Encyclopedia of sacred theology - pagina 344

320

§64.

DEFORMATIONS OF THEOLOGY

[Div. Ill

God"' was bound to falsify the conception of theology; the evil worked within the theological domain by what we call its deformations, the results of schism and heresy, is of an

The

entirely different character.

evident between what is Greek or Eastern Theology;

difference

is still

called Protestant,

clearly

Romish and

and though on Protestant

o-round the antithesis between the Lutheran and Reformed type of doctrine is less significant than before, it is self-

deception to suppose that

on the other hand

also,

it

has become

the variegations

extinct;

while,

of the

mystic-

apocalyptic and the pietistic-methodistic mode of teaching still maintain themselves in ever wider Protestant circles.

The

illusion that the former confessional differences have

had their day, in order gradually

to

make room

for a general

Protestant sense, scarcely held itself intact for a quarter of It was evident all too soon, that this indiffera century.

ence to confessional standards sprang from an unhistoric tendency and was fed by an exceedingly serious hypertrophy of Almost everywhere, therefore, we the philosophic element. see the revival of confessional standards in

moment

it

theology, the

escapes from the arms of philosophy, and, for the

sake of defending

its

position,

is

bent upon the recovery of

This, however, makes it necessary, just its independence. us, to deal with the deformations before did as our fathers of Theology. This conception of deformation excludes, on our side, two

untenable points of view first, the sceptical, which attributes no higher worth to Protestant Theology than to the Romish or Eastern, and evermore tends to place these in a line and secondly, the absolute, which counts out every other theology but its own as worthless, and frankly declares them to have :

;

originated with the Evil One.

The sceptical point of view falls short in faith, decision and courage of conviction. Here, in reality, one takes truth as something that lies beyond human reach; hence one's own confession also is valued no higher than as an effort to express truth, which from the nature of the case has met with ill sucOne feels his way in the dark, and hence must readily cess.

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