Encyclopedia of sacred theology - pagina 329

Chap.

THEOLOGY AS "KNOWLEDGE OF GOD"

I]

he kneels before his Fetish, there

is

more

305

of the fear of

God

than in the proud philosopher, who reasons about the gods (or about to Oelov) as about powers, of which he will determine what they are. In the negro there is still a considerable degree of vitality of the seed of religion, while in the

He

self-sufficient philosopher it is dead.

reasons; in

how-

ever imperfect a way, the negro worships.

As

Christian theology also is not to constudy of true theology, but must also deal with false theology in paganism; and this it must do not merely for the sake of making obvious the monstrosity evil,

fine itself to the

of

pagan representations,

proper interpretation of

—

its

this,

task,

show that this paganism also and discover the law which There

obeyed.

inherent in

it,

is

indeed,

— but

would not be a

rather that

it

may

born of natural theology,

this false development has no single datum in idolatry, which is but has sprung from natural theology. Of is

course this does not underestimate the inworkinor of tradition from paradise, nor the influence exerted by Israel.

When the antithesis between true and false theology is sharply seen, the true must have preceded the false, and idolatry can be nothing else than deterioration; which implies

of

elements

itself

that,

as

with pure

all

deterioration^

some

development still cooperate. And with reference to the inworking of special revelation, it should not be lost from sight, that from the days of Abraham, the people of revelation have ever been in touch with the surrounding nations, and that extensive of

the

originally

journeys, for the sake of finding out what other nations taught concerning Divine things, suited entirely the spirit of the ancients. With this purpose in view the passes of the Himalaya were crossed from China to the Ganges. Add to this the great significance and calling of the empire of

Solomon, and the fact that the prophets appeared long before the

sense,

Greek philosophers, and

when

a priori all

it betra^^s

effect of

"

,

Ethics not only deals with the positive development of good, but reckons as well with the negative Christian

development of

-nJ**

Israel

little historical

upon paganism

'^"1

^vC^

I

^^^^

si-'^

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