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What is Theology?

Theology is a complex idea that refers to different things to distinct individual. However, the basic meaning of theology is that this discipline is the study of, or the discipline that involves discourse about, God. The word comes from two words with a Greek origin: theos, which means the word about God, or talking of God for the purposes of understanding what can be comprehended of who God is. One essential explanation of theology is that it is equal to the practice of contemplation of or thinking of God. As it follows, people know and study God through meditation, and through their inner experiences that only occur during sessions of deep prayers that helps one comprehend of God and how he is involved with creation. When knowledge of who God is and what God can do is gained through this way, those involved in the study and prayer of God are said to be involved in mystical theology.

This kind of theology is culturally conditioned, highly personal and idiosyncratic. The most common and most popular understanding of theology is one that refers to theology as the ‘study of God and religious beliefs about God’ (Flynn 2).theology has developed into a number of things. For instance, it developed into an answer to a religious position that conflicts with the proposed guidelines and doctrines implemented and practiced by a church. In the Roman Catholicism’s context, theology is a statement of belief that conflicts or is at considerable variance with the teachings of the hierarchy in Roman Catholic. There are other developments as well, that are owed to the shaping of theology that has occurred over the years. However, of theology one can conclude that every instance of theology is an activity of seeking understanding about God.

What is Faith?

Religious faith can be described as one’s choice to live life in a relationship or in association to God or one’s choice to believe firmly in God. In Isaiah 49: 15 and Mathew 6: 11, faith is described as ‘one’s choice to believe in God and to live life in relationship to God; God, our Mother and Father who cannot be without tenderness for the child of the womb and who provides our daily bread’ (Flynn 49). Faith is unique and intangible in the heart of every believer, it is complex and challenging to fashion a precise description that describes it best. For some individuals, faith is usually a dominant force in that determines and rules their life; to others it is not so significant. It is easy for people to misunderstand and confuse faith with superstition and take one for another. Others confuse it with the resignation of personal responsibilities. Faith is a complex phenomenon, but this is not to mean that it is a reality whose certain elements cannot be understood.

Faith has a number of characteristics, five to be specific. For instance, faith is a gift. Those whose believe is in God know and acknowledge that faith is a gift. God is the provider of the gift of faith and believers can chose or not chose to accept this gift. Another characteristic of faith is that it is obscure. This characteristic is well understood after reading the book of Mark. The obscurity characteristic of faith is located in one’s psychological reality, and not in the element of faith. Other characteristics of faith include that faith is stained by certitude, faith involves risk and that it is and must be rooted deeply.

Who is Jesus Christ?

Jesus Christ is a critical foundation to Christianity, as without Jesus, there would be no Christian theology or Christianity. Jesus is the son of God who lived on this earth two thousand years ago. He came to earth after being sent by God, his father, to come save the world. There is enough evidence that shows that Jesus Christ was a person. A number of epistles in the New Testament and in the four Gospels have Jesus as their key subject. These bible books cite different sayings of Jesus, his anecdotes about his message and life, and recollections of his messages and life from eyewitnesses. Jesus is also mentioned in other books other than the Christian bible. For example, he is mentioned in apocryphal gospels and Talmud, as well as, by a number of secular historians.

Therefore, one can say that Jesus existed as a man during this period and that his influence and life accounted for his being the topic of religious teachings. Jesus was also mentioned in secular treatises after he died. This fact leads to one to conclude that Jesus was a significant person whose life and teachings continue to make numerous, critical impressions on Christians and other individuals even after centuries after his death. Jesus Christ was involved in different events during his life, which when carefully analyzed provide a foundation for an outline of his life and the major events he was involved in during his life on earth.

Work cited

Flynn, Eileen Patricia. Why Believe? Foundations of Catholic Theology. New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2000. Print.