Theology and Philosophy: Their Primary Tools
Theology and philosophy have a number of similarities, but they also have a fundamental difference: their respective domains. The domain of philosophy is the natural realm, the created universe, whereas the domain of theology is the supernatural realm, the truths of Divine Revelation. Hence, the primary tools of theology and philosophy are, respectively, Revelation and nature.
The Limit of Philosophy’s Primary Tool
In its study of nature, using human reasoning alone, philosophy recognizes that the universe cannot account for its own existence. It concludes that there is a being that is greater than the universe, a being that brought the universe into existence. Vatican Council I formally acknowledged this ability of philosophy: “Holy Mother Church holds and teaches that God, the source and end of all things, can be known with certainty from the consideration of created things, by the natural power of human reason” (Dogmatic Constitution on the Catholic Faith, ch. 2, # 1). This is a significant accomplishment for philosophy, but the accomplishment also marks philosophy’s limit, for it is unable to obtain more than a rudimentary knowledge of God from its study of nature.
Theology’s Starting Point
Theology picks up where philosophy leaves off. It goes beyond the realm of nature and into the realm of truth that has been given to us through God’s self-revelation. Specifically, then, the primary tool of theology is Apostolic Tradition, which consists of the two distinct modes of revelation, both flowing from a common source: Sacred Scripture, the writings of the Prophets and Apostles collected in the Bible, and Sacred Tradition, the oral teaching of the Apostles that has been captured in the writings of the Church Fathers and confirmed by the Magisterium of the Catholic Church (CCC 75, 80, 81, 688). For our benefit, “the apostles entrusted [this] ‘Sacred deposit’ of the faith (the depositum fidei), contained in Sacred Scripture and Tradition, to the whole of the Church.” (CCC 84)
The Secondary Tools of Theology
In addition to the primary tool of theology, there are also secondary tools, which flow from the Deposit of Faith. These tools include the sacramental liturgy, prayer, and the witness of the saints: “In the sacramental liturgy . . . the Holy Spirit puts us into communion with Christ. In prayer, [the Holy Spirit] intercedes for us. In the witness of saints [the Holy Spirit] manifests his holiness and continues the work of salvation” (CCC 688). A note of clarification is in order here so that one does not get the mistaken idea that, generally speaking, the liturgy is secondary to Scripture, since it is listed here as a secondary tool of theology. In its own unique domain, as the supreme act of worship that can be offered to God, the liturgy is uniquely primary.
Using the Tools of Theology
It should be apparent that one advances in the study of theology, that is, in the study of God, to the degree by which he makes use of the tools of theology. Ideally, one would make proper use of all these tools. In order to facilitate their use, some recommendations follow below.
Sacred Scripture
Because Scripture is a primary tool of theology, one cannot hope to make progress without having some familiarity with the Word of God. St. Jerome writes, “Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ” (CCC 133). Fortunately, a familiarity with Scripture comes rather easily for Catholics, since we hear the Word of God at every Mass, explicitly in the readings, and implicitly through the various prayers of the Mass, which are saturated with both allusions and direct references to Scripture. The Catholic who is attentive at Mass is probably more familiar with Scripture than he thinks. But one shouldn’t stop there. God has given us this collection of “letters” so that we read them and grow in our knowledge of Him, His Church, and ourselves. Hence, we should increase our familiarity with Scripture through our own private reading of the Bible. One does well to begin with the Gospels and then go on to read the rest of the New Testament, which is, in a sense, a lived commentary on the Gospels. In time, one should read selected books from the Old Testament, especially Genesis and Exodus.
Liturgy
The Church’s liturgy presents us with a singular occasion for drawing close to God, especially by our participation in the Mass, where we have the opportunity to “eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood” (Jn 6:53). The Holy Eucharist is “the source and summit of the Christian life” (CCC 1324); there is nothing else that so avails itself to deepening our personal relationship with God. It is the experience of the Church, most notably through the lives of the saints, that those who are closest to God, and thus have a greater knowledge of Him, are deeply nourished by the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and the seven sacraments.
Prayer
To properly make use of Scripture, we must do more than just read it; we must ponder it, just as the Mother of Jesus did: “Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart” (Lk 2:19; also see Lk 2:51). She is our model for pondering the Word of God. One might need some instruction on how to go about pondering the Scriptures, but that instruction is easily found (e.g., Introduction to the Devout Life, St. Francis de Sales, Prayer Primer, Fr. Thomas Dubay), and it is easily implemented. There is nothing difficult about pondering the Word of God, and there is much to gain through the daily practice of spending a short time meditating upon the Scriptures. In addition to meditation, which is the primary form of Christian prayer, there are many other supplemental forms of prayer. These include, among others, the Liturgy of the Hours, which is closely associated with the Mass, the Holy Rosary, and the Stations of the Cross.
Witness of the Saints
We have access to the witness of the saints in two ways, primarily. The first way is the reading of authentic biographies of the saints, that is, biographies written by authors who have a good understanding of the advanced degrees of holiness, so that they recognize the vast difference between the ordinary goodness of a sincere Christian and the heroic goodness of a saint, and write their biographies from this perspective. Second, we have available to us the writings of the Fathers of the Church and the writings of the Doctors of the Church. These men and women of extraordinary virtue and wisdom have expressed aspects of divine revelation in ways that are profound and yet accessible to the layman. The reading of books written by these great Christian authors is an immense aid to growth in knowledge of God.
To Be Continued
Knowing the tools of theology is important, but it is also important to recognize that there is a special challenge that the study of theology presents to us. We will discuss that challenge in Part II.
Theology and Sanity 