Theology is not the study of God.

[hexadecimal]

I have asked multiple people what theology is and the answer has consistantly been the study of God. That does not make any sense. How can you study God?

[Xavier]

God has revealed himself.

[TheAnalogman]

God has revealed himself.

Correct. So therefore we study about what he has revealed about himself.

Make sense, hex?

And welcome to TWEB, btw.

[hexadecimal]

Correct. So therefore we study about what he has revealed about himself.

Make sense, hex?

And welcome to TWEB, btw.
Sure now I see where you are comming from but its not like you slice a off a peice of God and look at him under a microscope.

[Xavier]

Sure now I see where you are comming from but its not like you slice a off a peice of God and look at him under a microscope.
I don't disagree... Do you see this a problem?

[hexadecimal]

I don't disagree... Do you see this a problem?Yes I do. If you can not study him directly then you are not studying God then you are studying claims people have made about God.

[Xavier]

Yes I do. If you can not study him directly then you are not studying God then you are studying claims people have made about God.

We're studying the claims that God made about himself in revelation given to men.

[zorathruster]

I have asked multiple people what theology is and the answer has consistantly been the study of God. That does not make any sense. How can you study God?

Theology as practiced today is designed to take human beings who have difficulty living with each other and supply some form of commonality that will mediate their conflicts. There is nothing like singing a song together, or proclaiming some vow (no matter how silly) to calm the differences that are existant in all humans.

By knowing ourselves better, our desires and foibles, we can hopefully squelch our overwhelming desire to beat the stuffing out of our neighbor who dreadfully needs it and keep a civil order in the large communities that have formed in the last 10,000 years. Until a village expands to a certain population, there isn't any need for formal religion or formal administration primarily because in small villages - everyone is related.

Theology is designed so you can better know yourself and better get along with others. It is a mutual benefit for all participants and establishes an order. Gods only become necessary when we need authority higher than the upper levels of governance. Which, as Congess continues to prove, keep enriching themselves and their cronnies at the expense of the vast population of citizens. If a revolution comes it will say the same thing the last one did. We are endowed by our creator (thus bypassing Congress) ...

[Teallaura]

Yes I do. If you can not study him directly then you are not studying God then you are studying claims people have made about God.So, you don't believe in the study of history either?

[Dwevlo]

Yes I do. If you can not study him directly then you are not studying God then you are studying claims people have made about God.
Yeah and if you are like most people today this will work equally well against science - the pinnacle of objective studies. Off the top of my head here are two ways this would work:

1) You don't study the objects themselves rather you study your sense data.
2) You don't study the objects themselves rather you study your conceptualization of the object (mediated by cultural conventions).

I think you might be surprised how many atheists aren't realists at all. Its part of skepticism really. I mean can you prove to me that there are really objects out there? Maybe you are a brain in a vat... or being deceived by an evil demon... etc.

[Johnny MacManky]

Theology... Theos - God, Logia - Words. Theology - Words about God.
Compare with Anthropology - Anthropos - Humanity, or Man... or Biology, or any other 'ology' you care to mention.