What is theology?

HOMEWORK FOR NEXT CLASS: Read Harcourt, pp. 2-15 and take notes.
Class Notes for 9/10 January 2012:
All theology starts from human experience. It asks what experience means and how it shapes our responses to the people, places, circumstance, events and situations that surround us. Therefore, "religion can be defined as a set of beliefs, practices, and symbols through which human beings, as groups or as individuals, relate to the spiritual dimensions of reality."

"Theology" comes from two Greek words: theos, meaning "God" or "the divine," and logos, meaning "discourse," "story," "study," "knowledge," or "word." Therefore, theology is the study of God. St. Anselm [d. 1109] defined Christian theology as "faith seeking understanding."

Various -Isms you might hear in class:
Monotheism: one God (e.g., Christianity, Judaism, Islam).
Polytheism: many gods (e.g., Hinduism, Shintoism, and many tribal religions).
Agnostic: unsure about the existence of a God and/or gods.
Atheism: denies God or gods exist at all.
Deism: human reason and observation of the natural world demonstrates that there is an all-powerful 'being' or 'force,' but this being does not intervene in human affairs.
Pantheism: the Universe (or nature, creation, etc.) and God (or the divine) are the same things. God isn't a personal God... God is in the cosmos or sacredness of the Universe. Always remember that there are varying degrees of agnosticism, deism, and pantheism.

Seven Dimensions of Religion:
1. Experience/Emotion: we have experiences in life that impact who we are; e.g., natural or supernatural forces that cause us to wonder, think about our existence and relationships with others, etc.
2. Social/Institutional: we share those experiencs with others and form groups. These groups become organized.
3. Narrative/Mythic: in the groups people pass on their experiences in stories; e.g., Jewish and Christian Scriptures.
4. Doctrinal/Philosophical: people ask rational questions about their experiences and try to explain them using reason.
5. Practical/Ritual: we develop liturgies or methods of worship that help us relate to the world beyond us.
6. Ethical/Legal: we decide what actions and ways of life are appropriate to our experiences and beliefs. We develop laws to govern our communities.
7. Materials/Art: we produce things that replicate or express our experiences.