Encyclopedia of sacred theology - pagina 634

610

§95.

THE BOUNDARY OF THEOLOGY

[Div. Ill

Word of God itself to furnish them this image, and now they knew that they had solid ground under their Sinful man was devoid of an adequate self-knowledge, feet. and by the light of the Word of God alone does he recognize Not as if henceforth he was to take no his true appearance. allowed the

further account of his essential existence, but because in this

way

only did he come to

know what

Natural Theology, therefore, a second something, but

and by the

is

is

his essential existence

is.

not added to the Scripture as

taken up in the Scripture

itself,

light of the Scripture alone appears in connection

with the reality of our

life.

Hence natural theology cannot

be explained in dogmatics, except under the category of man Every in his original righteousness and man in his fall. other

mode

of treatment leads either to rationalism,

by

pla-

cing reason alongside of the Scripture as a second principium, or to mysticism, by assigning the same place to the life of the

emotions, in order presently, by logical sequence, to push the Scriptural principium to one side and to destroy

it.

But

if

this

ends the conflict for the theologian, both formally and with respect to principle, the fact is not taken away that the antithe-

bound to reappear between fallen man, who is to be reand restored man, who is to be looked upon as the fruit This would not be so if this re-creation of this re-creation. were completed in one moment. But it is unavoidable, since it requires sometimes a very long process by which to bring out potential re-creation to actual completion. Hence in the

sis is

created,

doctrines of the Covenant, of Baptism, of the Church, of Sanctification

again, and

and overcome the

in Ethics this conflict reappears again

and

to this

day theology struggles

to

her formulation of the things to be believed (credenda), and practically in her teaching of the things to be done (agenda). conflict, theoretically in

This conflict, therefore, exists not merely between theology and natural science, etc., but extends across the entire domain of human knowledge and presents itself to the Christian thinker in every department.

The reason

sin denaturalized the entire cosmic life in

re-creation

comes

is

plain.

Since

and about man,

in to restore the entire cosmos, as far as

it

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