What is theology? False; theology takes a faith stance, religion is neutral The classical definition states that theology is faith seeking understanding. Faith Seeking Understanding 1/7/07. So whether we are professional theologians or not, we all theologise in some way in an attempt to understand what we mean by our faith utterances. Faith Seeking Understanding is an introduction to systematic Christian theology, which is the practice of understanding God according to the structure of the Apostles Creed. The order here is important. Doing theology is defined by some as the proces of faith seeking understanding (Jones, 2009). When a believer accepts the Bible as authoritative, theology is centered in the process of reflecting on and applying biblical truth to a particular situation. Healthy theology is faith seeking understanding. I do not fear learning (as if it will hurt my faith). [18] Theology is thereby at the service of faith. Understanding what we mean by our acts of faith is the work of theologizing – “Faith seeking understanding”. The Definition and Necessity of Theological Reflection. One classic definition of theology was given by St Anselm.He called it 'faith seeking understanding' and for many this is the true function of Christian theology. Religious studies have a faith stance for its starting point. In the 11th century, St. Anselm of Canterbury described theology as fides quaerens intellectum, “faith seeking understanding.” A monk who eventually served as archbishop of Canterbury, he reminds us that our thinking skills are a gift of the Creator; there is no reason to neglect them in matters of faith. Theology literally means 'thinking about God'. It is because of my faith that I eagerly seek … I had read parts of this book while in seminary, but years ago I wanted to read it all the way through because I thought it was a great resource. 7b) Limits of Theology Theology can never reach a perfect understanding of the faith. For Anselm, theology presumes faith. Explain the meaning of the expression “faith seeking understanding.” What does it mean and how does this principle serve to balance faith and reason and avoid extremes that would undermine theology as an integral process of serious thinking about the objects of faith? I don’t have faith because I figured everything out; I am able to make sense of things because I start with faith. Daniel L. Migliore in the book he authored, the 2nd edition of Faith Seeking Understanding: An Introduction to Christian Theology, made an effort to “strengthen the ‘fullness of Trinitarian faith’ and its relational understanding of God, creation, reconciliation, and consummation”. 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