III.

Sources of Theology

The oldest theology of all—that of the Greek philosophers, who invented the word theology—was based on rational reflection on God, the world, and human life. These philosophers explicitly contrasted the rational theological approach to the problem of God with the mythological stories of the gods told by the Greek poets. The rational approach has continued to have many adherents, such as Aquinas, but the appeal to revelation as the source of theological truth has also been strong in the Christian, Jewish, Islamic, and several Eastern traditions. These religions are traced back to founders who offered some new and striking insights into the questions of God and human destiny. Subsequent generations of theologians reflected on the content of these illuminations, drew their implications, applied their insights in new situations, and tested and criticized the interpretations that had been previously offered. The distinctive insights of the founders, whether or not the word revelation is used, have been stamped on the theologies of the different religions, and it is a testimony to the depth and richness of these insights that so much has been drawn from them and that they still seem inexhaustible.

A.

The Role of Scripture

Most developed religions of the world possess scriptures, or sacred writings. These are usually taken to be the work of the founders themselves or of their earliest disciples. The Torah, long attributed to Moses; the New Testament, much of it attributed to disciples of Jesus; the Qur'an (Koran), attributed to Muhammad; and the voluminous scriptures of Hinduism and Buddhism are all examples of the transmission of original revelations through written documents. Within the various traditions, the status of scripture varies. Among Christians, Jews, and Muslims, scripture is accorded an authority—sometimes as the very word of God—that it does not have in Hinduism or Buddhism. Even in Christianity, however, differences exist between Fundamentalists, for whom the Bible is divinely inspired, and liberals, for whom it is the fallible human attestation of revelation, but not revelation itself (see Fundamentalism; Modernism). Nonetheless, wherever scriptures exist, they provide an important source for theology, even when modern critical methods are applied.

B.

Tradition and Experience

Tradition is another means by which the original revelation is conveyed and mediated. Tradition precedes scripture, in the sense that stories and teachings of the founders were passed on by word of mouth before they were written down and assumed a fixed form. But tradition also follows scripture, for where scripture is unclear or inconsistent, the believing community has to interpret it, and a whole body of interpretation may evolve alongside the original scripture and may even be written down. This has happened in both Judaism and Islam, although the body of tradition in these religions is not accorded the same status as scripture.

In Christianity, Roman Catholicism has assigned a high value to tradition as the living voice of the church (see Roman Catholic Church). Protestants have stressed the principle of relying on the authority of the Bible alone, but because the Bible is read and taught in the context of the church—especially in the liturgy—it is virtually impossible to hear it without overtones of traditional interpretation (see Protestantism). Finally, experience has become an important influence on theology, especially in modern times. Respect for the authority of scripture, tradition, and even revelation has diminished, and consequently the theologian tends to draw more and more on present experience, either personal or that of the community. The theologian searches for the meaning of God not only in religious experiences such as mysticism and conversion, but also in the general cultural, social, and political experience of the time.