The Author of “The Shape of Catholic Theology “tries to explain the importance of God in Christianity and how theology relates to philosophy. Philosophy and theology are relevant in explaining some of the basic elements of Christianity.
Although theology is about faith and revelation, it cannot overlook the importance of philosophy in its work. Philosophy is crucial in explain how the revelations relate to the existence of God. Philosophy explains the existence of God using the things that human beings posses. It proves that there is a supernatural being from the activities and habits that human beings adopt.
Philosophy asks questions and attempts to answer them, as does theology. The two relate because both attempt to give answers to the basic questions asked all over the world. The first case in this is the theory that explained the name God. All religions have different names for their higher being, but all of them believe that God is one and only.
Philosophers want to understand where the name originated from and whether it has any connection with reality. The Dogmatic constitution teaches us that a theologian should isolate himself or herself from the philosopher. The reason given by the constitution is the need to connect reason and faith, as well as nature and grace.
Catholicism believes in the grace of God and the ability to change the life of human beings so that they can lead a life that is not as God created. Theology bases their arguments on the fact that God is the one shaping one’s destiny, but a philosopher will want to understand the nature of the being as God created before it undergoes the transformation.
The Catholic Church believes that human beings became corrupt after the fall. Therefore, they argue that philosophers are also the corrupt. However, the fact that Jesus came to save the world means that man is not totally corrupt. They base this on the fact that man has his roots in how God created him.
The church wants to create a philosophy based on Christianity. This is by answering questions about the existence of God. This philosophy will use revelation to explain and answer questions. The key question that needs to be answered is the question of the existence of God.
Theology can answer this based on the realities like Jesus, and the holy sacrament. Theology also explains the existence of God using the theory of perfections. This is evident when a human being strives to do everything perfectly. The inner voice or consciousness is also a true reflection of the existence of a supernatural being.
A philosopher says that human being has the drive to do the correct thing even if there is no one to judge him or her. The conscious feeling that people have in them is an unexplainable phenomenon that cannot be explained only by logic. It is a feeling inside the hearts of human beings that is so powerful that it can only be related to God.
In accordance to the Christian faith, the belief is that God exists. It is this existence that forms the foundation of Christian faith and is unshakable within the realms of this faith. The proof of the existence of God can be found in human nature. An example mentioned in the text is that Christianity is guided by hope, as it is the desire or anticipation for things to occur.
Hope guides Christians into being optimistic that their dreams will be fulfilled through letting God have his way into their lives. The combination of the two aspects i.e. existence of God and hope cultivate into morals within the Christian faith. Another example that was given is the urge and desire to satisfy the internal and bodily needs. Human beings have a never-ending urge to do things over and over again.
The urges never disappear even if the person repeats the action several times. The desires seem to be aimed at finding satisfaction in another place or world. This means that there is another world or body that can satisfy these needs. They believe that heaven is the place where man will find lasting satisfactions of these desires, and find the true meaning of life (Aidan 67). Hope is one of the things that are consistent in the lives human beings.
No matter the situation, they will still hold on to the hope of a good life afterwards. The same applies to the case of an eternal life; human beings belief that there is a place where everything is perfect with no problem. They hope that they will go to heaven and find eternal peace. This is because people believe that God is the determiner of destiny and has good plans for everyone.
Bibliography
Aidan, Nichols. The Shape of Catholic Theology. London: Liturgical Press, 1991, Print.