1. The Nature of Theology

Question 1

Foundationally, what does any academic discipline require of its would-be practitioners?

Answer 1

1. ability to follow an argument (argumentative)
2. the capacity to remember a certain number of facts (retentive)
3. a basic flair or sense for the subject that enables us to be creative in thinking up hypotheses in its regard. (imaginative)

Question 2

What serves to distinguish theology from other academic disciplines?

Answer 2

Theology is rooted in the supernatural gift of faith.

• Ordinary & Extraordinary
• Natural & Supernatural

Question 3

Distinguish fides quae & fides qua.

Answer 3

• FIDES QUAE:
  
  • The faith which the church believes, the articles of faith which are true objectively.
  • (objective faith)
• FIDES QUA:
  
  • The faith by which I turn to God in Christ by the spirit through my acceptance of what the Church believes.
  • (subjective faith)

Question 4

What is the significance of “ecclesial” with respect to faith?

Answer 4

Ecclesial faith precedes, enters into, and organizes the concrete knowledge which theology possesses.

Question 5

The objects of theology via a model of 3 concentric circles.

Answer 5

1. “Existence”- inquiry, everything applies
2. “Sacred History”- the central focus is history. We cannot reinvent the Christian faith to fit our own speculation.
3. “The Bible”- (Scripture and Tradition) Tradition is an environment (medium) in which we read Scripture. They go hand-in-hand.

Question 6

List and distinguish the 5 Areas of Theology.

Answer 6

1. Foundationalism (Fundamental) (Apologetics)
   
   • Questions concerned with the foundation of faith.
   • On what is it based?
2. Historical
   
   • Questions concerned about the historical origin and development of the faith.
   • How is later doctrine derived from it?
3. Systematic (Dogmatic)
   
   • Questions about the interconnection of the contents of the faith.
   • How is one truth related to another?
4. Moral (Pastoral)
   
   • Questions to do with the way faith should affect the behavior of the individual or the group.
   • How should a Christian community behave?
5. Practical
   
   • Questions that deal with the implications of the Christian faith for the rest of human knowledge.
   • What does natural science look like in light of faith?

Question 7

Explain why, “If you do not pray, you are not a theologian,” but also that theology cannot be reduced to spirituality.

Answer 7

Theology is a way of knowing and understanding and not just a way of feeling. It is intellectual as well, but if you don’t pray you cannot have a relation with God.

Question 8

How would Nichols respond to “Why don’t theologians simply explain what the pope and bishops teach? Why do they ask all those other questions?”

Answer 8

The basis of theological wonder. The riches of faith is the ever-new questions. The pope and bishops have not thought of all the questions much less the answers to them.

Question 9

What is the temptation of practicing historical theology?

Answer 9

“Positive Theology”

It doesn’t go far enough, nor does it engage faith. Rather, it is simply memorizing data about God.

Question 10

Define and a “working definition” in each of the 3 essential elements of this definition and comment.

Answer 10

“disciplined exploration of what is contained in revelation”

• Revelation: There is 1 God who is someone, not something.
• Exploration: Truth and its understanding can emerge in relationship.
• Disciplined: Theology possesses order and structure.

Question 11

What 2 contributions of philosophy to the theological task are higlighted by Nichols?

Answer 11

1. The “preamble of faith”
   
   • account for the foundations of the act of faith.
   • Fundamental Theology
2. A principle of order
   
   • contribute to an explication of the content of faith
   • Systematic Theology