Encyclopedia of sacred theology - pagina 316

292

§61.

CONCEPTION OF

[Div. Ill

possible through, at least a potential, palingenesis of his

whole being.

And

thus

we

reach the point which renders the forming

of the conception of

Theology

as science, possible,

and which

will be considered in the following section. § 61.

Conception of Theology as /Science

Like every other science, the science of Theology can be spoken of in a twofold sense, viz. either with reference to the intellectual labor expended upon Theology, or with reference In the latter sense. Theology as to the results of that labor. remains the knoivledge also science of Grod ; for though its result is not an increase of the knowledge of God, and can only lead to a clearer insight into the revealed knowledge of God, yet every gain in clearness of insight magnifies the worth of that knowledge. The microscope adds nothing to the wing of the butterfly, but enables me to obtain a richer knowledge of that wing. And while the science of Theology adds no new knowledge of God to the knowledge revealed to us, scientific Theology renders my fuller assimilation of its

content possible.

this scientific insight into the knowledge of God and necessary, depends upon the stage of development which has been reached by the human consciousness. In fact, in the sense in which we now interpret the domain

Whether

is

possible

of theological studies as one organic whole, the science of

Theology has only been born

Even down

to

was a Theology,

as

in our century.

the middle of the last century, while there

Dogmatics, with which other studies were connected, yet the necessity was not felt of moulding these into one organic

whole, and

still

less

the impulse to conjoin this unit of

Theology organically with the other sciences into one architectural whole of science. This was not accidental, but the immediate consequence of the general spirit of the times. This same phenomenon presented itself not only in the domain of Theology, but in the domain of every other The Encyclopedia of Theology had already made science. consideiable advances, while all encyclopedical insight into

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