What is theology?

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: THE QUEST(IONS) OF HUMAN EXISTENCE If one mentions the word “theology” to the average person on the street, one may well be met by a puzzled expression followed by a series of questions: What exactly is theology and what does it have to do with real life? Isn't it something studied only by professionals who have an obscure interest in ancient texts? Don't theologians make unnecessary complexity out of what could and should be simple? Is theology really relevant in our contemporary world? These perplexed responses are understandable. But theology need not be arcane, enigmatic, or irrelevant. While there is no denying that scholars who undertake its study tend to reject simplistic answers, often use technical terminology, and engage more than two millennia of historical development, the practice of theology is actually not confined to a small class of scholars. Indeed, we would suggest that anyone who seriously inquires about the basic questions of life is a theologian of sorts. That is to say, human beings are theologically inclined insofar as they wonder about things such as: Where did the world come from? What is the purpose of human existence? Is there any final justice in life? What is the something “other” or “more” that seems to manifest itself in human existence, whether in peak or in depth experiences? What does the “something” – or “someone” – want with us? In short, what is the meaning of life? These are the kinds of questions that theologians think about.