Encyclopedia of sacred theology - pagina 343

Chap.

THE CONCEPTION OF THEOLOGY

I]

319

All the other sciences have the data of nature and of history and Theology, in like manner, has the data There were two spheres, two of this supernatural history. worlds, which have become object of a proper science each. That the distinction between God as creator and all the rest as His creature draws the deep boundary-line between theology and all other science, could not be established in this way. The authentication of his "facts" brought him logically back again under the power of naturalistic science. And though as a man of faith he bravely resisted this, his demonstration lacked logical necessity. Our result is that, though still called by the name of theology, the entire subsequent development of theological study has actually substituted an utterly different object, for their object,

has cut the historic tie that binds

and has accomplished

it

to original theology,

than the union of the subdivisions of psychology and of historic ethnology into a new little else

department of science, which does not lead to the knowledge of God, but aims at the knowledge of religion as a phenomenon in the life of humanity. Along this way also the return was made to natural theology, and whatever was still valid as " Christian revelation " was cited to lesfitimatize itself before the tribunal of natural theology. The harmony between the results of these modern investigations, and those derived in former ages from natural theology in India and elsewhere, could therefore arouse no surprise in the least. This only should be added, that the exchange of theologia naturalis for religio naturalis accounts for the loss

with us of what the Vedanta still maintains, viz. the divine reality, which corresponds to the impressions and perceptions of the religiously disposed mind. Deformations of Theology

§ 64. If the

effort to

obtain Divine knowledge from natural

theology, ivithout the help of special revelation, was bound, after the fall, to effect the entire deterioration of the

edge of God

;

and

if,

on the other hand, the

tute religion as object of investigation for the

knowl-

effort to substi-

"knowledge

of

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