INTRODUCTION TO THEOLOGY

1. THEOLOGY is the SCIENCE OF REVELATION AND FAITH UNDER THE LIGHT OF THE MAGISTERIUM
I LIVE FROM THE CHURCH

1.1.SCIENCE.

The theology of every believer exists, as every believer is a theologian, since if truly
is interested in Christian doctrine, wants to understand its content, from
its areas, own ideas and concepts, looking for in its own horizon the
understanding of faith.

SCIENTIFIC THEOLOGY: theology as SCIENCE.

1°) Theology as science according to Saint Thomas Aquinas

2°) Theology as science today

1°) Theology as science according to Saint Thomas Aquinas

Saint Thomas presents to us what is the HOLY DOCTRINE, which is confirmed in

the theological sum. It is this one that designates the SACRED DOCTRINE as a science
subaltern based on the experience of faith, in the truths revealed by God and are
known as the science of God and that of the blessed.

The science of God is the prototype of all science, from it the other sciences are derived.
humans, with theology having a privileged place among them, since this, on the contrary
has a closer relationship with the science of God than the other sciences. And the truth
from the revelation stands on Jesus Christ True God and True Man who is given to us
reveals in history.

2°) Theology as science today

In this theology, it starts from faith as a response to revelation, through the

human tools, which provide analysis and judgments to make more accessible
for man the content of faith; one of the sciences mentioned is the science
of the spirit or more commonly known by some as 'hermeneutic science', which deals with
to make the spiritual interiority more comprehensible for the thinking man, among the
topics addressed by this science are: the revelation or manifestation of God, the meaning
from what God manifests and the questioning of man and his response-FAITH.

1.2.REVELATION:
 God is the one who, in order to communicate with us, gives us the most intimate part of Himself, He us
He delivers His holy spirit, so that we can draw closer to Him as our
father; This delivery is not something that simply happened at that moment, it is something that
it was planned or intended from the moment of the creation of everything.

1.3.FE:

Faith is not simply believing in what we do not see because God has revealed it, it is a
free, total, personal surrender to God the Father through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit is something
What is experienced, is lived, and grows over the years.

In the life of the first Christian community, they left us as evidence of faith and
of God's intervention the various writings of the New Testament, which were
written by different people trying to understand the revelation of God by
through Jesus Christ, they began to shape theology, that is an interpretation about
the salvation they were experiencing.

1.4. TEACHING OF THE CHURCH:

In families and in communities is where faith is received, which is personal and free.
what makes us responsible for enhancing it in our community, the community of
It is precisely in this community where the call to the magisterium of the church is.
composed of the Pope-successor of Peter and the episcopal college-successor of the college
apostolic.

Theology has freedom, although it must be prudent when giving its

appreciations and in their way of speaking, as it would scandalize those who reflect little,
therefore the teaching of the church and theology with two entities that work together and
they are at the service of salvific truth.

The theologian must be in a constant attitude of listening to the teaching of the church.
but you must also be in a listening attitude "to the voices that reach you from everywhere
the people of God

2. OBJECTIVE OF THEOLOGY:

The object of theology is:

God the Father who saves us through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit.
God the Father revealed by Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit and lived in the Church.
Theology seeks to consider God as He has been manifested by Christ.
in the Holy Spirit.

3. THEOLOGY AND FAITH:

 Theology can only have full meaning and content within and under the light of faith. Faith is
As a moment of faith, it is, specifically, 'the reason for the hope' that we must give to
Anyone who asks for it and ourselves; a theology without faith would simply be a science.
of the religion.

4. FUNCTIONS OF THEOLOGY.

These are the functions of theology:

To find a language with which I can reach the people of God and that is updated.
constantly.
It is necessary to rediscover the ecumenical dimension so that the truths can be.
understood by our separated brothers.
We must be in constant update in case new practices arise that
they should be studied.
Pay attention to the problems of the community, to see in the light of the gospel the
implications and social consequences of faith.
Today, it is required to give the seminarian a coherent or global view of the mystery.
Cristiano.

5. THEOLOGICAL FORMATION IN THE SEMINARY, according to the PDV.

The theology must lead the candidate for the priesthood to possess a complete and unified vision of.
the truths revealed by God in Jesus Christ and the faith experience of the Church. All the
truths of the Church must be known in an organic and complete manner that allows for the
candidate a theological ecclesial character as accurately as possible.

6. HOW SHOULD THEOLOGY BE TAUGHT?

The theological disciplines must be taught in the light of faith, under the guidance of the magisterium of the
Church, in such a way that the students carefully extract from divine revelation the
Catholic doctrine, and that they turn it into nourishment for their own spiritual life.

7. THEOLOGY, PRACTICAL SCIENCE:

One cannot call theology a speculative science, as it is the experience of

experiences through faith, therefore it is a practical science, which leads us to
a personal encounter with God, awakening in the person a stimulus for their
contemplation.

8. THE TERMS 'DOGMATICS' AND 'MORAL'.

The separation of these two sciences from theology occurred starting in the 17th century.
Dogmatic theology focuses more than anything on speculations, and Moral theology with
 practical truths to guide man in his free actions are more specifically
like the theologies of what one must believe and what one must do, all in order to achieve a
total understanding of what God reveals to us.

EXEGESIS AND BIBLICAL THEOLOGY.

Biblical exegesis: it seeks to understand what the author wants to convey, which is why it is
It is important to have these two steps:

Textual criticism and the history of the text: this criticism is difficult to carry out since the
original texts that were inspired by God have been lost over the course of
time, so today we are presented with copies of the texts, which have
variants, that's why the texts that come closest to the original are sought in order to
to have a good textual criticism and to be able to establish the history of the text.
Literary criticism: with this, the aim is to capture the peculiarities of the text, the
literary intentions and clarify the vicissitudes of the composition of each one
the books

And biblical theology: the main thing is faith, as through it we seek to discover the
truths that God left in his writings through the hagiographers, since the Bible does not
can read, nor take literally, since it must be interpreted, and the goal is to have the
the closest interpretation of what God intended to express in it.

9. ABOUT THE TEACHING OF DOGMATIC THEOLOGY.

The Bible should be the primary source for the teaching of theology as the word of
God, since the word should not be taken only as a source that supports a thesis.
since it contains all the truths of our faith.

10. THEOLOGY AND HISTORY OF SALVATION.

NATURAL HISTORY: It is the history of the universe, which begins its creation.
from inorganic matter to the creation of man, what
for us believers it would be something similar to the first chapters of the
genesis.
HUMAN OR UNIVERSAL HISTORY: The evolution of society in itself,
highlighting social, economic, political, and scientific institutions,
moral and religious among others, and in the midst of this, the human being seeks his
salvation, which one cannot find by oneself.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: History of the community of salvation, instituted
through Jesus Christ to communicate salvation to all mankind.
 HISTORY OF SALVATION: It is the set of historical facts that...
relate both positively and negatively, which lead us to the
salvation, which is accepted freely and voluntarily as a gift from God.
GENERAL HISTORY OF SALVATION: The history of salvation can be
to name the plan Jesus Christ, which was devised by God from the beginning of
world, this plan of God the Father was given to all men so that
we find fullness in His Son Jesus Christ; and the personal response of
people are conditioned by the environment and the community in which
it is born, but always keeping in mind that the story of really exists
salvation.
PARTICULAR HISTORY OF SALVATION: This history of salvation is the
particular history of the people of Israel, which was chosen by God, but
this was a preparation for the perfect alliance that comes to us through our
Lord Jesus Christ.
Theology, as the foundation for the history of salvation, centers on
our Lord Jesus Christ since God reveals Himself to us through Him to
save us.

11. POSITIVE THEOLOGY AND EXPLANATORY THEOLOGY.

It is about two dimensions of theology: historical and systematic.

POSITIVE THEOLOGY:

What God revealed is scientifically investigated, it is a historical investigation, but it is not

a merely historical science because it is based on faith and on the magisterium of the
church; that's why we believe that everything we know about Her was transmitted to us through
the apostles, and was inspired by the Holy Spirit and was entrusted to the magisterium of the
church (the Pope and the bishops in communion with Him). In addition, positive theology aims for the
study of the holy scripture using exegesis and biblical theology as a method
in addition to the study of the testimonies of the fathers and writers of the church.

EXPLANATORY THEOLOGY:

It is about understanding a little of what God has revealed and making it known to others. It says the
Vatican I that reason in the light of faith, when carefully, piously, and soberly sought, reaches
For God's sake, some intelligence. Regarding communicating it, it is to express it in a
understandable language for others to make them aware of the light of divine revelation,
solution to your problems.

It is then about two movements of theology, namely: listen piously and attentively.
to the word of God.

SIX DIMENSIONS OF DOGMATIC THEOLOGY.

 These dimensions must be taken into account in order to grasp the scope of all faith.

THE ONTOLOGICAL: Through faith, and the ineffable divine reality, of which and brings
the origin of all other living beings, we also know that through the
incarnation and through the paschal mystery of Jesus Christ, by which we
We realized the nature of the Father who is one and triune, therefore there are three.
people and one true God is a family and a community of love.
THE EXISTENTIAL: It deals with the salvific dimension and the truths of faith, for
example: Jesus Christ is true God and true man, since only He can
be and is our savior.
SOCIETY: God wants to save us all, that's why we are His people, this denotes a
state of unity since it is not an isolated salvation, but a salvation through the
the love of God, which is expressed in love for our brethren and gives us a communion
fraternal.
THE ECUMENICAL: In the profession of our Christian faith, we must keep in mind
more what unites us than what separates us from those who believe in a way
different.
ESCATOLOGICAL: It is a treatise on theology that aims to explain the
end of times, that is, the restoration of all things.
THE DOXOLOGY: it is the profession of faith in thanksgiving to the Father, to His Son.
Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.

12. "WITH SAINT THOMAS AS A TEACHER"

How should theology be taught? This is a question that arises for us, which in
The present, according to the environment in which it unfolds, touches on translating that message of faith.
Cristiana; Saint Thomas was able to translate especially to the Aristotelian mentality or philosophy.
the message of our Christian faith. Pius XII affirms that Saint Thomas achieves a harmony between
ancient and Christian philosophy with the truths of faith, which are:

Nature of our knowledge.

Exact concept of truth.
Metaphysical Principles
Infinite personal God, creator.
Nature of man.
Immortality of the soul.
Dignity of the person.

This is thanks to the thinking of Saint Thomas, who achieved a harmony between faith and reason.

13. THEOLOGY AND ANALOGY.

 Everything we know passes first through our senses, this means that we have
an experience or an interaction with what we know, but with God is so different
since we cannot see or touch God, but this does not mean that we cannot have
experience of God, since an example would be: we know kind people, but what about
Where does that kindness come from? It is God who created us and it is He who, through us, His ...
children express their kindness, as one cannot give what one does not have, therefore God is
who through the brothers gives us Goodness with this I affirm that God is good, what
I want to say that God is 'GOODNESS', or that goodness is God. This cannot be said.
from no human person, nor from any other created person.

ABOUT THE ANALOGY OF FAITH: Quoting the text from (Rom 12:3), it may be that the norm
To judge oneself, faith must be the object in which one concretely believes. 'Christ
Jesus. In theological reflection, one must always take into account the current faith of the Church.
In other words, the Catholic must understand the multiple elements or aspects of the
revelation from the 'unique objective and total faith of the Church'.

14. THEOLOGY AND HERMENEUTICS

We cannot imagine that the Bible in the Old Testament has the revelation to the
immediate view, as it contains a bunch of different interpretations of the
Experience of God's revelation and the New Testament we cannot say that we
Tell the biography of Jesus Christ, as there are various authors each of them with
different experiences of God's saving action. All authors of the text
Sacred, both from the Old and the New Testament want to communicate a set
of truths that are an experience of God's saving action.
It is said that the dogmas emerged at specific moments when the
faith community, I need to officially interpret the experience through the magisterium
salvation. Theology focused on defending these truths or dogmatic formulations.
and to transmit them. These dogmas, being truths of faith, were left outside the horizon of
understanding of most people, and since scholasticism has ceased to be so perennial
and universal and thanks to the birth of new philosophies; theology relied on the
hermeneutics to interpret the biblical message, so that people can
to experience the saving message of God through Jesus Christ.

15. THEOLOGY AND LANGUAGE.

There is a growing interest in structural speech among people, which leads to seeking
an objectivity of language. A distinction is made then between the language and speech, that is,
between the language and the one who uses it; chess style: when this one is in a certain
moment (language) and the movement that the player makes (speech).
In the midst of this controversy, the Pontifical Biblical Commission releases a document called 'the
interpretation of the Bible in the church”, this document primarily contains the method
critical history; but it also has new methods of literary analysis (rhetorical analysis,
narrative, semiotic); also by the approach of the human sciences (anthropology
 cultural, psychological and psychiatric approaches); also on approaches
contextual (liberationist and feminist); then alludes to the fundamentalist; and among others
methods to bring us closer to the faithful interpretation of the word of God.

16. THEOLOGY AND PSYCHOANALYSIS.

Psychoanalysis demonstrated the existence of the 'unconscious' in humans, and it is larger

that the area consents and influences the attitudes and behaviors of the person;
one of the applications of psychoanalysis is psychocriticism through which the work is analyzed
literary to try to find what the subconscious wants to narrate.

The message of the Bible is not a text directed at reason; it is a text directed at the heart itself.
The symbolic language of the Bible is directed towards areas of religious experience.
not accessible to purely conceptual reasoning and it is these same ones that
they clarify with psychoanalysis.

17. THEOLOGY AND PLURALISM.

Each religion has customs and traditions, wisdom, doctrine, art, and instructions;
Each culture must stimulate theology in light of the tradition of the universal Church.
the acts and the words of God, which are found in the sacred scripture and explained by
the fathers and the teaching of the church.

THEOLOGY AND LITERATURE.

To communicate and explain the Christian message, one must know the human group to which it is directed.
destined; and to notice this group, it is very important to know its literature, which
It is the concentrated expression of everything that encompasses the human being.

A true writer recounts their experience or that of a group of people, and in

The literary experience of people each has a different interpretation. All
A work of literature, if it expresses an authentic experience, is very important for theology.
and taking into account that their center is God, although these are scarcer, on the contrary
about the relationship between God and man.

18. THEOLOGY AND OTHER SCIENCES.

Empirical sciences, the sciences of the spirit, and social sciences seek the same goal, which is liberation.
of man; the rightful autonomy in all these sciences, as well as in theology, is respected.

In the mid-20th century, philosophy and theology were referred to as the 'queens' of the others.
sciences, but in reality it is not that theology uses the other sciences, but in the
direct dialogue with the experts in them, if one wants to exercise scientifically.
19. Theology and Cultures.

Catholic universities must create culture through dialogue between theology and the
human disciplines.
The particular church must transfer the essentials of the gospel to the aspirations, riches and
limits, ways of considering life and the world, language, signs and symbols.
Puebla shows us how the evangelization of culture should be in our countries.
Culture is the active, intelligent, and free behavior of man by which he changes,
configures the world around it as well as the result of that behavior; God is in
every culture, and thanks to this, faith can be lived.

20. THEOLOGY AND RELIGION OF THE PEOPLE.

The essence of culture consists of the attitude with which a people affirms or denies.
a religious connection with God; moreover, in all ancient developed cultures the
religion played the most important role, as in: Greece, Rome, Egypt,
India, among others.
In all religions, the following is always presented: that life comes from a being.
superior. Every human being with reason is either authentically religious or pseudo.
(falsely).

HOW SHOULD RELIGIOSITY BE STUDIED?

To study religiosity, three aspects must be examined.

Descriptive typology.
Structural analysis.
Genetic or historical research.

TO DISCERN THE RELIGION OF A PEOPLE

Notice how the representation of God is: in our faith we consider God as
Father who is saving us through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit.
Christian faith implies faith in Christ
Mary: mother and symbol of Christian piety.
Saints: models of life and intercessors before the Lord for us.

It is difficult to define when there is magic or superstition in popular religious behavior.

That is why we must be prudent and very delicate with this issue. The worship of God must go
accompanied by the ethics of fraternity, especially of helping those in need.

In today's society, the church needs to update and reorganize the announcement of its content.
of the evangelization.
21. THEOLOGY AND PHILOSOPHY.

Theology is independent of philosophy as it is the study of the reality of faith.

theology accepts the data of well-developed common sense expressed in some
philosophies, but without confusing them with these.

Theology:

It is open to any philosophy that can be integrated into the Christian synthesis.
the real and universal values that this philosophy provides.
Prefers those fundamental truths and statements that harmonize with
data of the revelation.
He cannot accept philosophies affected by historicist relativism or by
immanence, whether materialistic or idealistic, because it would compromise that one
fundamental core of affirmations that are linked to revelation.

As man was kindly ordered by God towards an end that exceeds what
it can be understood by our reason, then it was necessary that by revelation
God will reveal to him those related to this purpose, so that man intentionally and
with their actions could tend towards this end.

Philosophy starts from evident principles, that is, from the first principles; on the other hand, the
theology consists of principles that are not evident and are accepted through faith; that is to say, philosophy
It is based on the evident for reason, but theology is based on accepted divine revelation.
by faith.

22. FINAL OBSERVATIONS.

UNCHANGING ASPECTS OF THEOLOGY.

The teaching of the church presents two principles or aspects of immutable theology.

The sense of revelation professed by the church must once again be upheld.
always: one must perpetually maintain that sense of the dogmas that a
I declare once again the holy mother church, and one can never stray from this understanding.
There would also be some unmodifiable concepts and formulas, developed through
the centuries by Catholic doctors and that is based on principles and concepts
deduced from the true knowledge of created things, although the terms
can be perfected
Over time, the terms are expanding, and it is the teaching profession that is responsible for providing
a good interpretation along with the new exhibitions and statements that preserve and
illustrate the primordial sense of those dogmatic formulas.
THEOLOGY AND SOCIAL COMMUNICATION MEDIA.

For the priest, it is very important to use social media, not for the
pure curiosity, but as very valuable instruments for their evangelizing mission.

Jonathan Pérez Peña

In theology