From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Theology \The*ol"o*gy\, n.; pl. {Theologies}. [L. theologia, Gr.
?; ? God + ? discourse: cf. F. th['e]ologie. See {Theism},
and {Logic}.]
The science of God or of religion; the science which treats
of the existence, character, and attributes of God, his laws
and government, the doctrines we are to believe, and the
duties we are to practice; divinity; (as more commonly
understood) "the knowledge derivable from the Scriptures, the
systematic exhibition of revealed truth, the science of
Christian faith and life."
[1913 Webster]
Many speak of theology as a science of religion
[instead of "science of God"] because they disbelieve
that there is any knowledge of God to be attained.
--Prof. R.
Flint (Enc.
Brit.).
[1913 Webster]
Theology is ordered knowledge; representing in the
region of the intellect what religion represents in the
heart and life of man. --Gladstone.
[1913 Webster]
{Ascetic theology}, {Natural theology}. See {Ascetic},
{Natural}.
{Moral theology}, that phase of theology which is concerned
with moral character and conduct.
{Revealed theology}, theology which is to be learned only
from revelation.
{Scholastic theology}, theology as taught by the scholastics,
or as prosecuted after their principles and methods.
{Speculative theology}, theology as founded upon, or
influenced by, speculation or metaphysical philosophy.
{Systematic theology}, that branch of theology of which the
aim is to reduce all revealed truth to a series of
statements that together shall constitute an organized
whole. --E. G. Robinson (Johnson's Cyc.).
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
theology
n 1: the rational and systematic study of religion and its
influences and of the nature of religious truth [syn:
{theology}, {divinity}]
2: a particular system or school of religious beliefs and
teachings; "Jewish theology"; "Roman Catholic theology" [syn:
{theology}, {theological system}]
3: the learned profession acquired by specialized courses in
religion (usually taught at a college or seminary); "he
studied theology at Oxford"
From The Jargon File (version 4.4.7, 29 Dec 2003) [jargon]:
theology
n.
1. Ironically or humorously used to refer to {religious issues}.
2. Technical fine points of an abstruse nature, esp. those where the
resolution is of theoretical interest but is relatively {marginal} with
respect to actual use of a design or system. Used esp. around software
issues with a heavy AI or language-design component, such as the smart-data
vs. smart-programs dispute in AI.
|
