
· a defining act: In an extraordinary and solemn way when the pope, on his own—when he speaks ex cathedra—or the college of bishops gathered in an ecumenical council, define some truth of faith that must be believed by all Christians;
· a non-defining act: When a doctrine is taught infallibly by the ordinary and universal Magisterium of the bishops dispersed throughout the world who are in communion with the successor of St Peter. Even without a formal definition, this doctrine belongs to the inheritance of the depositum fidei and is to be understood as having set forth infallibly. Such a doctrine can be confirmed or reaffirmed by the Roman pontiff—even without the recourse to a solemn definition—by explicitly declaring that it belongs to the teaching of the ordinary and universal Magisterium of the Church as a truth of the first or the second group. In this case, it is not a dogmatic definition, but a formal attestation of a truth already possessed and infallibly transmitted by the Church.
iii) The third group includes all those teachings on faith and morals that are set forth by the ordinary and universal Magisterium but not proposed as definitive. These teachings require a religious submission of the will and intellect. A proposition contrary to these doctrines is to be qualified as erroneous or, in the case of teachings of the prudential order, rash or dangerous.20
One of the most important historical responsibilities of the Magisterium is composing the symbols of faith (creeds) and the catechisms, which contain and summarize the basic truths of revelation. The oldest and most revered symbols are the Apostle’s Creed, the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, and the Athanasian Creed.21
The ordinary Magisterium is also a source of theology.22 Theologians often consult anthologies of texts of the Magisterium that have been compiled in order to facilitate their task.23 The theologian’s fidelity to the Magisterium of the Church is shown in his willingness to accept and preserve the fundamental notions that the Church has used to define dogmas. These are especially authoritative formulas of the faith of the Church.24
We should also keep in mind that “sacred Tradition, sacred Scripture and the Magisterium of the Church are so connected and associated that one of them cannot stand without the others. Working together, each in its own way under the action of the one Holy Spirit, they all contribute effectively to the salvation of souls.”25 All three are complementary elements of the divine plan for the conservation and integral transmission of saving revelation throughout the centuries.
11. The Two Stages of Theology
Theology is the science that aims at the understanding of the faith--intellectus fidei. In order to reach that goal, theologians must first listen to revelation, then try to understand its meaning in more depth. There are two stages or moments in the theologian’s work: the speculative thought (intellectus) must be preceded by the attentive listening to the Gospel (auditus). This twofold nature of theological study leads to the distinction between positive and speculative theology.
11a) Positive Theology
Positive theology is the task of scientifically determining, with precision and intellectual rigor, the actual content of revelation and the order followed by God in revealing the great theological themes. For this, the theologian must study disciplines such as biblical history, Hebrew, Greek, the history of dogmas, and the history of theology.
11b) Speculative Theology
Once the content of revelation is clearly determined, the theologian must go deeper. This deeper exploration is speculative theology—the intellectual effort to penetrate revelation and show the order and harmony between the different revealed truths. It is also referred to as systematic or Scholastic theology.
The roles of speculative theology are:
· to precisely determine the meaning of the concepts and images that God uses in revelation;
· to penetrate the inner logic of God’s plan of salvation and the pedagogical meaning of the history of salvation;
· to develop the typologies that God used in revelation (in theology, a type is a person, event, or thing that prefigures another: Joseph, in the Old Testament, is a type of Jesus);
· to try to understand the divine mysteries through analogies drawn from human experience;
· to draw the conclusions that logically follow from revealed truths;
· to systematize the mysteries of faith according to their intrinsic order; and
· to interpret and evaluate, in the light of the Gospel, the signs of the times, the facts and traits that characterize a certain historical and cultural moment.26
While trying to grasp the inner logic of God’s design, we should keep in mind that “it is not the logic of necessity, but of a love and freedom going beyond what is strictly due,” and we are facing “the depths of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God” (Rom 11:33).27 Therefore:
The reasons that support the truths of faith are not demonstrations that can bring ultimate vision to the human intellect; thus, these truths remain not self-evident. But these reasons remove some obstacles, by showing that the truths of faith are not impossible; thus, such reasons do not diminish the merit or the measure of faith.28
This type of reason is an argument of fittingness. It helps us to grasp the truth, but lacks the strength of a logical demonstration.
Rather than distinguishing two types of theology, it would be more appropriate to think in terms of two different moments or stages—a positive stage and a speculative stage—of the theological work. Both stages are necessary for theology.
12. The Theologian and Philosophy
A theologian should use all the cultural resources that might help to understand revelation better. Philosophy is a privileged and necessary tool for fruitful theological work. Several questions about the relationship between theology and philosophy arise. One may ask, “In what terms can the theologian make a legitimate use of philosophy? What are the relations between philosophy and theology?”
12a) Theology Assumes Philosophy
Philosophy is a natural human wisdom in itself, but it can also become a servant of theology--ancilla theologiae. It is a servant and collaborator of theology, not to betray natural truth, but to shed light on the word of God. Philosophy is at the service of theology because the theologian knows when and how philosophy should be used.
To describe remote lands, a traveler must compare them with the landscape of his own land.29 To understand the divine realities, theologians must create analogies with facts of experience; philosophy can supply this factual knowledge. This mixture of faith and philosophy, says St. Thomas, is not watering down the good wine of the word of God, but making the miracle of Cana: transforming the water of human knowledge into God’s wine. “Moreover, the Church herself not only urges but even commands Christian teachers to seek help from philosophy.”30
The Magisterium of the Church has especially recommended that theologians study metaphysics, without which even the terms of the dogmatic formulas could be misinterpreted.31
12b) The Preambles of Faith
Christian theology has a high regard for the efforts of reason to reach some knowledge of God, since God himself endowed mankind with the capacity to know its Creator. Theologians consider this capacity, together with other philosophical data, preambles of faith--preambula fidei. These truths prepare and bring man closer to faith. The existence of God, the spiritual nature of the human soul, man’s capacity to know the truth, human freedom, and the need for religion are such truths.
The First Vatican Council solemnly acknowledged the usefulness for the faith, not only of natural theology, but of the best philosophical culture as well:
Faith and reason can never disagree; but more than that, they are even mutually advantageous. For right reason demonstrates the foundations of faith and, enlightened by the light of faith, pursues the science of divine things. Faith, on the other hand, sets reason free, guards it from errors, and furnishes it with extensive knowledge.32
Protestant theologians, on the other hand, reject any role of human culture in the preparation for faith or in the development of theology. This radical view greatly impairs theology, which is then reduced to a commentary on Sacred Scripture, and easily leads to a flawed interpretation of the Bible.
Theologians need philosophy “to make modern man understand these prolegomena fidei, that are the basic norms of human thought. Without them, the acceptance of faith degenerates into imperfect and outmoded forms of nominalism, pragmatism, or sentimentalism. It is necessary to restore to man’s spirit, thought, and heart, that fundamental aptitude that transforms him into a screen where the light of faith can be projected.”33
Some philosophical truths—those called preambula fidei—are so important for the faith that the Magisterium has specified them among its most important definitions. Thus, among the truths confessed in the Creed of the People of God, Paul VI included the conviction that our intellect “reaches that which is, and not merely to the subjective expression of the structures and developments of consciousness.”
12c) Theological Critique of Philosophy
Philosophical knowledge and principles must be evaluated from the standpoint of the supreme certitude of faith. Therefore, “the positive values in the various cultures and philosophies are to be sought out, carefully examined, and taken up. However, systems and methods incompatible with Christian faith must not be accepted.”34 Theologians who accept philosophical systems without assessing them in the light of faith are like “children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the cunning of men, by their craftiness in deceitful wiles” (Eph 4:14).
Not all philosophical systems contain the same degree of wisdom. It is not just a matter of how close their conclusions come to reality; often, their very principles are tainted by error. Therefore, the Church has issued guidelines on some philosophical systems that, containing serious natural errors, cannot help theologians illumine the faith. If a theologian were to use a philosophical system weighted down by error, he would easily reach a mistaken interpretation of the faith. The so-called philosophies of immanence have proved especially dangerous and harmful when used in theology.
St. Paul already warned the first faithful not to be duped “by philosophy and empty deceit” (Col 2:8). The Fathers of the Church also warned that many heresies stemmed from wrong philosophical interpretations of revelation. The Church now warns that faith “is absolutely incompatible with any epistemological, moral, or metaphysical relativism; with any materialism, pantheism, immanentism, subjectivism, and atheism.”35
On the positive side, the Church establishes that “philosophical formation must be based upon the philosophical heritage that is perennially valid.”36 The perennially valid is “that sound philosophy, that is like a heritage received from the preceding Christian generations, and that, therefore, is endowed with a greater authority, because the Magisterium of the Church itself has used its principles and main tenets.”37 This expression of the Magisterium refers to “the principles of St. Thomas.”38
12d) The Theological Authority of St. Thomas Aquinas
Since theology plays an essential role in Christian life, there is a certain amount of danger that it could cause serious harm to souls. Thus, the Church has repeatedly set a model and master for theologians to follow as they learn how to think in the light of faith: St. Thomas Aquinas. The Church calls him Doctor Communis, the “common or universal doctor” of all theologians.
Since St. Thomas’s canonization in 1323, the popes have recommended the study of his doctrine. Councils—from Florence to Vatican II—have used his doctrine, often quoting him explicitly. The First Vatican Council and all the popes of the last century have recommended the teaching of St. Thomas as the guide for theological education.
The Second Vatican Council reaffirmed St. Thomas as master of theologians. When talking about theological education, the Council declares: “To throw as full a light as possible on the mysteries of salvation, the students should learn to examine more deeply, with the help of speculation and with St. Thomas as teacher, all aspects of these mysteries, and to perceive their interconnection.”39
The Council encourages all Christians to keep the unity of faith and reason in mind during their doctrinal formation. In Catholic universities, students should be taught in such a way “that a progressively deeper understanding of them may be achieved, and by a careful attention to the current problems of these changing times and to the research being undertaken, the convergence of faith and reason in the one truth may be seen more clearly. This method follows the tradition of the doctors of the Church, and especially St. Thomas Aquinas.”40 As Paul VI noted, “this is the first time that an Ecumenical Council recommends a specific theologian, St. Thomas.”41
The Code of Canon Law of 1983 carries the same recommendation: Theological studies should be undertaken “with St. Thomas in particular as their teacher.”42
Pope John Paul II has stated that the doctrine of St. Thomas will always be valid, since it is based on the immutable principles of reality: “It is from this proclamation of being that the philosophy of St. Thomas derives its ability to grasp and affirm all that shows itself to the human intellect (what is given by experience, in the widest sense) as a determinate existing being in all the inexhaustible richness of its content.”43
These declarations of the Magisterium place St. Thomas Aquinas in a privileged position:
· He has greater authority than all other theologians and doctors.
· The value of his theology is recognized, and his theology is proclaimed as a model for the explanation and rational development of revelation.
· His theological method is praised and recommended.
· His theology is adopted as the guide for teaching this subject in institutional ecclesiastical studies.
13. Theological Qualifications and Censures
Progress in the understanding of revelation is often expressed as new judgments or propositions, called theological conclusions. Theological conclusions do not have the absolute certainty of faith, but participate in that certainty to a greater or lesser degree. However, if these conclusions are explicitly revealed, or have been defined as revealed by the Church, they possess maximum certainty. Since theologians also use statements taken directly from revelation, they should be careful to always state the epistemological value of their statements.44
The categories used by theologians to gauge the certainty of theological conclusions are called theological notes or qualifications. Conversely, when theologians must judge erroneous statements that explicitly contradict revealed truths, they use parallel categories called theological censures.45 The primary theological qualifications and censures are the following:
13a) Truth of Divine Faith (de fide)
Truths of faith are immediately revealed truths, clearly contained in Sacred Scripture or Tradition. The assent due to them is based on the authority of God who reveals them (de fide divina).
If they are definitively proposed by the Magisterium of the Church as revealed truths—or if they are declared dogmas of faith—they are also called de fide credenda.
If truths are defined by a solemn judgment of faith (called definition) of the pope or a general council, they are de fide definita.
13b) Catholic Truths (de fide ecclesiastica)
“Catholic truths” (veritas catholica) and “Church doctrines” (doctrina ecclesiastica) are those truths and doctrines defined by the Church not as immediately revealed, but as intrinsically connected with the truths of revelation, so that their denial would undermine the revealed truths. They are to be accepted with a faith that is based on the sole authority of the Church (de fide ecclesiastica). These truths are as infallibly certain as dogmas proper if the Church definitively proposes them (de fide tenenda).
Propositions that formally contradict a truth of faith are censured as heretical. The Code of Canon Law specifies the assent due to truths of faith:
Those things are to be believed by divine and catholic faith which are contained in the word of God as it has been written or handed down by tradition, that is, in the single deposit of faith entrusted to the Church, and which are at the same time proposed as divinely revealed either by the solemn Magisterium of the Church, or by its ordinary and universal Magisterium, which in fact is manifested by the common adherence of Christ’s faithful under the guidance of the sacred Magisterium.46
However, it is licit only to censure erroneous propositions when there is evidence that they are contrary to a truth of faith. In this regard, canon law establishes that “no doctrine is understood to be infallibly defined unless this is manifestly demonstrated.”47
13c) Truth Proximate to Faith (fides proximum)
Teachings proximate to faith are generally regarded by theologians as revealed, but have not yet definitively promulgated as such by the Church. A proposition that contradicts them is censured as proximate to heresy.
The recent Magisterium has abandoned this way of qualifying doctrines. It usually gives explanatory declarations. The theological qualification is derived from the affirmations and observations included in the documents.
14. Dispositions for the Study of Theology
As a science, theology is the fruit of reason. Its study, therefore, requires the same disposition as any other science: love and respect for the truth, perseverance, careful application of the proper method (acribia), and prudence and magnanimity to accept—with a critical and loyal attitude—the contributions of other scientists.
The Second Vatican Council stresses the need for this attitude in the study of theology: “The teaching method adopted should stimulate in the students a love of rigorous investigation, observation and demonstration of the truth, as well as an honest recognition of the limits of human knowledge.”48
Above all, theology is the fruit of faith; faith makes possible, encourages, and continuously supports theological research. As science of divine revelation, theology requires an attitude of openness to the infinite greatness of God, to the Mystery that freely gives himself to us out of love. God hides his wisdom from the so-called “wise and prudent,” but reveals it to the “small ones,” to those who are humble (cf. Mt 11:25).
What, then, will be the right attitude for man, called to an inconceivable intimacy by God’s antecedent love? The answer is not difficult. It is an attitude of deep gratitude, combined with sincere humility. So weak is our intelligence, so limited our experience, so short our lives, that what we can say about God seems more like the babbling of a child than dignified discourse, exhaustive and conclusive. Augustine confessed his trepidation on preparing to speak of the divine mysteries, are well known: “I, a mere man, am going to talk about divine things; I, a being of flesh, talking about spiritual things; I, who am mortal, talking about eternal things” (In Io. Ev. tr. 18, 1).
This is the fundamental conviction with which the theologian must approach his work; he must always remember that, whatever he may be able to say about God, it is always words of a man, and therefore of a tiny finite being, who has ventured upon exploration of the unfathomable mystery of the infinite God.
It is not surprising, therefore, that the results reached by the greatest geniuses of Christianity seemed completely inadequate to them compared with the transcendent Term of their investigation.… How could we fail to recall, in this connection, St. Thomas’s answer to his faithful secretary, Brother Reginald of Piperno, who was exhorting him to continue the composition of the Summa, interrupted after a particularly overwhelming mystical experience. Biographers report that, in reply to his friend’s urging, he limited himself to a laconic: “Brother, I cannot go on; everything that I have written seems to me straw.” Thus, the Summa remained unfinished.49
True theology is always interwoven with admiration, humility, and gratitude. The theologian must always have an attitude of adoration and humility. Theology demands a constant struggle to raise one’s mind to the greatness of God, without falling into the trap of limiting that greatness to the narrow molds of our concepts.
How could we fail to mention here the famous prayer that St. Anselm put at the beginning of his Proslogion? It is such a simple and beautiful prayer that it can be a model of invocation for anyone preparing to “study God”: “God, teach me to look for you, and show yourself to me who am looking for you, since I cannot either look for you or find you if you yourself do not show yourself” (Proslog. 1).
A true theological commitment—let us say so frankly—can neither begin nor conclude except on one’s knees, at least in the secrecy of one’s interior cell, where it is possible “to worship the Father in spirit and truth” (cf. Jn 4:23).50
To bring this about it is necessary that you have an interior balance, strength of mind and spirit and, above all, a profound humility of heart that will make all disciples attentive to the truth and docile hearers of God’s word which is authentically interpreted by the Magisterium. St. Thomas warns us that the proud “cannot stomach the excellence of truth, but delight in their own excellence” (ST, II-II, q. 162, a. 3 ad 1).51
A practical consequence of this attitude of humility is that the declarations of the Magisterium will always be received with appreciation and veneration. Also, if there is sincere humility, the duty of teaching the faith and giving clear orientations to the faithful cannot be seen as a limitation of freedom.
“Faithfulness to the Pope includes a clear and definite duty: that of knowing his thought, which he tells us in encyclicals or other documents. We have to do our part to help all Catholics pay attention to the teaching of the Holy Father, and bring their everyday behavior into line with it.”52 This norm especially applies to theologians, who should always be faithful to, support, and defend the Magisterium of the Church with their science.
Revelation is not a set of impersonal ideas; rather, it is the Creator’s word and invitation to mankind. Theologians must, therefore, pay special attention to his word, and give it the consideration due to the living God. Thus, theology implies an attitude of prayer, since prayer is the human word uttered in response to the word of God. Prayer is the most effective way to impel, inspire, and verify any understanding of the faith--intellectus fidei. A prayerful theologian imitates St. Mary, Mother of the Church, who kept divine revelation in her heart: “Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart” (Lk 2:19).
In theological research, prayer, understood as everyday practice and as the spirit of faith and contemplation, takes on fundamental importance. It must become habitual in the life of a Christian scholar. This is the point; one must study the truth of the Lord with bowed head. This truth is taught and preached as an overflow of the soul that believes it, loves it, and lives from it. Thus, one should often recite the prayer that expresses the choice of the author of the Book of Wisdom: “I prayed, and understanding was given me; I called upon God, and the spirit of wisdom came to me. I preferred it to scepters and thrones, and I accounted wealth as nothing in comparison with it … I loved it more than health and beauty, and I chose to have it rather than light, because its radiance never ceases” (Wis 7:7–8, 10).53
We cannot separate the seed of doctrine from the seed of piety.
The only way to inoculate your work of sowing doctrine against the germs of ineffectiveness is by being sincerely devout.54
As the science of faith, theology requires a living faith, which is kept alive by charity. Charity purges the heart of self-centeredness, allowing it to open to revelation. Love of God and apostolic zeal foster theological research and give it its fullest meaning. Thus, to study theology is to know God, because we love him and we want to make him known to other people so they can love him too.
Pope John Paul II said of St. Thomas: “He had indeed the technical mastery befitting a teacher, but, more important still, his manner of teaching was that of a saint who lives the Gospel fully, of one for whom love is everything.”55
Without sincere piety, theological work degenerates into empty intellectualism; without zeal for souls, it becomes unsubstantial logical skill. Spiritual life nurtures theology and safeguards its authenticity. Without contemplative life, theologians could not find any meaning for intellectual consideration of the mysteries of salvation, and would not strive to draw consequences from them. “Wisdom will not enter a deceitful soul” (Wis 1:4).
The gifts of the Holy Spirit of understanding and wisdom sharpen and perfect our faith, identifying us with the mind of God. Thus, they are especially useful to carry out theological research fruitfully, “for the Lord gives wisdom” (Prv 2:6).
Those who become conceited about their science and fail to thank God and ask for further guidance are prone to fall into error. Mankind cannot find its way in divine matters—which surpass human nature and intellect—without the guidance of God. “God opposes the proud” (1 Pt 5:5).
We can say with St. Augustine that, in theology, “the more piously we believe in God, the easier it is to advance in his knowledge; [thus,] we must devotedly ask God to open our understanding.”56
15. The Intrinsic Unity of Theological Science
Theology has its own object, which is the basis for its unity: the theologian studies everything from the point of view of the divine--sub ratione deitatis. Still, the peculiar characteristics of this object make theology an especially unified science. God, who reveals his intimate essence and his plan of salvation, is infinitely simple and supremely one. He has no parts, no composition of any kind. He understands everything with a single Word, who is not different from his own substance. All that refers to the Being of God and to his plans for salvation bears a strong imprint of unity and harmony.57
We have an example of this unified and theocentric concept of theology in the great Scholastic treatise prepared by St. Thomas, the Summa Theologiae. It consists of three parts. The first part studies the intimacy of God, one and Triune, then goes on to analyze how creatures proceed from God, who is the principle of all things: creation and creatures—angels, man, and material beings. The second part focuses on the return of creatures to their end, God. Since this return depends partly on mankind, human behavior (moral theology) is studied in this part. The third part considers the way for man to reach God as end. This way is Jesus Christ (Christology), and to follow him, man has to be united to him through the sacraments (sacramental theology).
16. Theological Disciplines
The theological fields are closely interrelated. None can be studied properly when isolated from the others. Strictly speaking, there is no room in theology for specialization; theologians must always strive to master the whole of theology if they want to study one of its aspects in depth.
Yet, throughout its history, theology has branched into different theological treatises or disciplines. These are studies of some aspects of God or his work of salvation that can be considered separately with a certain degree of thematic unity. Theology can be divided according to the research method and subject matter.
16a) Method
As we saw earlier in this chapter, we can distinguish positive theology (which includes all the historical, Biblical, and philological disciplines) from speculative theology according to the method used.
16b) Subject Matter
We can distinguish the following theological disciplines according to the subject matter studied:
· Dogmatic theology studies the speculative content of revelation. The main dogmatic treatises are: God, one and Triune; creation and elevation to the supernatural order; Christology; Soteriology (study of grace and salvation), ecclesiology; Mariology; and the treatise on the sacraments.
· Moral theology studies revelation as the rule of human behavior so that man can attain salvation. The main moral treatises are: fundamental morals (the study of the final end of man and human acts in general), special morals (treatise on the three theological and four cardinal virtues), and sacramental morals (the moral obligations related to the sacraments).
· Spiritual theology (also called ascetical or mystical theology) studies the increase of charity in Christian life.
· Pastoral and catechetical theology studies the pastoral activity of the Church. It is especially concerned with religious pedagogy and pastoral care—the criteria governing the activity of those who partake in Christ’s role as Pastor of souls.
· Fundamental theology focuses on the sapiential dimension of theology rather than its scientific value. It studies the intellectual value of the mysteries of revelation and faith—the foundations of theology—in close dialogue with philosophy and culture. With a method similar to that of dogmatic theology, fundamental theology studies the credibility of revelation and the reasonable character of Christian faith. Fundamental theology studies the theoretical foundations of theology as science and wisdom. In this way, it provides the framework for apologetics (the art of writing Christian arguments that show the credibility of dogmas under attack) and the reasonable nature of Christian faith. Apologetics shows that faith is not incompatible with reason, but attractive and logically demonstrable in many instances.
Since theology is wisdom, all theologians feel the responsibility to cultivate this apologetic dimension in their respective areas of concentration. On the other hand, given the scope of modern culture, apologetics cannot be the concern of theologians alone; it must be the concern of all Christians.58 Each individual must use his or her professional formation to detect the cultural elements that could make the Gospel more accessible, easier to understand, and more attractive. Fundamental theology is limited to studying the theoretical foundation of apologetics and, therefore, cannot substitute for apologetics, but fundamental theology can show the way to begin.
Footnotes:
1. St. Josemaría Escrivá, Furrow, 572.
2. John Paul II, “Address to the Pontifical Lateran University,” L’Osservatore Romano, Mar. 10, 1980.
3. Cf. ST, I, q. 1, a. 8.
4. Cf. CCC¸ 74–100.
5. Pius VI, “Condemnation of the Synod of Pistoia”: DS 2601.
6. DV, 8.
7. LG, 12.
8. Cf. SC, 14.
9. Cf. Pius XII, Enc. Mediator Dei, Sep. 20, 1947.
10. Cf. DS 600–3.
11. John Paul II, Ap. Letter Patres Ecclesiae, Jan. 2, 1980: L’Osservatore Romano, Feb. 25, 1981.
12. DV, 8.
13. Cf. DS 1501, 3029; CCC, 101–141.
14. DV, 24.
15. John Paul II, Ap. Const. Sapientia Christiana, Apr. 25, 1979, 67.1: L’Osservatore Romano, June 4, 1979.
16. DV, 10.
17. Ibid., 24.
18. Cf. DS 3050–52; CCC, 81.
19. DV, 10; cf. CCC, 85.
20. Cf. CIC, c. 750; LG,25; J. Card. Ratzinger, “Doctrinal Commentary on the Concluding Formula of the ‘Professio Fidei,’” L’Osservatore Romano, July 15, 1998.
21. Cf. CCC, 185–197.
22. Cf. CIC, 752–753; LG, 25.
23. The best known compilation is that of Henrico Denzinger, later expanded (32nd ed.) by Adolf Schoenmetzer: Enchiridion Symbolorum, Definitionum et Declarationum de Rebus Fidei et Morum [DS].
24. Cf. Pius XII, Enc. Humani Generis, Aug. 12, 1950: DS 3881–83; Paul VI, Mysterium Fidei; CCC, 88–90.
25. DV, 10; cf. CCC, 97.
26. Cf. GS, 4.
27. J.L. Illanes, Gran Enciclopedia Rialp, s.v. “Teología,” 22:250.
28. ST, II-II, q. 2, a. 10 ad 2.
29. Cf. M.J. Scheeben, Dogmatik, 862; The Mysteries of Christianity, 107, 3.
30. Leo XIII, Enc. Aeterni Patris, Aug. 4, 1879.
31. Cf. John Paul II, Ap. Const. Sapientia Christiana, May 25, 1979, art. 72; cf. OT, 14.
32. First Vatican Council, Dogm. Const. Dei Filius, 4: DS 3019.
33. Paul VI, Address to the International Theological Commission, Oct. 11, 1972.
34. John Paul II, Ap. Const. Sapientia Christiana, May 25, 1979, 68.2: L’Osservatore Romano, June 4, 1979; cf. OT, 15.
35. Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, On the Teaching of Philosophy, 1972; cf. Paul VI, Letter Lumen Ecclesiae, Nov. 20, 1974, 18; Pius XII, Enc. Humani Generis, Aug. 12, 1950: DS 3894; John Paul II, Address at the Pontifical Gregorian University, Dec. 15, 1979.
36. CIC, 251. Author’s emphasis.
37. Pius XII, Enc. Humani Generis, Aug. 12, 1950: DS 3892. Cf. Leo XIII, Enc. Aeterni Patris, Aug. 4, 1879.
38. Cf. S.C. of Seminaries and Universities, Answer, Dec. 20, 1965; quoted in note to CIC, c. 251, University of Navarre edition.
39. OT, 16.
40. Gravissimum Educationis Momentum, 10.
41. Paul VI, Letter Lumen Ecclesiae, Nov. 20, 1974, 24.
42. CIC, 252.
43. John Paul II, Address at the Angelicum University, Nov. 17, 1979, 6: L’Osservatore Romano, Dec. 17, 1979; cf. Address to the VIII International Thomistic Congress, Nov. 13, 1980.
44. Cf. J.L. Illanes, Sobre el Saber Teológico (Madrid: 1978), 66–67.
45. For an authoritative systematic listing, cf. Prospero Cardinal Lambertini, De Servorum Dei Beatificatione et Beatorum Canonizatione (1734/1738).
46. CIC, 750, which is a near literal quotation from the First Vatican Council, Dogm. Const. Dei Filius, 3: DS 3011. The Code continues: “Heresy is the obstinate denial or doubt, after baptism, of a truth which must be believed by divine and catholic faith” (Ibid., 751). It should be noted that the teachings of the ordinary Magisterium of the pope or the college of bishops that are not intended as definitions of faith are Catholic truths, but not truths of faith. Nevertheless, “while the assent of faith is not required, a religious submission of intellect and will” should be accorded to them (cf. Ibid., 752).
47. CIC, 749.
48. OT, 15.
49. John Paul II, “Address to the Pontifical Universities of Rome,” 2: L’Osservatore Romano, Nov. 19, 1979.
50. Ibid., 4.
51. John Paul II, “Address at the Pontifical Gregorian University,” 9: L’Osservatore Romano, Jan. 21, 1980; cf.. ST, II-II, q. 162, a. 3 ad 1.
52. St. Josemaría Escrivá, The Forge, 633; cf. 133, 581, 585.
53. John Paul II, “Homily at the Mass for the Pontifical Roman Universities”: L’Osservatore Romano, Dec. 1, 1980.
54. St. Josemaría Escrivá, The Forge, 918.
55. John Paul II, “Address at the Angelicum University”: L’Osservatore Romano, Dec. 17, 1979.
56. St. Augustine, Contra Adversarium Legis et Prophetarum, 1, 10; De Trin., 8.1.
57. Cf. John Paul II, “Homily to the Roman Pontifical Universities,” 5: L’Osservatore Romano, Nov. 9, 1981.
58. Cf. St. Josemaría Escrivá, The Way, 338.
Theology is not the same as religious philosophy. It would be highly improper for a theologian to mechanically analyze revelation with a philosophical method. That is the work of the philosophy of religion.
The use of immanentistic philosophy (trying to grasp the evidence of Christian faith from an initial or methodical doubt) would be even worse.
It is as easy now as it was at the time of Jesus Christ to say No, to deny or to put aside the truth of faith. You who call yourself a Catholic have to start from Yes.
Later, after some study, you will be able to explain the reasons for your certainty, and that there is no contradiction—there can be none—between Truth and science, between Truth and life.1
Since theology is the science of revelation, theological argumentation has characteristics that are distinct from the methods used to argue other sciences. An important difference is its extensive use of the argument of authority. Theology usually bases its conclusion on the personal testimony of God, on the authority of that same God who reveals it. In using this technique, theology does not limit itself to reasons intrinsic to the subject matter, which are mediately or immediately evident in themselves. Theology’s strongest argument is Deus dixit—“God said so.”
Faithfulness means—it must be—a resolute and stable orientation that inspires research and follows it closely. Faithfulness means putting the word of God, which the Church “listens to religiously” (cf. DV, 1), at the very origin of the theological process and referring to this word all the acquired knowledge and conclusions gradually reached. It implies a careful and permanent confrontation with what the Church believes and professes.2
Arguments of authority (backing a proposition on the testimony of a prestigious authority in the field) carry little weight in the human sciences. Although frequently used in ordinary life, their scientific value is only provisional. They are not science, but merely prudent opinion. In theology, however, arguments based on the authority of God have full scientific validity. They produce a stronger certitude than any argument based on intrinsic reasons.3
Certitude based on God himself, through the word of God, rests on the most solid and unshakable foundation that can be found. It does not rest on the fallible truth of created beings perceived through a created intellect, but on the First Truth, the source and origin of all truth. This Truth is perceived through faith—a participation of divine light, much higher than the light of human reason.
9. Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition
The immutable foundation of the theological method is divine revelation: the Gospel of salvation, the word of God that the Church presents to the faithful, which can be received through faith. The specific method of theology is to go, time and time again, to the faith of the Church, to recall and to meditate upon the word of God in order to reach the knowledge of God (cf. Lk 2:19, 51).
Note that the theologian does not scrutinize Sacred Scripture and other testimonies of divine revelation because he doubts the accuracy of ordinary, simple faith. Before starting to research, the theologian is completely convinced that, by merely listening faithfully to the Church, he has all the knowledge required for salvation.
Despite this conviction, studying the sources of revelation with scientific rigor is not, for the theologian, a mere academic exercise where no important discovery is expected. On the contrary, the theologian’s research may discover new aspects or nuances of revelation, not explicitly realized, that can fruitfully enrich the catechesis and life of the Church.
9a) The Church and the Transmission of the Gospel
How can the theologian have access to revelation? Christ made sure that his saving revelation—the Gospel—could reach all people in its integrity. By divine will, the content of revelation (the revealed truths and institutions, moral precepts, the way of praying, sacraments) is transmitted through people, through the Church, as an inviolable deposit of faith.4
The Church continues the mission of the apostles, faithfully transmitting the Gospel of Christ to mankind generation after generation. This task of transmitting revelation is called Sacred Tradition.
The Tradition of the Church is sacred because the Church received supernatural assistance from God to transmit the Gospel: “I am with you always, to the close of the age” (Mt 28:20); “and the powers of death shall not prevail against it” (Mt 16:18). To clarify this truth, Pope Pius VI declared, “The proposition, ‘In the last centuries the most important truths of religion, which were the foundation of the faith and moral doctrine of Jesus Christ, have been darkened’ is heretical.”5
The word tradition comes from the Latin tradere, which means “to hand over.” It requires faithfully transmitting the deposit of revelation—the word of God, which is the object of faith. The Second Vatican Council describes Tradition by saying: “The Church, in her doctrine, life and worship, perpetuates and transmits to every generation all that she herself is, all that she believes.”6
Because of Tradition, the Gospel is conserved faithfully and without error in the Church. Thus, the Second Vatican Council teaches:
The whole body of the faithful who have an anointing that comes from the holy one (cf. 1 Jn 2:20 and 27) cannot err in matters of belief. This characteristic is shown in the supernatural appreciation of the faith (sensus fidei) of the whole people, when, “from the bishops to the last of the faithful” they manifest a universal consent in matters of faith and morals. By this appreciation of the faith, aroused and sustained by the Spirit of truth, the People of God, guided by the sacred teaching authority (Magisterium), and obeying it, receives not the mere word of men, but truly the word of God (cf. 1 Thes 2:13), the faith once for all delivered to the saints (cf. Jude 3). The People unfailingly adheres to this faith, penetrates it more deeply with right judgment, and applies it more fully in daily life.7
This characteristic of the people of God is called the sensus fidelium (the “sense of the faithful”) because it enables them to recognize the true faith of the Church in an instinctive way.
9b) Tradition as a Source of Theology
The theologian must be certain that any new formulation of the faith remains faithful to the true meaning transmitted by the Church. The testimonies of faith from the first Christian generations—their liturgy, the writings of the Fathers of the Church, and their archaeological remains—are especially useful in this regard. These and other sources of Tradition (in its passive meaning) are the object of Sacred Liturgy, Church history, patrology, and canon law.
i) Liturgy is a living witness of the faith and practice of the Church. It is absolutely necessary in order to understand the Christian spirit.8 Ecclesiastical prayers and sacramental rites express the faith of the Church with full authority.9 The liturgical and canonical practice of the Church is a decisive argument for the theologian in matters like the sacraments, morals, or spirituality. For example, in matters referring to the Baptism of children, indulgences, or veneration of images, it provides definitive answers.10
ii) Many of the events in the history of the Church have been prompted by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit sheds light on the unsuspected scope of Christ’s teachings. Thus, the life of the Church contains elements that can spur theological research, such as Marian devotion, the lives of the saints, and lay spirituality.
iii) The Holy Fathers, or Fathers of the Church, are saints of the early Church; by a special grace of God, they left us, in their writings, a privileged testimony of the living Tradition of the Gospel. To the Church, they are like fathers and doctors of the faith: “Fathers of the Church is the name rightly given to those saints who, by the power of their faith, the depth and riches of their teachings, gave her new life and great increase in the course of the first centuries” (cf. Gal 4:19; St. Vincent of Lerins, Commonitorium 1.3). They are truly Fathers of the Church; through the Gospel preached by them, the Church received life (cf. 1 Cor 4:15). And they are builders of the Church as well, since they built the primary structure of the Church over the only foundation laid down by the Apostles: Christ.”11
The Church recognizes the Fathers of the Church as such if they meet the following conditions:
i) Antiquity. The Patristic age was closed in the East with St. John Damascene (d. circa 749). In the West, the last Fathers are St. Gregory (d. 604) and St. Isidore (d. 636). With St. Augustine and St. Benedict, they are the spiritual teachers of the High Middle Ages.
ii) Holiness.
iii) Eminent doctrine. They produced outstanding insights, in perfect communion with the Church, and with some approval by the Magisterium (councils, popes).
Some ancient authors who lack one or more of these conditions (like Origen and Eusebius of Caesarea) are called simply ecclesiastical writers.
The first Fathers, who were active during the first century and beginnings of the second, were the disciples of the apostles themselves: St. Clement of Rome, St. Ignatius of Antioch, and St. Polycarp of Smyrna. These men are called the Apostolic Fathers.
The Second Vatican Council teaches that “the sayings of the Holy Fathers are a witness to the life-giving presence of this Tradition, showing how its riches are poured out in the practice and life of the Church, in her belief and her prayer.”12
The Fathers of the Church have exceptional doctrinal authority. For an issue to fall under this authority, it must refer to faith or morals, and their stand must be in agreement with the teaching of the Church. Their unanimous agreement (unanimis consensus Patrum) on one issue is a sure rule of faith, showing the true sense of the Church’s interpretation of revelation. However, only their moral consensus on a point of doctrine is required; there may still be some dissenting voices among them. The real value of the doctrine of the Fathers lies not in being their personal interpretations, but in the fact that the doctrine they produce transmits the faith they received from the Church.
Saints who played an eminent role in the doctrinal life of the Church are honored with the title “Doctors of the Church.” St. Thomas Aquinas, St. John of the Cross, and St. Alphonsus of Liguori are such saints.
9c) Sacred Scripture as a Source of Theology
The four Gospels and the other sacred books of the New Testament were written during the life of the apostles, by special divine providence, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. They contain the essentials of the apostolic teachings. The Church believes that God is truly the author of these books, as well as those of the Old Testament, and that Sacred Scripture authentically contains the word of God.13
The essential trait of Sacred Scripture is that it is inspired by God, not that it is a religious writing, or that it relates the history of revelation. God is the true author of every sacred book through the hagiographer or human writer. Consequently, the sacred books cannot contain any error (inerrancy). The Bible does not simply contain revelations from God; it is the word of God, written by God, for our salvation. The Bible is a form of salvific revelation.
The Church preserves and transmits to all people the sacred texts inspired by God. It determines the canon, or list of sacred books, and gives their authentic interpretation with the assistance of the Holy Spirit.
“The ‘study of the sacred page’ should be the very soul of sacred theology,” the Second Vatican Council says.14 Pope John Paul II stresses it again: “The study of Sacred Scripture is, as it were, the soul of Sacred Theology, which rests upon the written word of God together with the living Tradition, as its perpetual foundation.”15 Theologians should always have recourse to Sacred Scripture to stimulate, inspire, and adjust their intellectual work.
Still, Sacred Scripture is not the only source of theology; it is not fruitful to restrict oneself to this source exclusively. The Second Vatican Council teaches that “Sacred Tradition and sacred Scripture make up a single sacred deposit of the word of God, which is entrusted to the Church.”16 Thus, “sacred theology relies on the written word of God, taken together with sacred Tradition, as on a permanent foundation. By this word it is most firmly strengthened and constantly rejuvenated, as it searches out, under the light of faith, the full truth stored up in the mystery of Christ.”17
10. The Magisterium of the Church
Christ promised his Church personal assistance in its task of the evangelization and salvation of mankind. Ordinarily, he lends that assistance through the pastors who, as his vicars, lead the Church in his name. Christ gave this assistance first to the apostles, then to the bishops, who succeeded them in the pastoral ministry.18
One of the functions that Christ entrusted to the pastors of his Church is the Magisterium, the teaching of the Gospel of Christ in the name of Christ, who is the only teacher and pastor of our souls: “He who hears you hears me” (Lk 10:16).
The Second Vatican Council declared: “The task of giving an authentic interpretation of the word of God, whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition, has been entrusted to the living teaching office of the Church alone.”19 The Magisterium of the Church is an explanatory source of theology because it interprets revelation without adding or removing anything from the deposit of faith. The Magisterium is subordinate to Sacred Scripture.
Since the Church alone authentically preaches and faithfully interprets the word of God, the Magisterium—although not the ultimate standard of theological truth—is the proximate and universal standard of truth. It is the theologian’s safest guide for understanding salvific truth.
There are three groups of truths to which the believer adheres.
i) The first group (divinely revealed truths or doctrines de fide credenda) is constituted by all those truths contained in the word of God, whether written or handed down in Tradition. The Church infallibly sets forth these truths to be believed as divinely revealed by either the extraordinary or the ordinary Magisterium. These truths require an assent of theological faith by the faithful. Whoever doubts or denies them falls into heresy.
ii) The second group (truths of Catholic doctrine or doctrines de fide tenenda) includes everything definitively proposed by the Church regarding faith and morals. This is infallibly set forth by either the extraordinary Magisterium (by a defining act) or taught—also infallibly—by the ordinary and universal Magisterium of the Church (a non-defining act) as a truth that is to be held definitively and absolutely--sententia definitive tenenda. Every believer is to give firm and definitive assent to these truths. The assent is based on faith in the Holy Spirit’s assistance to the Magisterium and on the Catholic doctrine of the infallibility of the Magisterium.
Thus, Church teaches that a doctrine belongs to the first or second group by:
· a defining act: In an extraordinary and solemn way when the pope, on his own—when he speaks ex cathedra—or the college of bishops gathered in an ecumenical council, define some truth of faith that must be believed by all Christians;
· a non-defining act: When a doctrine is taught infallibly by the ordinary and universal Magisterium of the bishops dispersed throughout the world who are in communion with the successor of St Peter. Even without a formal definition, this doctrine belongs to the inheritance of the depositum fidei and is to be understood as having set forth infallibly. Such a doctrine can be confirmed or reaffirmed by the Roman pontiff—even without the recourse to a solemn definition—by explicitly declaring that it belongs to the teaching of the ordinary and universal Magisterium of the Church as a truth of the first or the second group. In this case, it is not a dogmatic definition, but a formal attestation of a truth already possessed and infallibly transmitted by the Church.
iii) The third group includes all those teachings on faith and morals that are set forth by the ordinary and universal Magisterium but not proposed as definitive. These teachings require a religious submission of the will and intellect. A proposition contrary to these doctrines is to be qualified as erroneous or, in the case of teachings of the prudential order, rash or dangerous.20
One of the most important historical responsibilities of the Magisterium is composing the symbols of faith (creeds) and the catechisms, which contain and summarize the basic truths of revelation. The oldest and most revered symbols are the Apostle’s Creed, the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, and the Athanasian Creed.21
The ordinary Magisterium is also a source of theology.22 Theologians often consult anthologies of texts of the Magisterium that have been compiled in order to facilitate their task.23 The theologian’s fidelity to the Magisterium of the Church is shown in his willingness to accept and preserve the fundamental notions that the Church has used to define dogmas. These are especially authoritative formulas of the faith of the Church.24
We should also keep in mind that “sacred Tradition, sacred Scripture and the Magisterium of the Church are so connected and associated that one of them cannot stand without the others. Working together, each in its own way under the action of the one Holy Spirit, they all contribute effectively to the salvation of souls.”25 All three are complementary elements of the divine plan for the conservation and integral transmission of saving revelation throughout the centuries.
11. The Two Stages of Theology
Theology is the science that aims at the understanding of the faith--intellectus fidei. In order to reach that goal, theologians must first listen to revelation, then try to understand its meaning in more depth. There are two stages or moments in the theologian’s work: the speculative thought (intellectus) must be preceded by the attentive listening to the Gospel (auditus). This twofold nature of theological study leads to the distinction between positive and speculative theology.
11a) Positive Theology
Positive theology is the task of scientifically determining, with precision and intellectual rigor, the actual content of revelation and the order followed by God in revealing the great theological themes. For this, the theologian must study disciplines such as biblical history, Hebrew, Greek, the history of dogmas, and the history of theology.
11b) Speculative Theology
Once the content of revelation is clearly determined, the theologian must go deeper. This deeper exploration is speculative theology—the intellectual effort to penetrate revelation and show the order and harmony between the different revealed truths. It is also referred to as systematic or Scholastic theology.
The roles of speculative theology are:
· to precisely determine the meaning of the concepts and images that God uses in revelation;
· to penetrate the inner logic of God’s plan of salvation and the pedagogical meaning of the history of salvation;
· to develop the typologies that God used in revelation (in theology, a type is a person, event, or thing that prefigures another: Joseph, in the Old Testament, is a type of Jesus);
· to try to understand the divine mysteries through analogies drawn from human experience;
· to draw the conclusions that logically follow from revealed truths;
· to systematize the mysteries of faith according to their intrinsic order; and
· to interpret and evaluate, in the light of the Gospel, the signs of the times, the facts and traits that characterize a certain historical and cultural moment.26
While trying to grasp the inner logic of God’s design, we should keep in mind that “it is not the logic of necessity, but of a love and freedom going beyond what is strictly due,” and we are facing “the depths of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God” (Rom 11:33).27 Therefore:
The reasons that support the truths of faith are not demonstrations that can bring ultimate vision to the human intellect; thus, these truths remain not self-evident. But these reasons remove some obstacles, by showing that the truths of faith are not impossible; thus, such reasons do not diminish the merit or the measure of faith.28
This type of reason is an argument of fittingness. It helps us to grasp the truth, but lacks the strength of a logical demonstration.
Rather than distinguishing two types of theology, it would be more appropriate to think in terms of two different moments or stages—a positive stage and a speculative stage—of the theological work. Both stages are necessary for theology.
12. The Theologian and Philosophy
A theologian should use all the cultural resources that might help to understand revelation better. Philosophy is a privileged and necessary tool for fruitful theological work. Several questions about the relationship between theology and philosophy arise. One may ask, “In what terms can the theologian make a legitimate use of philosophy? What are the relations between philosophy and theology?”
12a) Theology Assumes Philosophy
Philosophy is a natural human wisdom in itself, but it can also become a servant of theology--ancilla theologiae. It is a servant and collaborator of theology, not to betray natural truth, but to shed light on the word of God. Philosophy is at the service of theology because the theologian knows when and how philosophy should be used.
To describe remote lands, a traveler must compare them with the landscape of his own land.29 To understand the divine realities, theologians must create analogies with facts of experience; philosophy can supply this factual knowledge. This mixture of faith and philosophy, says St. Thomas, is not watering down the good wine of the word of God, but making the miracle of Cana: transforming the water of human knowledge into God’s wine. “Moreover, the Church herself not only urges but even commands Christian teachers to seek help from philosophy.”30
The Magisterium of the Church has especially recommended that theologians study metaphysics, without which even the terms of the dogmatic formulas could be misinterpreted.31
12b) The Preambles of Faith
Christian theology has a high regard for the efforts of reason to reach some knowledge of God, since God himself endowed mankind with the capacity to know its Creator. Theologians consider this capacity, together with other philosophical data, preambles of faith--preambula fidei. These truths prepare and bring man closer to faith. The existence of God, the spiritual nature of the human soul, man’s capacity to know the truth, human freedom, and the need for religion are such truths.
The First Vatican Council solemnly acknowledged the usefulness for the faith, not only of natural theology, but of the best philosophical culture as well:
Faith and reason can never disagree; but more than that, they are even mutually advantageous. For right reason demonstrates the foundations of faith and, enlightened by the light of faith, pursues the science of divine things. Faith, on the other hand, sets reason free, guards it from errors, and furnishes it with extensive knowledge.32
Protestant theologians, on the other hand, reject any role of human culture in the preparation for faith or in the development of theology. This radical view greatly impairs theology, which is then reduced to a commentary on Sacred Scripture, and easily leads to a flawed interpretation of the Bible.
Theologians need philosophy “to make modern man understand these prolegomena fidei, that are the basic norms of human thought. Without them, the acceptance of faith degenerates into imperfect and outmoded forms of nominalism, pragmatism, or sentimentalism. It is necessary to restore to man’s spirit, thought, and heart, that fundamental aptitude that transforms him into a screen where the light of faith can be projected.”33
Some philosophical truths—those called preambula fidei—are so important for the faith that the Magisterium has specified them among its most important definitions. Thus, among the truths confessed in the Creed of the People of God, Paul VI included the conviction that our intellect “reaches that which is, and not merely to the subjective expression of the structures and developments of consciousness.”
12c) Theological Critique of Philosophy
Philosophical knowledge and principles must be evaluated from the standpoint of the supreme certitude of faith. Therefore, “the positive values in the various cultures and philosophies are to be sought out, carefully examined, and taken up. However, systems and methods incompatible with Christian faith must not be accepted.”34 Theologians who accept philosophical systems without assessing them in the light of faith are like “children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the cunning of men, by their craftiness in deceitful wiles” (Eph 4:14).
Not all philosophical systems contain the same degree of wisdom. It is not just a matter of how close their conclusions come to reality; often, their very principles are tainted by error. Therefore, the Church has issued guidelines on some philosophical systems that, containing serious natural errors, cannot help theologians illumine the faith. If a theologian were to use a philosophical system weighted down by error, he would easily reach a mistaken interpretation of the faith. The so-called philosophies of immanence have proved especially dangerous and harmful when used in theology.
St. Paul already warned the first faithful not to be duped “by philosophy and empty deceit” (Col 2:8). The Fathers of the Church also warned that many heresies stemmed from wrong philosophical interpretations of revelation. The Church now warns that faith “is absolutely incompatible with any epistemological, moral, or metaphysical relativism; with any materialism, pantheism, immanentism, subjectivism, and atheism.”35
On the positive side, the Church establishes that “philosophical formation must be based upon the philosophical heritage that is perennially valid.”36 The perennially valid is “that sound philosophy, that is like a heritage received from the preceding Christian generations, and that, therefore, is endowed with a greater authority, because the Magisterium of the Church itself has used its principles and main tenets.”37 This expression of the Magisterium refers to “the principles of St. Thomas.”38
12d) The Theological Authority of St. Thomas Aquinas
Since theology plays an essential role in Christian life, there is a certain amount of danger that it could cause serious harm to souls. Thus, the Church has repeatedly set a model and master for theologians to follow as they learn how to think in the light of faith: St. Thomas Aquinas. The Church calls him Doctor Communis, the “common or universal doctor” of all theologians.
Since St. Thomas’s canonization in 1323, the popes have recommended the study of his doctrine. Councils—from Florence to Vatican II—have used his doctrine, often quoting him explicitly. The First Vatican Council and all the popes of the last century have recommended the teaching of St. Thomas as the guide for theological education.
The Second Vatican Council reaffirmed St. Thomas as master of theologians. When talking about theological education, the Council declares: “To throw as full a light as possible on the mysteries of salvation, the students should learn to examine more deeply, with the help of speculation and with St. Thomas as teacher, all aspects of these mysteries, and to perceive their interconnection.”39
The Council encourages all Christians to keep the unity of faith and reason in mind during their doctrinal formation. In Catholic universities, students should be taught in such a way “that a progressively deeper understanding of them may be achieved, and by a careful attention to the current problems of these changing times and to the research being undertaken, the convergence of faith and reason in the one truth may be seen more clearly. This method follows the tradition of the doctors of the Church, and especially St. Thomas Aquinas.”40 As Paul VI noted, “this is the first time that an Ecumenical Council recommends a specific theologian, St. Thomas.”41
The Code of Canon Law of 1983 carries the same recommendation: Theological studies should be undertaken “with St. Thomas in particular as their teacher.”42
Pope John Paul II has stated that the doctrine of St. Thomas will always be valid, since it is based on the immutable principles of reality: “It is from this proclamation of being that the philosophy of St. Thomas derives its ability to grasp and affirm all that shows itself to the human intellect (what is given by experience, in the widest sense) as a determinate existing being in all the inexhaustible richness of its content.”43
These declarations of the Magisterium place St. Thomas Aquinas in a privileged position:
· He has greater authority than all other theologians and doctors.
· The value of his theology is recognized, and his theology is proclaimed as a model for the explanation and rational development of revelation.
· His theological method is praised and recommended.
· His theology is adopted as the guide for teaching this subject in institutional ecclesiastical studies.
13. Theological Qualifications and Censures
Progress in the understanding of revelation is often expressed as new judgments or propositions, called theological conclusions. Theological conclusions do not have the absolute certainty of faith, but participate in that certainty to a greater or lesser degree. However, if these conclusions are explicitly revealed, or have been defined as revealed by the Church, they possess maximum certainty. Since theologians also use statements taken directly from revelation, they should be careful to always state the epistemological value of their statements.44
The categories used by theologians to gauge the certainty of theological conclusions are called theological notes or qualifications. Conversely, when theologians must judge erroneous statements that explicitly contradict revealed truths, they use parallel categories called theological censures.45 The primary theological qualifications and censures are the following:
13a) Truth of Divine Faith (de fide)
Truths of faith are immediately revealed truths, clearly contained in Sacred Scripture or Tradition. The assent due to them is based on the authority of God who reveals them (de fide divina).
If they are definitively proposed by the Magisterium of the Church as revealed truths—or if they are declared dogmas of faith—they are also called de fide credenda.
If truths are defined by a solemn judgment of faith (called definition) of the pope or a general council, they are de fide definita.
13b) Catholic Truths (de fide ecclesiastica)
“Catholic truths” (veritas catholica) and “Church doctrines” (doctrina ecclesiastica) are those truths and doctrines defined by the Church not as immediately revealed, but as intrinsically connected with the truths of revelation, so that their denial would undermine the revealed truths. They are to be accepted with a faith that is based on the sole authority of the Church (de fide ecclesiastica). These truths are as infallibly certain as dogmas proper if the Church definitively proposes them (de fide tenenda).
Propositions that formally contradict a truth of faith are censured as heretical. The Code of Canon Law specifies the assent due to truths of faith:
Those things are to be believed by divine and catholic faith which are contained in the word of God as it has been written or handed down by tradition, that is, in the single deposit of faith entrusted to the Church, and which are at the same time proposed as divinely revealed either by the solemn Magisterium of the Church, or by its ordinary and universal Magisterium, which in fact is manifested by the common adherence of Christ’s faithful under the guidance of the sacred Magisterium.46
However, it is licit only to censure erroneous propositions when there is evidence that they are contrary to a truth of faith. In this regard, canon law establishes that “no doctrine is understood to be infallibly defined unless this is manifestly demonstrated.”47
13c) Truth Proximate to Faith (fides proximum)
Teachings proximate to faith are generally regarded by theologians as revealed, but have not yet definitively promulgated as such by the Church. A proposition that contradicts them is censured as proximate to heresy.
The recent Magisterium has abandoned this way of qualifying doctrines. It usually gives explanatory declarations. The theological qualification is derived from the affirmations and observations included in the documents.
14. Dispositions for the Study of Theology
As a science, theology is the fruit of reason. Its study, therefore, requires the same disposition as any other science: love and respect for the truth, perseverance, careful application of the proper method (acribia), and prudence and magnanimity to accept—with a critical and loyal attitude—the contributions of other scientists.
The Second Vatican Council stresses the need for this attitude in the study of theology: “The teaching method adopted should stimulate in the students a love of rigorous investigation, observation and demonstration of the truth, as well as an honest recognition of the limits of human knowledge.”48
Above all, theology is the fruit of faith; faith makes possible, encourages, and continuously supports theological research. As science of divine revelation, theology requires an attitude of openness to the infinite greatness of God, to the Mystery that freely gives himself to us out of love. God hides his wisdom from the so-called “wise and prudent,” but reveals it to the “small ones,” to those who are humble (cf. Mt 11:25).
What, then, will be the right attitude for man, called to an inconceivable intimacy by God’s antecedent love? The answer is not difficult. It is an attitude of deep gratitude, combined with sincere humility. So weak is our intelligence, so limited our experience, so short our lives, that what we can say about God seems more like the babbling of a child than dignified discourse, exhaustive and conclusive. Augustine confessed his trepidation on preparing to speak of the divine mysteries, are well known: “I, a mere man, am going to talk about divine things; I, a being of flesh, talking about spiritual things; I, who am mortal, talking about eternal things” (In Io. Ev. tr. 18, 1).
This is the fundamental conviction with which the theologian must approach his work; he must always remember that, whatever he may be able to say about God, it is always words of a man, and therefore of a tiny finite being, who has ventured upon exploration of the unfathomable mystery of the infinite God.
It is not surprising, therefore, that the results reached by the greatest geniuses of Christianity seemed completely inadequate to them compared with the transcendent Term of their investigation.… How could we fail to recall, in this connection, St. Thomas’s answer to his faithful secretary, Brother Reginald of Piperno, who was exhorting him to continue the composition of the Summa, interrupted after a particularly overwhelming mystical experience. Biographers report that, in reply to his friend’s urging, he limited himself to a laconic: “Brother, I cannot go on; everything that I have written seems to me straw.” Thus, the Summa remained unfinished.49
True theology is always interwoven with admiration, humility, and gratitude. The theologian must always have an attitude of adoration and humility. Theology demands a constant struggle to raise one’s mind to the greatness of God, without falling into the trap of limiting that greatness to the narrow molds of our concepts.
How could we fail to mention here the famous prayer that St. Anselm put at the beginning of his Proslogion? It is such a simple and beautiful prayer that it can be a model of invocation for anyone preparing to “study God”: “God, teach me to look for you, and show yourself to me who am looking for you, since I cannot either look for you or find you if you yourself do not show yourself” (Proslog. 1).
A true theological commitment—let us say so frankly—can neither begin nor conclude except on one’s knees, at least in the secrecy of one’s interior cell, where it is possible “to worship the Father in spirit and truth” (cf. Jn 4:23).50
To bring this about it is necessary that you have an interior balance, strength of mind and spirit and, above all, a profound humility of heart that will make all disciples attentive to the truth and docile hearers of God’s word which is authentically interpreted by the Magisterium. St. Thomas warns us that the proud “cannot stomach the excellence of truth, but delight in their own excellence” (ST, II-II, q. 162, a. 3 ad 1).51
A practical consequence of this attitude of humility is that the declarations of the Magisterium will always be received with appreciation and veneration. Also, if there is sincere humility, the duty of teaching the faith and giving clear orientations to the faithful cannot be seen as a limitation of freedom.
“Faithfulness to the Pope includes a clear and definite duty: that of knowing his thought, which he tells us in encyclicals or other documents. We have to do our part to help all Catholics pay attention to the teaching of the Holy Father, and bring their everyday behavior into line with it.”52 This norm especially applies to theologians, who should always be faithful to, support, and defend the Magisterium of the Church with their science.
Revelation is not a set of impersonal ideas; rather, it is the Creator’s word and invitation to mankind. Theologians must, therefore, pay special attention to his word, and give it the consideration due to the living God. Thus, theology implies an attitude of prayer, since prayer is the human word uttered in response to the word of God. Prayer is the most effective way to impel, inspire, and verify any understanding of the faith--intellectus fidei. A prayerful theologian imitates St. Mary, Mother of the Church, who kept divine revelation in her heart: “Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart” (Lk 2:19).
In theological research, prayer, understood as everyday practice and as the spirit of faith and contemplation, takes on fundamental importance. It must become habitual in the life of a Christian scholar. This is the point; one must study the truth of the Lord with bowed head. This truth is taught and preached as an overflow of the soul that believes it, loves it, and lives from it. Thus, one should often recite the prayer that expresses the choice of the author of the Book of Wisdom: “I prayed, and understanding was given me; I called upon God, and the spirit of wisdom came to me. I preferred it to scepters and thrones, and I accounted wealth as nothing in comparison with it … I loved it more than health and beauty, and I chose to have it rather than light, because its radiance never ceases” (Wis 7:7–8, 10).53
We cannot separate the seed of doctrine from the seed of piety.
The only way to inoculate your work of sowing doctrine against the germs of ineffectiveness is by being sincerely devout.54
As the science of faith, theology requires a living faith, which is kept alive by charity. Charity purges the heart of self-centeredness, allowing it to open to revelation. Love of God and apostolic zeal foster theological research and give it its fullest meaning. Thus, to study theology is to know God, because we love him and we want to make him known to other people so they can love him too.
Pope John Paul II said of St. Thomas: “He had indeed the technical mastery befitting a teacher, but, more important still, his manner of teaching was that of a saint who lives the Gospel fully, of one for whom love is everything.”55
Without sincere piety, theological work degenerates into empty intellectualism; without zeal for souls, it becomes unsubstantial logical skill. Spiritual life nurtures theology and safeguards its authenticity. Without contemplative life, theologians could not find any meaning for intellectual consideration of the mysteries of salvation, and would not strive to draw consequences from them. “Wisdom will not enter a deceitful soul” (Wis 1:4).
The gifts of the Holy Spirit of understanding and wisdom sharpen and perfect our faith, identifying us with the mind of God. Thus, they are especially useful to carry out theological research fruitfully, “for the Lord gives wisdom” (Prv 2:6).
Those who become conceited about their science and fail to thank God and ask for further guidance are prone to fall into error. Mankind cannot find its way in divine matters—which surpass human nature and intellect—without the guidance of God. “God opposes the proud” (1 Pt 5:5).
We can say with St. Augustine that, in theology, “the more piously we believe in God, the easier it is to advance in his knowledge; [thus,] we must devotedly ask God to open our understanding.”56
15. The Intrinsic Unity of Theological Science
Theology has its own object, which is the basis for its unity: the theologian studies everything from the point of view of the divine--sub ratione deitatis. Still, the peculiar characteristics of this object make theology an especially unified science. God, who reveals his intimate essence and his plan of salvation, is infinitely simple and supremely one. He has no parts, no composition of any kind. He understands everything with a single Word, who is not different from his own substance. All that refers to the Being of God and to his plans for salvation bears a strong imprint of unity and harmony.57
We have an example of this unified and theocentric concept of theology in the great Scholastic treatise prepared by St. Thomas, the Summa Theologiae. It consists of three parts. The first part studies the intimacy of God, one and Triune, then goes on to analyze how creatures proceed from God, who is the principle of all things: creation and creatures—angels, man, and material beings. The second part focuses on the return of creatures to their end, God. Since this return depends partly on mankind, human behavior (moral theology) is studied in this part. The third part considers the way for man to reach God as end. This way is Jesus Christ (Christology), and to follow him, man has to be united to him through the sacraments (sacramental theology).
16. Theological Disciplines
The theological fields are closely interrelated. None can be studied properly when isolated from the others. Strictly speaking, there is no room in theology for specialization; theologians must always strive to master the whole of theology if they want to study one of its aspects in depth.
Yet, throughout its history, theology has branched into different theological treatises or disciplines. These are studies of some aspects of God or his work of salvation that can be considered separately with a certain degree of thematic unity. Theology can be divided according to the research method and subject matter.
16a) Method
As we saw earlier in this chapter, we can distinguish positive theology (which includes all the historical, Biblical, and philological disciplines) from speculative theology according to the method used.
16b) Subject Matter
We can distinguish the following theological disciplines according to the subject matter studied:
· Dogmatic theology studies the speculative content of revelation. The main dogmatic treatises are: God, one and Triune; creation and elevation to the supernatural order; Christology; Soteriology (study of grace and salvation), ecclesiology; Mariology; and the treatise on the sacraments.
· Moral theology studies revelation as the rule of human behavior so that man can attain salvation. The main moral treatises are: fundamental morals (the study of the final end of man and human acts in general), special morals (treatise on the three theological and four cardinal virtues), and sacramental morals (the moral obligations related to the sacraments).
· Spiritual theology (also called ascetical or mystical theology) studies the increase of charity in Christian life.
· Pastoral and catechetical theology studies the pastoral activity of the Church. It is especially concerned with religious pedagogy and pastoral care—the criteria governing the activity of those who partake in Christ’s role as Pastor of souls.
· Fundamental theology focuses on the sapiential dimension of theology rather than its scientific value. It studies the intellectual value of the mysteries of revelation and faith—the foundations of theology—in close dialogue with philosophy and culture. With a method similar to that of dogmatic theology, fundamental theology studies the credibility of revelation and the reasonable character of Christian faith. Fundamental theology studies the theoretical foundations of theology as science and wisdom. In this way, it provides the framework for apologetics (the art of writing Christian arguments that show the credibility of dogmas under attack) and the reasonable nature of Christian faith. Apologetics shows that faith is not incompatible with reason, but attractive and logically demonstrable in many instances.
Since theology is wisdom, all theologians feel the responsibility to cultivate this apologetic dimension in their respective areas of concentration. On the other hand, given the scope of modern culture, apologetics cannot be the concern of theologians alone; it must be the concern of all Christians.58 Each individual must use his or her professional formation to detect the cultural elements that could make the Gospel more accessible, easier to understand, and more attractive. Fundamental theology is limited to studying the theoretical foundation of apologetics and, therefore, cannot substitute for apologetics, but fundamental theology can show the way to begin.
Footnotes:
1. St. Josemaría Escrivá, Furrow, 572.
2. John Paul II, “Address to the Pontifical Lateran University,” L’Osservatore Romano, Mar. 10, 1980.
3. Cf. ST, I, q. 1, a. 8.
4. Cf. CCC¸ 74–100.
5. Pius VI, “Condemnation of the Synod of Pistoia”: DS 2601.
6. DV, 8.
7. LG, 12.
8. Cf. SC, 14.
9. Cf. Pius XII, Enc. Mediator Dei, Sep. 20, 1947.
10. Cf. DS 600–3.
11. John Paul II, Ap. Letter Patres Ecclesiae, Jan. 2, 1980: L’Osservatore Romano, Feb. 25, 1981.
12. DV, 8.
13. Cf. DS 1501, 3029; CCC, 101–141.
14. DV, 24.
15. John Paul II, Ap. Const. Sapientia Christiana, Apr. 25, 1979, 67.1: L’Osservatore Romano, June 4, 1979.
16. DV, 10.
17. Ibid., 24.
18. Cf. DS 3050–52; CCC, 81.
19. DV, 10; cf. CCC, 85.
20. Cf. CIC, c. 750; LG,25; J. Card. Ratzinger, “Doctrinal Commentary on the Concluding Formula of the ‘Professio Fidei,’” L’Osservatore Romano, July 15, 1998.
21. Cf. CCC, 185–197.
22. Cf. CIC, 752–753; LG, 25.
23. The best known compilation is that of Henrico Denzinger, later expanded (32nd ed.) by Adolf Schoenmetzer: Enchiridion Symbolorum, Definitionum et Declarationum de Rebus Fidei et Morum [DS].
24. Cf. Pius XII, Enc. Humani Generis, Aug. 12, 1950: DS 3881–83; Paul VI, Mysterium Fidei; CCC, 88–90.
25. DV, 10; cf. CCC, 97.
26. Cf. GS, 4.
27. J.L. Illanes, Gran Enciclopedia Rialp, s.v. “Teología,” 22:250.
28. ST, II-II, q. 2, a. 10 ad 2.
29. Cf. M.J. Scheeben, Dogmatik, 862; The Mysteries of Christianity, 107, 3.
30. Leo XIII, Enc. Aeterni Patris, Aug. 4, 1879.
31. Cf. John Paul II, Ap. Const. Sapientia Christiana, May 25, 1979, art. 72; cf. OT, 14.
32. First Vatican Council, Dogm. Const. Dei Filius, 4: DS 3019.
33. Paul VI, Address to the International Theological Commission, Oct. 11, 1972.
34. John Paul II, Ap. Const. Sapientia Christiana, May 25, 1979, 68.2: L’Osservatore Romano, June 4, 1979; cf. OT, 15.
35. Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, On the Teaching of Philosophy, 1972; cf. Paul VI, Letter Lumen Ecclesiae, Nov. 20, 1974, 18; Pius XII, Enc. Humani Generis, Aug. 12, 1950: DS 3894; John Paul II, Address at the Pontifical Gregorian University, Dec. 15, 1979.
36. CIC, 251. Author’s emphasis.
37. Pius XII, Enc. Humani Generis, Aug. 12, 1950: DS 3892. Cf. Leo XIII, Enc. Aeterni Patris, Aug. 4, 1879.
38. Cf. S.C. of Seminaries and Universities, Answer, Dec. 20, 1965; quoted in note to CIC, c. 251, University of Navarre edition.
39. OT, 16.
40. Gravissimum Educationis Momentum, 10.
41. Paul VI, Letter Lumen Ecclesiae, Nov. 20, 1974, 24.
42. CIC, 252.
43. John Paul II, Address at the Angelicum University, Nov. 17, 1979, 6: L’Osservatore Romano, Dec. 17, 1979; cf. Address to the VIII International Thomistic Congress, Nov. 13, 1980.
44. Cf. J.L. Illanes, Sobre el Saber Teológico (Madrid: 1978), 66–67.
45. For an authoritative systematic listing, cf. Prospero Cardinal Lambertini, De Servorum Dei Beatificatione et Beatorum Canonizatione (1734/1738).
46. CIC, 750, which is a near literal quotation from the First Vatican Council, Dogm. Const. Dei Filius, 3: DS 3011. The Code continues: “Heresy is the obstinate denial or doubt, after baptism, of a truth which must be believed by divine and catholic faith” (Ibid., 751). It should be noted that the teachings of the ordinary Magisterium of the pope or the college of bishops that are not intended as definitions of faith are Catholic truths, but not truths of faith. Nevertheless, “while the assent of faith is not required, a religious submission of intellect and will” should be accorded to them (cf. Ibid., 752).
47. CIC, 749.
48. OT, 15.
49. John Paul II, “Address to the Pontifical Universities of Rome,” 2: L’Osservatore Romano, Nov. 19, 1979.
50. Ibid., 4.
51. John Paul II, “Address at the Pontifical Gregorian University,” 9: L’Osservatore Romano, Jan. 21, 1980; cf.. ST, II-II, q. 162, a. 3 ad 1.
52. St. Josemaría Escrivá, The Forge, 633; cf. 133, 581, 585.
53. John Paul II, “Homily at the Mass for the Pontifical Roman Universities”: L’Osservatore Romano, Dec. 1, 1980.
54. St. Josemaría Escrivá, The Forge, 918.
55. John Paul II, “Address at the Angelicum University”: L’Osservatore Romano, Dec. 17, 1979.
56. St. Augustine, Contra Adversarium Legis et Prophetarum, 1, 10; De Trin., 8.1.
57. Cf. John Paul II, “Homily to the Roman Pontifical Universities,” 5: L’Osservatore Romano, Nov. 9, 1981.
58. Cf. St. Josemaría Escrivá, The Way, 338.