Encyclopedia of sacred theology - pagina 70

46

THE FIRST DIFFICULTY

§ 28.

[Div.

I

Encyclopedia would not be able to escape from his own perHis critisonality nor from the view-point held by himself. he who agreed with cism, therefore, would amount to this :

him would be right, he who disagreed wrong, and the result would be that he would award the honorary title of general Theology to that particular Theology to which he had committed himself. A general Theology would then be exhibited,

and, back of this beautiful exterior, the subjective

view-point, which was said to be avoided, would govern the entire exposition. § 28. If

both

difficulties

The First that

squarely looked in the face,

Difficulty

here it

present

must

themselves

are

once be granted

at

that before Theological Encyclopedia can devote itself to its

real task, it

must vindicate the

scientific

character of

Theology. This is not the creation of an object of its own, but the simple demonstration of the fact that Theology is a proper object of Encyclopedic investigation. If all Encyclopedia is the investigation of the whole or of a part of the organism of science, no Encyclopedia of Theology can be suggested as long as it is still uncertain whether Theology forms a part of this organism. Since, now, the doubt concerning the scientific character of Theology does not spring from the still imperfect development of this science, but finds its origin in the peculiar character

it

bears in distinc-

from all other sciences, it is the duty of the writer of an Encyclopedia of this science to show upon what grounds This The disputes this doubt as to its right of existence First, by such demonstration must be given in two ways. definitions of the conception " science," and of the conception tion

" Theology," that

parts of

it

will be evident that the second

is

sub-

And, secondly, by showing that the Theology are mutually related organically, and that,

ordinate to the

first.

taken as a whole, it stands in organic relation to the rest of This treatise also will venture the the organism of science. this double proof. effort to furnish

The

first

only of these two proofs

is

demanded by

the

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