What is the Connection Between Faith and Theology?

[Waterfall]

Ever wonder why you "just believe" or why sometimes you search scriptures to back up your faith in order to justify the hearts longing for God?

It's even scripture that defines for us what our faith is:

Hebrews 11:1
"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."

although faith can be defined differently by each of us, and can become to mean whatever you want it to mean personally.

A definition of faith can be, 1.) Belief and trust in and loyalty to God. 2.) belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion. 3.) Firm belief in something for which there is no proof.

Possibly it's number three that prompts us to search scripture for "proof" and develop a theology that keeps our faith alive?

If faith comes from things unseen, what is the connection between Faith and Theology?

 

[Luce NDs]

Because someone once said "don't question" and many follow that logical fallacy ... even if it isn't biblical ... books suggest something else!

Books bible ogoes ...

 

[Luce NDs]

Allows for Taxo nomeni ... clusters ... everyone should have a Noni ... and say know when you mean it ... its neigh ... nothing to many?

What you can do with it? Use the abstract button ...

 

[Waterfall]

Does God belong in the realm of the rational?

 

[Luce NDs]

Does God belong in the realm of the rational?

Would that make god irrational and a thinker rational deviate? At some point someone somewhere will loose it ... and from out there things become Lucid! Claire del UNE?

Singular out ...

 

[revjohn]

If faith comes from things unseen, what is the connection between Faith and Theology?

Faith is the muscle to theology's bone.

My faith in Christ rests on the witness of others and even if I cannot see Christ directly I can see the effect of Christ's passing.

And added to the witness of others I have my own experiences which become my witness.

Faith is tested by life. So what I believe is regularly rubbed up against whomever I am with and whatever we are about.

Whether it rubs rightly or wrongly it is my belief informing my action.


Theology is part of how we come to understand what is unseen in order to structure faith as it addresses and intersects with daily living. It forms part of the reason for faith.

It is a human attempt to render that which is invisible, visible.

 

[Mendalla]

Theology is more the intellectual side of things. It is us thinking about the world and the Divine and trying to make sense of those "unseen things". Since they are unseen, we can't really use rational empirical methods like science so instead we use theology, which is more purely rational.

Faith is more about placing our trust in something (belief in God, belief in the unseen Masters, whatever) and how we live that trust.

Theology can help underpin faith by providing a rational framework for developing ideas from/about the source of the faith. Faith can guide theology by providing the personal framework in which the rational thought and discourse occurs.

IOW, they are interrelated things and likely need each other to some degree. A symbiotic relationship, perhaps.

 

[Mendalla]

Or, you know, what John said.

 

[revjohn]

Or even what Mendalla said.

 

[Mendalla]

Does God belong in the realm of the rational?

As much as we ourselves do. Reason is not a "realm" to my mind, it is a tool we use to make sense of things. We can use it to look at a set of premises, make evaluations of them, and extrapolate other premises and ideas from them.

Theology takes a set of premises about God (e.g. from scripture or previous theology) and tries to use reason to learn more about God or to accept or reject certain other premises about God.

We do this in philosophy, too, but the focus is broader since even God is not a given in a philosophical framework, but has to be proven or not proven. In philosophy, we are taking a set of premises about anything (God, life, morality, meaning of life, etc.) and using reason to evaluate and extrapolate from those premises.

 

[Luce NDs]

Theology is more the intellectual side of things. It is us thinking about the world and the Divine and trying to make sense of those "unseen things". Since they are unseen, we can't really use rational empirical methods like science so instead we use theology, which is more purely rational.

Faith is more about placing our trust in something (belief in God, belief in the unseen Masters, whatever) and how we live that trust.

Theology can help underpin faith by providing a rational framework for developing ideas from/about the source of the faith. Faith can guide theology by providing the personal framework in which the rational thought and discourse occurs.

IOW, they are interrelated things and likely need each other to some degree. A symbiotic relationship, perhaps.

It all remain questionable ... as in The Theory of Everything ... that many mist the subtle undertones ...

Tis the code of the unknown ... one has to go a long way to gather ...

 

[Waterfall]

Can theology alone bring one to God? Or does faith need to be present? To hear some on WC2, theology is empty without faith and it is faith alone.

 

[Redbaron]

Theology may be empty without faith, but faith is, as it were, 'a formless void' without theology.

 

[Waterfall]

Theology may be empty without faith, but faith is, as it were, 'a formless void' without theology.

Which is interesting, considering the Christian faith came out of Jesus walking on this earth. And the Jewish faith was based on God speaking to the Jewish nation. Where did faith reside before all of that?

 

[paradox3]

How do we come to have faith? How do we become people of faith?

Surely it does not come about as a result of studying theology. Theology helps me to make sense of faith as others have suggested on this thread but it is hard for me to imagine the study of theology alone giving rise to faith. Maybe it is the starting point for some, I can't rule it out.

For those of us who grew up with church involvement, did faith arise as a result of being part of community? And valuing the way that community lived out its faith? Was it the emotional connection to various aspects of the tradition? Stories, music, and so on?

Very interesting to ponder.

 

[paradox3]

Was just thinking friend @chansen might be along to suggest we were brainwashed in our formative years.

 

[Luce NDs]

Was just thinking friend @chansen might be along to suggest we were brainwashed in our formative years.

This comes with the catharsis of birth ... the stress drove out all thoughts from mother and child ... as they screamed and cursed def ather ...

What did def ather learn?

Should n'a dune that ...!

 

[chansen]

Was just thinking friend @chansen might be along to suggest we were brainwashed in our formative years.

That would be silly. It's probably a very common sense and easily accepted thing that God sent his son to die for three days on your behalf.

 

[unsafe]

Waterfall ---your quote ----Can theology alone bring one to God? Or does faith need to be present?

 

[Mendalla]

Can theology alone bring one to God? Or does faith need to be present? To hear some on WC2, theology is empty without faith and it is faith alone.

I doubt it. If it was enough, I'd likely be a believer given my interest in theology and particular theological schools of thought (e.g. process). I think faith is what brings one to God, theology comes into play when one starts to try to make sense of that faith.