Christian Theology Today

Christian Theology Today
Catholic Theology Today

How Theology
develops as the
time develops?
When was it used?

Christian Theology
of the Beginning
Christian Theology in a
Homogeneous Culture
Christian Theology in
the Age of Pluralism
Contemporary
Theology
Christian Theology of the Beginning
The word "beginning" here has two senses:
chronological and normative. Understood
in the chronological sense, it is the initial
stage of Christian theology. Understood in
the normative sense, it is the standard or
the principle for the subsequent theologies.
New Testament Theology Early Patristic

Period Theology Period
New Testament Theology Period
• 50-100 A.D.
• Principal actors: Apostles,
Evangelists, and other New
Testament writers.
• Purpose: to teach the new
converts about the faith,
hence, largely catechetical
Early Patristic Theology Period
• 100-300 A.D.
• Main actors: Fathers of the
Church, especially the
Apologists.
• Purpose: to defend the faith
against the largely
philosophical, intellectual
Hellenistic world, hence
apologetically
The Patristic Period
• The Patristic Period is a vital point in the history of Christianity since it
contextualizes the early Christian information from the time of the death of the
last Apostle (John) (which runs roughly about 100 A.D. to the Middle Ages (451
A.D. and the council of Chalcedon). It describes the cohesion between Judaism
and Christianity and various theological points being sorted out.
• During the first two hundred years of this era the church was under persecution
from various Roman emperors. It was heightened and at its worse with Diocletian
(303 A.D.) who even persecuted his own wife and daughter for being Christians.
Christianity became legalized as a religion in the era of Constantine (321 A.D.)
which was the opposite side of the spectrum in relation to previous persecution.
Christian theology in a Homogeneous Culture
• In 313 A.D., with Constantine's conversion, Christianity found itself in
a new situation: Christianity became the official religion and
Christianity now was openly in dialogue with other cultures: the
Hellenistic and Roman cultures (now marked by the Christian
message), even the Germanic culture. Despite (negligible)
differences, one could still speak of one Christian culture, a unity to
last for more than 1,500 years.
Later Patristic Theology
• Period: 300-750 A.D.
• Actors: Bishop- Theologians
• Purpose: theology was
meant to teach doctrines,
hence theology was largely
magisterial and hierarchical
• There was a continued work of
systematization of theology but no longer
apologetic. Christian theology was in
dialogue with the culture, philosophy and
even politics of the time.
Medieval theology
• Period: 750-1600 A.D.
• Actors: monks, schoolmen,
• Religious Classification:
monastic, scholastic, and
the seminary type.
• Theology in the
seminaries was
obviously meant to
prepare future ministers
at the service of the
Church as preachers,
teachers and
confessors.
Christian Theology in the Age of Pluralism
• The age of pluralism ranges from 17th century to 19th century, the
time that is usually referred to as the Modern period. There was
pluralism everywhere: many cultures; many ways to know reality;
many Christian denominations; lots of controversies from every side.
There were varied actors in the field of theology.
Modernism
Rationalism
- is a tendency or a direction
- excluded the supernatural (rather than a set of definite
or mysterious components of doctrines) in basically two forms:
religious faith and submitted the effort to change the traditional
the objects of religious faith discipline of the Church, and the
and data of revelation to the claim of almost absolute freedom
tribunal of unaided human for Catholic scholars vis-avis the
Magisterium. .
reason.
Christian Theology in the Age of Pluralism
17 Century
th 18th Century 19th Century
The theology in the 18th This was a time of rich
- There was in the century was under the impact and intense theological
17th century the so- of the particular dominant activity. There was an
called Historical intellectual culture of the attempt to understand
Scholarship, i.e., the Enlightenment, a form of and defend the Christian
scholarly study of the rationalism accompanied by a faith in a new and
profound distrust on tradition intellectual setting.
Fathers of the Church and authority, as well as a
and history. disbelief in the supernatural As a whole, the goal was
and the rejection of divine to discover a generally
revelation. In effect, intelligible system in the
Christianity was valued, at the seemingly disparate and
most, as only embodying the accidental data of history
principles of the universal (particularly in the history
natural religion of reason. of Christianity).
Contemporary Theology
• Theology at this time is a continuation of the anthropological
approach in the Modern period.
- open to people of different - open to other sciences present in
walks of life. In the aftermath the world. Since 1965 Catholic
of Vatican II, Catholic theologians have more and more
drawn on a broader range of
theology ceased to be a philosophies such as
clerical monopoly. It has existentialism, common language
opened its doors to others, to philosophy and process thought.
religious and lay (men and Besides, today's theologians have
women), and often enough engaged in serious dialogue with
cultural anthropologists, biologists,
shifted from the isolated physicists, psychologists,
countryside to city settings. sociologists and colleagues in
other fields. Theology now has
become interdisciplinary.

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Christian Theology Today

Catholic Theology Today

When was it used?

New Testament Theology Early Patristic

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