Talk:Theology
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Theology approaches from a position of belief
- Theological study approaches its topic from a position of belief; thus it must be distinguished from the philosophy of religion, which does not presume the truth of the religious beliefs it examines
I think it would be clearer to say "Theology assumes the truth of at least some religious beliefs and therefore can be distinguished from..." A hundred years ago, your description would be pretty accurate, but there are many professional "theologians" who disavow any specific belief in God... --Mark Christensen
Mark is pretty correct in what he says: for example, I do not personally believe in the Norse gods (or any other come to that) but nevertheless I find a study of the pantheon to be quite fascinating. My work in this field is inherently theological, although I probably wouldn't describe it as such. sjc
I agree with Mark..ie. many people study religions and theology under Anthropology or Humanities. Perhaps your category should go under Biblical Studies 14:19, 10 Mar 2005 (UTC)
Seminaries may require belief
The shift in the field can be seen in the naming of academic departments - most university departments are now called "Religious Studies" or "Departments of Religion", while seminaries retain "Theology" departments. Admittedly, there are folks in Theology Departments who 'disavow any specific belief in God,' but at least some seminaries try to practice a little quality control over their education and encourage people like that to seek work in departments of Religious Studies. --MichaelTinkler
Theology predates Christianity
The TERM "theology" has not christian origins. It's classical greek (4th century BC), it means "talking about God" used by philosophers, teachers, and poets, e. g.: Hesiod, Orpheus et al. --
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Isn't the interest in "other" religions and pantheons something more akin to the meaning of "mythology?" And also, in the main page I think God should be non-gendered for all those of us who see the Deity as above/greater than gender? EvelynToseland
Is the link to anthropology a litle misleading? In context, I would expect the link to go to an article on theological discussions of human nature. In fact, this link goes to an article on anthropology as an academic discipline that is situated in either the natural sciences, social sciences, or humanities. I am not disputing theologians' right to consider something they call "anthropology;" but I doubt that most academic anthropologists would think of themselves as working in a sub-field of theology -- SR
- I echo these sentiments. -- NetEsq 02:14, 4 Aug 2003 (UTC)
Relationship of creationism to theology
I just added a wikilink to creationism in the theology article. The creationism article currently focuses on the controversy arising from scientific creationism, and -- as an anthropologist by training -- I am not disposed nor qualified to act as an apologist for creationism qua creationism in theology, but I am not particularly satisfied with the way that the creationism article dismisses creationism as a valid subject for theological inquiry. For more background information, please see the creationism talk page. -- NetEsq 02:14, 4 Aug 2003 (UTC)
Should the Theology page be improved?
The great Wikipedia scholar and commentator recently suggested that a team of us should improve the Theology page. As I peruse the Theology page, I notice that there is not one rebuttal by scientists on the Theology page. I also notice that the immortal Larry Sanger make an early contribution to the Theology page. I notice only one gross error on the Theology page. The statement "The term theology originated in Christianity . . ." is very wrong. For Plato in the Timaeus used the term theology around 350 B.C. What would improve the Theology page? Any ideas? Rednblu 00:15, 20 Aug 2003 (UTC)
Ironic, isn't it, that the Wikipedia theology article remains untouched by what some have referred to as the "evolutionist censors"? This speaks volumes to the fact that theology is recognized by all Wikipedians as being a legitimate topic for Wikipedia. However, when theologians attempt to contribute to Wikipedia articles that are perceived to be the province of scientists, they are all but dismissed as quickly as astrologers or Flat Earthers would be.
For me, logic and philosophy are the places where scientists and theologians can find common ground in their common quest to discover the truth, and I begin this quest at the same place where Immanuel Kant began it, Cogito ergo sum. Correct me if I am wrong, but it is from this axiomatic assumption of his own existence that Kant posits God's existence as the Creator, and I have yet to hear a convincing rebuttal to this argument. -- NetEsq 01:48, 20 Aug 2003 (UTC)
- Ok. That is interesting enough to me as a theme to develop on the theology page. And I could find that an interesting pursuit. But isn't that bloody battlefield over at the Creationism page much more interesting? Rednblu 02:39, 20 Aug 2003 (UTC)
13th century theologians list
If anyone feels so inclined and wants to create lots of new pages, here is an available database of 13th century theologians that is available in the PD:
http://home.sandiego.edu/~macy/index.html
Each theologian contains brief bio, works and bibliography. Nice resource that would fill out a lot of names for European Middle Ages history. I did not write it but the author just requests "Please give a reference to the Guide in any published work just as you would to any other source." .. which would go under the ==Sources== header.
- That's ==References==, actually. The reference looks excellent, although info on each person is rather limited. It'll help fill out some stubs at least, in a lacking area. Deco 17:36, 18 Sep 2004 (UTC)
a reworking
I intend to totally rework this page over the next few days. I spent three years studying theology, so I should be able to come up with something good! I hope to make it a series.
The general line will be to approach Theology as
1. The attempt to reconcile "Revelation" with Knowledge gained through life/experience. 2. Theology is primarily used to refer to Christian Revelation as it came to be handled under a system of thought stemming substantially from Classical Greece. 3. It is especially applicable also to Islam and Judaism 4. In a secondary sense it is applicable to other "belief systems" and religions 5. A look at Theology through history 6. Culminating in Theology issues today (e.g. Black/Gay/Pentecostal Theology) 7. Its place in the academy and real world
I hope to link this to other articles (look at how little there is on Kalam!)and create a series, perhaps under the banner of Theology, or "Religious thought". I will try and incorporate elements of the current page.
Any comments before I begin?
Cheers, --Totalthinker 02:28, 7 Jan 2005 (UTC) Welcome to the study of " Theology?"
I think you just got a good start, please continue..cheerio!165.21.154.109 14:14, 10 Mar 2005 (UTC)
Theory that gods exist because people believe in them
In Terry Pratchett's Discworld series of novels it is shown that the gods of that world exist and have a presence simply because of people believing in them. This leads to many strange Discworld gods appearing because of the nature of what people tend to believe. Does this theory have roots in some existing theology? And if so should that be incorporated here and/or at the Discworld gods article? violet/riga (t) 13:54, 1 Jan 2005 (UTC)
Theology or Metaphysics?
In order of categories, it is either Theology as under the scope of Metaphysics or vice-versa? This definitely is an issue to tackle or re-think about. We each have our prejudices, whether in beliefs or any assumptions. To be totally neutral is an impossible position, suffice to say it is still possible to start with what we assume as to what is required for the Public and general audience. According to the general understanding, it should be classified under Metaphysics and not a separate entity here. Is it possible to explain some basic understanding to the use of this word? The history of the usage of word is unclear. This is probably derived word during the lost ages in history. Presently, this word theology co notates no meaning for many people, even many believers in God. It is a category of knowledge " about God or gods". 165.21.154.114 14:03, 10 Mar 2005 (UTC)
Finally did it; now I need your help
So I got round to editing the page. Please help me distill the wordy sections and add to the missing content sections. I have kept almost all the old stuff. Yours, Totalthinker
- I have reverted your edit; it is inappropriate to replace an article with its broken version. If you want to start a rewrite, use Theology/temp or some similar name. (The previous version can be found here (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Theology&oldid=11681837) if you are interested in it.) Sincerely, Mike Rosoft 15:26, 30 Mar 2005 (UTC)
Thanks Mike, I'll try a temp version. It occured to me after I changed it how much of the article was not organised and unecessary. Next time round I'll try the temp and I'd appreciate as much feedback as possible. I'm convinced we can do a better job than the present page. Totalthinker
Theology article and the wikipedia style guide
I've noticed a quite liberal use of the quotation marks, when speaking about certain terms. My understanding is that the appropriate style for this type of thing is the use of italics rather than quotations marks. So rather than "theology", it would read theology. I started to change some of these instances, but have stopped half way through the job, as I don't know whether someone is going to come in and revert it all afterwards. What is the prevailing opinion on this? --Randolph 04:03, 19 Apr 2005 (UTC)