_8_Christian Theology

The etymology of “theology” is not doubtful, as is the case with the term “religion.” The original meaning of is clearly . Theology denotes, in its subjective sense, the knowledge of God and of divine matters; in its objective sense it designates the doctrine of God.65 Analogous terms are psychology, physiology, biology, astrology, etc. Thomas Aquinas: “Theologia a Deo docetur, Deum docet, et ad Deum ducit.” Similarly Baier: “In the composite term theology the name denotes the object of the ” (Baier-Walther, I, 2).

As to the usage (usus loquendi) of the term “theology,” we note that it does not occur in Holy Writ. Our old theologians say: “Theology is a word not , but ; however, it is not .” In the heading of the Book of Revelation, St. John is indeed called “the theologian” (“ ‘ ”), but, as Gerhard points out, “whoever wrote this heading gave John this title, not he himself.” — Note further that the terms “theology” and “theologian” did not originate with the Christians. Even the heathen employed these terms. That fact need not surprise us. Knowing that there is a God (Romans 1 and 2), the heathen would naturally devote earnest study to this subject. In their way they studied “theology.’ And they employed this very term.66 Calov: “We see that the term theology was first used by the heathen and then adopted by the Church” (Isagoge, 2d ed., I, 8).

Within the Christian Church the word theology and its cognate theologian are not always used in the same sense. The reminder is here in place that since these terms are not found in Scripture but belong to the vocabulary of the Church, there should be no strife about words. What matters is that the words used should not express any unscriptural ideas. The matter denoted by these words must be contained in Scripture. And that is the case when the Church takes theology to mean:

1. The special measure of the knowledge of God and the divine doctrine which public ministers in the congregation should possess. Scripture speaks of this form of theology when it says that the , who takes care of the church of God (1 Tim. 3:5), must be , “apt to teach” (1 Tim. 3:2). The pastor must have a special teaching ability. This matter will be discussed at length in the next chapter.67

2. The knowledge of God and the divine doctrine which is required of those who train the future public teachers. These “theological professors” are called theologians in a special sense. Timothy performed the work of a theological professor when he committed the things he had learned from the Apostle Paul “to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also” (2 Tim. 2:2).68

3. The knowledge of God and the divine doctrine possessed by all Christians. Luther on this point: “These are words (‘For God so loved the world,’ etc., John 3:16) which no one can exhaust or fathom; and when they are rightly believed, they ought to make one a good theologian, or rather a strong, happy Christian, who can speak and teach aught of Christ, judge all other doctrines, counsel and comfort all men, and patiently bear all ills.” (St. L. XI: 1103.) 69

4. The knowledge and doctrine of certain parts of the Christian religion, namely, of the deity of Christ and, respectively, of the Trinity.70 This use of the term theology has been and is quite general. We, too, call the doctrine of the deity of Christ and of the Trinity “theology in the narrower sense” to distinguish it from cosmology, anthropology, Christology, ecclesiology, etc.

We may use the terms theology and theologia in this fourfold sense, since the matter itself is found in Scripture. But it is an unscriptural use of language when men define theology as a knowledge of God and divine things which, it is claimed, reaches farther than faith in the Word of Scripture and expands faith into scientific comprehension. This is the of modern theology in all of its various forms. And we have to keep on insisting that when men imagine that their theological knowledge rises above faith in the written Word, they are deluding themselves; their alleged knowledge is ignorance.

Following the custom of the early Lutheran theologians, we shall here use the term theology to denote the divine knowledge necessary for the administration of the public ministry. Theology, then, taken subjectively, or concretely, is the aptitude (, habitus) wrought by the Holy Ghost in a Christian to perform the functions of the pastoral office, i. e., to teach the Word of God, the Word of Scripture, in all its purity, both publicly and privately, to refute all false doctrine, and thus to lead sinners to faith in Christ and to salvation. 71 Theology taken objectively as doctrine is the Christian doctrine in its correct oral and written presentation by the public minister of the Church.72 Both definitions are contained, in substance, in Scripture. The subjective concept of theology is found in 2 Cor. 3:5-6: “Our sufficiency [: ability] is of God, who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament.” We have the objective concept, for example, in 2 Tim. 1:13: “Hold fast the form of sound words which thou hast heard of me.”73 — More on these definitions in the following chapters.

Obviously the first and proper meaning of the term theology is theology in the subjective sense, aptitude []; only in its secondary, derived meaning does it denote objective theology, doctrine. For, as Walther says: “Theology must first be in the soul of a man before he can teach it, present it in speech and writing” (Lehre und Wehre, 14, p.9).74