What Does it mean to quest? o To Quest is to Question-to seek, search, find. Deals with perennial questions What is Theology?

? o Study of God-pursuit of the truth. o The effort to understand and interpet the faith experience of a

community and to bring it to expression in language and symbol o An activity of interepretation, construction, and transformation o All persons of mature faith engage in theological reflection at some time
Why study theology? Why does theology matter? o We are all theologians because we all ask questions. Therefore of course the study of theology, essentially examining the questions of life, is important. How do you do Theology? o One does theology by considering perennial questions and their affect in their daily lives and decisions o Putting our faith commitment into action o Reflection, interpretation, construction, transformation 4 types of theology o Fundamental- critically reflects on the foundations of theology o Historical- How Christian condition was formed o Systematic- Understanding meaning of modern Christian faith + teachings o Practical- Concerned w/ transformations of the person and the world. Criteria for theological statements o Sound Basis in Sacred Writing o Support in the tradition o Coherent and Credible o Relevant with regard to Contemporary Experience What is our current situation? What crisis do we find ourselves in today, both individually and collectively? o We are currently in an existential crisis (meaningless, vacuum, frustration, aimlessness)

Anthropologies Pre-modern (truth is knowable-based on authoritative sources i.e. Bible Plato o Allegory of the cave- demonstrates that this world is only a shadow of the world of ideal forms (dualism) o Human being is composed of body and soul Body-Capable of independent existence but not after death.

A prison for the soul o Death= the separation of body and soul (Death is good) o Soul consists of 3 aspects Reason Appetite Spirit Aristotle o We acquire knowledge thru sense, data, experience o All things have an end or purpose- Telos o Hylomorphism matter + form inseparable (opposite of dualism). o Telos= Happiness o How does a person actively use human reason well? Practice the moral virtues Be intelligent, reasonable, + responsible in your deliberations. Augustine (more plato than Aristotle) o Sensory world can lead to ignorance and sin need Gods grace. Need to turn our will over to God by faith, trusting him to give us grace to overcome. o Epistemology (study of knowledge and how we attain it) of Augustine 1- humans begin with material world but must turn will over to God to see truth 2- God gives grace to trusting will 3- Conversion Grace/faith with reason= illumination Divine illumination- the work of grace- gives the knower the ability to see eternal truths. o Human existence Created good by God in Gods image Telos is to be divine Body and soul are inseparable (hylomorphism) Our identidy arises from society and individual choices. o Soul Created good by God 3 functions- Memory, Reason, Will Consistently searching for meaning Will eventually be rejoined with God o Body Created good by God Limited and finite Filled with animal desires Body will be restored to its original goodness at the end of times. o Being human is a journey back home o Human existence is damaged by our original disobedience (in the form of original sin) and our libido dominandi (lust for power)

Aquinas (More Aristotle than Plato) o Epistomology Things are knowable because of our human reason and orderly universe No innate ideas- we learn what we do from our sense experience and our observation of the world. Two types of knowing Reason o Human intellect has the potential to know things as they really are (not just the shadows) o Things are known insofar as long as they exist in our world (we can only know God exists with revelation. Revelation o Gods self communication through scripture and the tradition and Jesus Christ o What it means to be Human We are created good in Gods image. Have capacity for insight, choice, responsibility We are free Natural Telos= moral excellence (Aristotle) Supernatural Telos= be with God (Augustine) Final Telos= the bodily resurrection in the kingdom of God. o Soul is the form of the body Contains our reason, will, appetite o Death When our body perishes so does our identity until the ressurection. o Communal nature We are social and political and good as a result of being made in the image of God o Sin Sin originates in the will not in the body/senses Will is misled by self love Our natural inclination to will good is diminished but not unsalvageable Modern (Truth is knowable through scientific method, or reason) Freud o Nature of Universe God is a projection of desires and needs Psyche is pathway to understanding human existence o Anthropology Human freedom is minimal since we are programmed by parents, society, religion, etc Unconscious mind guides who we are.

Influences behavior Consists of Id Ego and Superego o Id= instincts ego=rational master of personality (grounded in reality) Superego=internal morality (strives for moral perfection) o Remedy= Psychoanalysis Darwin o Survival of the Fittest o Humans are not unique o Humanitys challenge= adjust, adapt, and change Failure to do so ends in extinction Marx o The Universe Materialistic and with no god or general intelligence o Humanity Materialistic, determined, and social People defined by the resources that are at their disposal The flaw with humans is that their alienated-not at home in this world o Remedy Revolution- abolition of private property Pre-Modern (Truth is unknowable, evolving, and socially constructed, based on appreciation for multiple perspectives) Nietsche o God is dead and we have killed him The God of the past has no place in our modern society o Anthropology Living beings strive to overcome the limitations their faced with Human behavior is motivated by the will to power How do we deal with this crisis of meaning? Fundamentalism- a pre-critical stance of certitude in light of fixed and secure beliefs (continue to blindly believe in a God that does not fit in our modern context) Nihilism- a Rejection of any truth claims or absolute meaning Re-appropriation- Rethink God in a way to fit our modern context/ Different theologies Atheism-Dont believe in a God or gods Pantheism-everything is a part of an all encompassing, immanent God. God synonymous with universe Deism- God exists, created the universe, but has zero but doesnt intervene (hands off). Panentheism- God is active in all things Complimentary Theism

Looking at the question of God with both the right side (creative, empathetic, etc) and left side (analytical, calculating) of the brain. Can we Prove Gods existence Scientifically no, but we cannot disprove God either, therefore making belief a matter of faith, not fact Theodicy (justifying a benevolent God in a world filled with suffering) Traditional Theodicies o Merit- our suffering comes as a punishment for our sins How are we supposed to know what were being punished for? o Dualism- God vs Satin o Incomprehensibility of God (Job) o Grand design o Soul-Making- suffering necessary to get to heaven o Free-will Kushner Theodicy o Our having free will leaves us free to hurt others God cant stop us without taking away our freedom Can only look down in compassion (suffers with us) o God is the source of human sympathy and feeling of outrage o Kushner theodicy very deistic (describes a God with little power) Process Theology o God is omnipoten Not coercive but w/ power of persuasion o Universe is governed by free will Not everything that occurs is Gods will o Gods love is mutatable and yet immutable Mutable-affected by the changes that occur Immutable- Goodness of God is constant Wendy Farley o Power of human compassion is the power of God. God is found in human compassion o Power of compassion is the power to resist suffering o Compassion has the power to redeem ppl from suffering. o In the face of sin, compassion becomes determinate as mercy Sin is a form of brokenness of the spirit Sin is communal and individual Sin and suffering must be overcome together OMalley o Author of God: The Oldest Question o Argues that approach to theology should first include serious consideration of atheism o Does so in order to further appreciate principles theism is built upon RAHNER o Human flaw

Sin consists of radical selfishness and isolatin that can lead us to an inauthentic existence o Remedy Accept Gods love and we can reach salvation Salvation is our self understanding and self realization before God. Two components in order to receive grace o Transcendental-understanding and actualizing ourselves. o Historical- Making choices and being responsible for them The wither (our destination which can never be reached because of our human desire for more- thus it is the Holy Mystery) Wither draws near through incarnation and Grace o Incarnation- self communication of God to the world in the person of Jesus in order to enter a deep personal union with the world o Grace Source of life, which brings us to radical love. Gods initiative to surround human lives with redemptive love