Encyclopedia of sacred theology - pagina 320

296

CONCEPTION OF

§ 61.

God"

[Di\

.

Ill

rich, is

utmost in the prism however excellent and not yet what we understand by Theology as science.

Of

we can speak only when our

"knowledge of our

human

this

of

thought.

form mere menial

to glisten to its

But

all this,

intellect does not per-

service for other purposes,

but when in

our consciousness itself awakens the sense of its higher calling, viz. to transmute the mechanic relation between itself

and its object into an organic one. Of course, this does not imply that science should exist merely for the sake of knowledge, and that in entire self-sufficiency it should lose itself in abstractions.

the Logos,

is

On

the contrary, science also, as a sphere of

called as a creature of

God

to serve its Creator,

high and practical purpose in our behalf is, that it should emancipate us, afford us an independent position in the face of threatening powers, and that thus it should advance our human existence to higher estates. This, however, can only be more fully explained when we come to consider concretely the place of Theology in the whole organism of science. For the forming of the conception of Theology, it is sufficient if it is seen that the science of Theology can flourish as a plant by itself only when our human consciousness takes the reins in its own hands and becomes aware of its sacred calling to melt the ore of this " revealed knowledge of God " into shining gold, in order, apart from every incidental

and

its

aim, as soon as this task

is

done, to j^lace the fruit of

labor at the disposal of the higher pecially

must be

aim

to

which

its

its

labor es-

directed.

But because this science engages itself with theologia, the knowledge of God, as its object, it could not claim the name of Theology^ if it were not included in the plan of Revelation and in the nature of this knowledge of God that the Logos in this higfher sense should be one of the means to enrich our subjective insight into this ectypal knowledge of i.e.

God.

For which reason we mentioned the

cussion of Revelation, that activity to introduce this

it is

fact, in

our dis-

also the calling of the logical

knowledge

of

God

into the general

no doubt this gen-

subject of re-created humanity.

Christ

eral subject in its central sense,

on which account, as shown

is

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