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The Architecture of Theology1

I. Etienne Gilson2 (A scholar of medieval philosophy).

1. The great systems of scholastic theology ~ Cathedrals of the mind.
A. “Cathedral of the mind”: Christianity is like a cathedral.3
a. Theology: Possessing a structure.
i. A complex discipline.
ii. Bringing together a number of related fields in an uneasy alliance.
b. Powerful image:
i. Permanence.
ii. Solidity.
iii. Organization.
iv. Coherent.4 The security of the structure being ensured by this circle of
relationality.5
v. Harmony and beauty.6
c. Reflect: Encounter point between metaphysics and reasons.
i. Groundwork: It rests upon,
01. The bedrock of human reason.
02. Rational foundation.
ii. But whose superstructure:
01. Rises beyond the realms accessible to pure reason.
02. It rests: Far beyond what reason could uncover.
iii. Culmination: Contemplation therefore represents not the antithesis to
intellectual inquiry, but its culmination: its sabbath from restless

1
Bandingkan istilah ini dengan: A. N. Williams, The Architecture of Theology: Structure, System, and
Ratio (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011); Paul Wiebe, The Architecture of Religion (San Antonio, Texas:
Trinity University Press, 1984); Robert Audi, The Architecture of Reason: The Structure and Substance of
Rationality (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001).
2
Alister E. McGrath, Christian Theology: An Introduction, 3th ed (Oxford, U.K: Blackwell Publishing,
2001), 142.
3
McGrath, Christian Theology, 178-183.
4
A. N. Williams, 15.
5
A. N. Williams, 15.
6
A. N. Williams, 20.
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questioning, when there is nothing left but to repose in the enjoyment of

truth ant its triune source.7
d. Nature: Biblical
i. All scholastic theology claims to be theology, precisely because it is
founded on the word of God, and on nothing else.8
ii. Scripture is normatively authoritative in a way reason alone cannot be,
but scripture cannot stand alone, given its need for interpretation,
whether in exegesis of individual passages or in the attempt to convey
the message of the Bible as a whole.9
iii. The fact that theological epistemology centers on knowledge of God, a
knowledge drawn exclusively or at least overwhelmingly from an
authoritative text, ….10
2. The nature of theological discourse.
B. Theology: Differs from those of both the foundationalist and the coherentist lies in
its dependence on divine authority.11
C. The inner structure of Christian theology, to the extent that it is faithful to its
source, mirrors (albeit imperfectly) that source. This mirroring and responding
presumes divine initiative: the image can only reflect a prototype prior to it and
the response, a previous call.12
D. Mode: “A following of divine logic, expressed in human form.”13
E. The Christian account knowledge of God does not consist solely in a grasp of
attributes of God … but also in that direct acquaintance which is understood on
the analogy of human personal relations. …. No Christian account of knowledge
of God could be accurate or complete without addressing its personal dimension,
just as no Christian account of knowledge in general could be accurate or
complete unless knowledge of God lies at its heart.14

II. Structure of Theology: Elements,

3. Biblical Theology.15
A. Prime concern:

7
A. N. Williams, 21-22.
8
Etienne Gilson, Christianity and Philosophy, trans by Ralph MacDonald (Michigan: Sheed & Ward,
1939), 32
9
Williams,
10
A. N. Williams, 27-28.
11
A. N. Williams, 15.
12
A. N. Williams, 18.
13
A. N. Williams, 15.
14
A. N. Williams, 27-28.
15
McGrath, Christian Theology, 142.
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a. Biblical criticism.
b. Interpretation.
A. Function: To analyze and synthesize the Bible’s teaching.
B. Examples:
a. Old Testament Theology.
b. New Testament Theology.
c. Pauline Theology.
d. Etc.
4. Systematic theology:16
A. Prime concern:
a. The systematic organization of theology.
b. The basis of presuppositions about method.
B. Function: To present a clear and ordered overview of the main themes of the
Christian faith.
B. A good systematic/dogmatic method:
a. A good dogmatic method, therefore, needs to take account of all three factors:
Scripture, church, and Christian consciousness.17
b. The task of the dogmatician is not to draw the material for his dogmatics
exclusively from the written confession of his own church but to view it in the
total context of the unique faith and life of his church, and then again in the
context of the history of the whole church of Christ.18
c. In a formal sense, there are no dogmas in Scripture, but the material for them
is all to be found in it.19
C. Examples:
a. Thomas Aquinas: Summa Theologiae
b. John Calvin: Institutes of the Christian Religion.
c. Karl Barth: Church Dogmatics.
d. F.D.E Schleiermacher: Christian Faith.
e. Etc.

16
McGrath, Christian Theology, 143-144.
17
Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics: Prolegomena, Vol. 1, trans. by John Vriend (Grand Rapids,
Michigan: Baker Academic, 2003), 84.
18
Bavinck, 86.
19
Bavinck, 89.
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5. Historical Theology:20
A. Prime concern:21
a. The themes and theories in various historical periods.
b. The historical situations within which ideas developed/formulated.
c. The connection between context and theology.
C. Functions:
d. A powerful corrective to static views of theology.
e. Makes us alert both:
i. The mistakes of the past.
ii. The alarming way in which they are repeated in the present.
6. Philosophical theology:22
A. Prime concern:
a. Theology as an intellectual discipline.
b. Christian discussions of the nature of God relate to those within the western
philosophical tradition.
c. “Finding the common ground” between Christian faith and other areas of
intellectual activity
B. Function:
a. To answer many of the questions that have intrigued humanity form the dawn
of history.
b. To develop a philosophical system of theology.
7. Pastoral Theology:23
A. Prime concern: Pastoral care and the nurture of souls.
D. Function: Transformative action, rather than purely theoretical reflection.
8. Mystical theology/Spirituality:24
A. Prime concern:
a. Interior knowledge of the divine.
b. Devotional practices.

20
McGrath, Christian Theology, 144-145.
21
Alister E. McGrath, Historical Theology (Oxford, U.K.: Blackwell Publishing, 1998), 10; David K.
Clark, 72.
22
McGrath, Christian Theology, 145-146.
23
McGrath, Christian Theology, 145.
24
McGrath, Christian Theology, 146-147.
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c. Experiences of believers.
d. Transformation of lives.
E. Function: To experiencing God and the transformation of lives as outcomes of
that experience.
II. Unity in the Theological Discipline:25
1. The possibility of the unity of the disciplines.26
A. A unity of truth.
B. An organic unity.
2. The unity of Christian teaching:27Analogies,28
A. Encyclopedia.
B. Universities.
C. A picture album of a family over multiple generations – considerable diversity
within a common gene pool.
D. Organism.
3. Fusing horizons:29
A. Various horizons open up to each other.30
F. Multiple frame of reference: Viewing truth from multiple angles by using various
sets of assumption.31
G. Microperspective -> Macroperspective.

25
David K. Clark, To Know and Love God: Method for Theology, (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books,
2003), 163 – 193.
26
Clark, 178.
27
Clark, 182.
28
Bandingkan dengan Clark,178; C.L. Blomberg, “The Unity and Diversity of Scripture,” in New
Dictionary of Biblical Theology, ed. by. T.D. Alexander, Brian S. Rosner (Downers Grove, Illinois: Inter-
Varsity Press, 2000), 66; J. I. Packer, “Upholding the Unity of Scripture Today,” JETS 25/4 (December 1982),
412.
29
Clark, 183,184.
30
Clark, 187. Ini merupakan suatu bentuk “interdisciplinary communication.” Dengan kata lain “a
dialogue among the disciplines.”
31
Clark, 186.
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Bibliography

Audi, Robert. The Architecture of Reason: The Structure and Substance of Rationality.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.
Bavinck, Herman. Reformed Dogmatics: Prolegomena, Vol. 1, trans. by John Vriend. Grand
Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2003.
Blomberg, C.L. “The Unity and Diversity of Scripture,” in New Dictionary of Biblical
Theology, ed. by. T.D. Alexander, Brian S. Rosner. Downers Grove, Illinois: Inter-
Varsity Press, 2000.
Clark, David K. To Know and Love God: Method for Theology. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway
Books, 2003.
Gilson, Etienne. Christianity and Philosophy, trans by Ralph MacDonald. Michigan: Sheed
& Ward, 1939.
McGrath, Alister E. Christian Theology: An Introduction, 3th ed. Oxford, U.K: Blackwell
Publishing, 2001.
McGrath, Alister E. Historical Theology. Oxford, U.K.: Blackwell Publishing, 1998.
Packer, J. I. “Upholding the Unity of Scripture Today,” JETS 25/4 (December 1982), 412.
Wiebe, Paul. The Architecture of Religion. San Antonio, Texas: Trinity University Press,
1984.
Williams, A. N. The Architecture of Theology: Structure, System, and Ratio. Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2011.