Encyclopedia of sacred theology - pagina 341

J

Chap.

THE CONCEPTION OF THEOLOGY

I

and much

317

less as tlie highest conceivable, for in ethics Christ

thought to be far excelled, and it is maintained that further development is not at all impossible. But in general the

is

Christian religion still counts as one of the higher developments; especially as that development, which is of greatest interest to us historically, and which, so far as the lower classes of people are concerned, is even yet the only one that And thus it comes to pass, that claims our general notice. and is still regulated called theological, still is this faculty

with a view to the training of Ministers of the Word for the Christian Church, and, though the other religions are reviewed, the Christian religion is still the main study purThis is done, in antagonism with principle, for the sued. sake of secondary considerations; and it is for this reason that the ancient name of Theology is still borne, though now as a misnomer, and that the only fitting name for what is

really meant, that of "science of Religion" (Religionwis-

senschaft), remains still banished from the official curricu-

lum. In order to restore harmony to a certain extent between name and matter, it has been tried in more or less conserva-

Theology as " the science of the Christian religion"; which, however much better it may sound than Schleiermacher's prudish and unnatural definition, is tive circles, to define

nevertheless equally unable to stand the test of criticism. Is there likewise a science of

philosophy?

Of Greek art?

English

historj- ?

Of course

not.

Of French The science

of history devotes a chapter to England's national past

;

the

history of philosophy devotes a separate investigation to that

which has been pondered and reflected upon by French thinkers; and the history of aesthetics engages itself especially with Greek art; but no one will undertake to represent these

parts

of

a

broader object as a proper object for an

Hence, in the religious domain also, independent science. there is no separate science of Parseeism, of Buddhism, of He who takes one Israelitism, of Christianity, or of Islam. of these

phenomena

not take

it

as

outside of

such as object of investigation, may relation to correlated phenomena,

its

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