The term “theology” means “the science of God.” It was first used in ancient Greece, in the works of Plato and Aristotle, to distinguish a scientific from a mythological knowledge of God. That conception of theology, as a science, was inherited in ancient times by Jews and Muslims as well as by Christians. Thus, the study of theology has never been a peculiarly Christian occupation, but has been the concern of all who have sought to understand the principles which underlie and govern the whole of existence.
In traditions in which scientific theology has been cultivated (e.g., pagan, Jewish, Christian, Muslim), it has always been recognized that theology is grounded in and illuminated by divine revelation. As Aristotle says, we have this knowledge “because the gods are not jealous.” Thus, for Christians, theology begins with God’s Word revealed (in Creation, in the Incarnation, in the Holy Scriptures and the Sacred Tradition which links us to that Word), and the progress of theology is a matter of “faith seeking understanding” (St. Anselm).
It might seem obvious that Canadian Anglicans should seek to understand their faith, yet the opportunities for doing so are meagre. Our universities have pretty much abandoned “the queen of the sciences”; theological colleges, with very crowded curriculum, have tended to sacrifice the study of theology to make room for professional training; and bishops have often discouraged the advanced study of theology as irrelevant to parish ministry.
But our neglect of the critical, scientific study of theology leaves us vulnerable to all the passing fads and preoccupations of our particular time and place, and leads us to form policies on the basis of (often ill-informed) majority opinion, or majority “feeling.” In the absence of critical study, opposed views become opposed dogmatisms (whether liberal or conservative), and debate becomes the unprofitable argument of a screech against a scream.
The issues that now divide Anglicans, in Canada and throughout the world (liturgical, moral, etc.), are essentially theological issues, and the creative resolution of our conflicts will depend very much upon a renewed commitment to the science and critical study of theology.
The value of theological study, however, goes far beyond such practical consideration. The Christian life is fundamentally a matter of knowing and loving God, and all else in that perspective. Our loving is the final moment, but our loving proceeds from our knowing. It is thus, indeed, that we are “saved by faith.” Our theology is our endeavour to understand that faith, and, by grace, to be made perfect in the love of God who reveals himself in that faith. In the end, we shall know as we are known and love as we are loved. That is theology’s completion.
It might seem obvious that Canadian Anglicans should seek to understand their faith, yet the opportunities for doing so are meagre.… Theological colleges, with very crowded curriculum, have tended to sacrifice the study of theology to make room for professional training.
