Contents
Why take a theological approach? How did we jump into this deep end?
The theological approach is the study of sound, reasoned words related to god(s) / God
A theological approach is one field we have not discussed yet. In past posts and chapter 14 of Audit of the Universe we broached the Big Four of humankind’s approaches to life, problem-solving and decision-making:
- Experience (History, Government, Leadership),
- Philosophy (Human Reasoning),
- Science
- Religion
We concluded that all of these foundational methods for governing this Earth and humankind have yielded results, but those results are mixed and mitigated. As good, or bad, as we might consider them, or that they might be, and there’s an awful lot of discord right there, these foundations have not brought planet Earth what it’s looking for: peace and prosperity.
So, let’s, hopefully with an open mind, explore a fifth option: a theological approach. And the first point to be made is a clarification of the term. Simply because we might incorporate or confound this with religion; these are two different babies.
Just check out the definition and meaning of Religion and Theology
Religion
The Merriam-Webster dictionary says, “The belief in a god or a group of gods. : an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship a god or a group of gods.”
The origin of the word religion might surprise you: Middle English (originally in the sense ‘life under monastic vows’): from Old French, or from Latin religio(n-) ‘obligation, bond, reverence,’ perhaps based on Latin religare meaning to bind’
Theology
We can break the word theology into two distinct parts: theo and logy.
The 1st part is clear = god or God
The 2nd part (from a Google definition)
-logycombining form: suffix: -logy; suffix: -ology
- denoting a subject of study or interest: psychology
- denoting a characteristic of speech or language: eulogy
- denoting a type of discourse: trilogy
Logy has to do with the study of or language and discourse around a particular subject. In this case: god(s) or God.
We find a related word as part of logy: logo
logogram ˈlɒɡə(ʊ)ɡram/
- a sign or character representing a word or phrase, such as those used in shorthand and some ancient writing systems.
As you can see, this word is to sign, character, word, phrase, shorthand, and writing systems. All of this is part of the study of language and discourse, as we saw above. We see company logos everywhere–one identifying sign, frequently without even a word–and we know to what or who it’s precisely referring.
The theological approach is the sign or set of signs, characters, words, phrases, in short, the writing system that identifies and expounds god(s) / God.
I’m going to go a step further here because, within this concept of logy and logo, we find a familiar English word: logic.
Late Middle English: via Old French logique and late Latin logica from Greek logikē (tekhnē) (art) of reason, from logos word, reason. (Google definition)
Middle English logik, from Anglo-French, from Latin logica, from Greek logikē, from feminine of logikos of reason, from logos reason (Merriam-Webster definition). Merriam goes on to add this:
- A proper or reasonable way of thinking about something: sound reasoning, There’s no logic in what you said.
- A science that deals with the rules and processes used in sound thinking and reasoning
When we consider these concepts, we can define the theological approach as the study of words related to God. But not just any words, instead, soundly reasoned words.
Now for the next step. If we want to get into the theological approach, we first have to:
Determine WHERE these sound, reasoned words, related to god(s) / God can be found.
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