Category: Theology

The proper object that theology studies is God. Theos is the Greek word for God. However, in this section are articles not only about God, but about the Faith and moral issues which constitute Church doctrine.   Certain articles that appear in this section also appear in other sections, such as that on the “Sacraments,” “Catechisis,” “Faith and Reason,” and “Heresies and Errors.”

Theology is a broad subject.  Candidates for the priesthood must complete four years of theology.  Theology is divided into natural, supernatural, and pastoral theology.  These, in turn, are divided into other related subjects.  Natural theology is the study of God as we can know Him by reason alone.  Supernatural theology is the study of the God as He revealed Himself to man, in scripture and tradition.  Pastoral theology is the study of God in His relation to the members of the Church, His body.  Sacramental theology would fall under this category. So would canon law, as part of ecclesiology, the study of the Church.

Other branches of theology are dogmatics, moral theology, biblical theology, and ascetical or mystical theology.

Faith and Miracles

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What is faith? The Baltimore Catechism gives a very simple definition of faith as the first of the three theological virtues: “Faith is a Divine virtue by which we firmly believe the truths which God has revealed on the authority … Continue reading →

The Synod is Over

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The 2015 Synod of Bishops has concluded. Now begins the process of studying, understanding, implementing, or resisting the various provisions of its final document. Much of this will be in the form of “spin.” Modernists will cheer. “Conservatives” will defend the … Continue reading →

The Challenge of Tradition

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Tradition as Challenge is the title of Josef Pieper’s recently published and long awaited English translation of Tradition als Herausforderung — his deeply reflective and engagingly varied book of collected essays and speeches first published as a whole in Munich, … Continue reading →

The Apostles Creed

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The feast day of Saint Thomas the Apostle on the traditional Roman calendar is December 21. In the new calendar it is July 3, so I took the liberty of giving him honor on this day too. Saint Jerome had … Continue reading →

The Twenty-One Slain Copts: Martyrs?

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The savage infidels who call themselves ISIL have added to their brutal crimes recently by simultaneously beheading twenty-one Egyptian Coptic Christians on a beach in Libya. This grievous crime against defenseless civilians should rouse our just indignation. Further, such a persecution of … Continue reading →

Christian Certitude

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All our knowledge of God is analogical. In brief, this means that every concept that we rightly apply to God is partly the same as, but also partly different from, that same concept as applied to creatures. (Click here for … Continue reading →