Encyclopedia of sacred theology - pagina 604

680

§ 89.

to the

by

method

"RELATION TO SPIRITUAL REALITY of theoh)gy

by

this one-sided mysticism.

[Div. Ill

this intellectualism as well as

That method must adapt

to the fact of the actual cooperation of both factors. is

possible only,

when

itself

This

this spiritual reality is postulated in

the theologian, and demands the consequent union of his

and the spiritual reality which exists concretely outside and which allows him to borrow from the Scripture only the conscious form for this reality. The first was called of old not incorrectly Theology of our inclinations (theologia we should habitualis), or Theology of use (theologia utens) rather call it the mystical knowledge of God in antithesis with intellectual but by whatever name it goes, from the nature of the case it assumes regeneration, the photismos and the communion of saints, since by these alone one is brought into this spiritual reality and becomes sufficiently spiritual to

spirit

of him,

;

;

grasp in his innermost soul the reality of those things reHe who is deaf must first vealed to us in the Scripture. be healed from his deafness in order to be placed in true touch with the world of sounds. When this contact has

been restored, the study of music can again be begun by him. This is the case with reference to the study of theology. Taken as the knowledge of God it is only conceivable, w^hen the spiritual ear is opened in him who prosecutes the study, and to whom the reality of the unseen discovers itself. Palingenesis, therefore, is a requirement which may not be abandoned. Without palingenesis one stands antipathetically opposed to the object of theology. Hence there is no love to quicken communion. But we may not limit ourselves to this. Regeneration by itself is no enlightening. By regeneration the wheel of life in the centrum of our being (the wheel of

merely replaced upon its pivot but this by itself has not changed the Avorld of our conscious life. This occurs only when the Holy Spirit, having taken up His abode in us, transfers His working from this centrum to our facilitates, to the faculty of the understanding by enlightening and to the faculty of the will by sanctification. If, in a more solemn sense than the ordinary believer, the theologian is called to enter into the revealed knowledge of God nature or of birth, James ;

iii.

6)

is

Deze tekst is geautomatiseerd gemaakt en kan nog fouten bevatten. Digibron werkt voortdurend aan correctie. Klik voor het origineel door naar de pdf. Voor opmerkingen, vragen, informatie: contact.

Op Digibron -en alle daarin opgenomen content- is het databankrecht van toepassing. Gebruiksvoorwaarden. Data protection law applies to Digibron and the content of this database. Terms of use.

Printen