For Students’ use only HAU-Theology 101

A. What is doing Theology?

1. Etymological meaning of Theology
a. Derived from the Greek words:
i. theos (θεός) = god; goth
ii. Logos (λόγος)= word; study; to speak about
iii. Thus: theology means “the study of god”; “to talk about God”

Essentially, the term theology, particularly Christian Theology means a

discourse concerning Christian Faith. Faith in God is the subject matter of
Theology. So without Faith, there is no sense in studying Theology.
Without God, there is no faith. Without our faith-response there is no
sense in studying God in the context of faith. So, both Faith and the object
of our faith who is God are essential in Theology.

2. Definition of Theology
a. Theology is the process of understanding God and one’s own faith.
For Catholics, doing theology means the effort to understand their faith in
the God revealed in Jesus Christ who is present with us through his
Church.
b. Theology, according to St. Anselm is, “faith seeking understanding.”
i. To seek to understand one’s faith
c. The subject matter of theology is faith, specifically Christian faith which
refers to the following:
i. the object of our faith: God and his saving truths, as revealed in
Judaeo-Christian history and traditions, and
ii. the personal act of believing

3. In a college context, doing theology is, like physics, history and psychology.
a. Theology is a science, i.e., a methodical and systematic inquiry into a
significant question or phenomenon of human experience using the faculty
of critical reason. At the same time, we do theology within the faith. Thus,
in doing theology, one has to be both faithful and critical.
i. Being faithful. There can be no theology without faith, for as defined
earlier, theology is “faith seeking understanding.” Theology
presupposes faith in the one doing theology. Theology is not the
interpretation of someone else’s faith, but of our own, or, more
properly, of our community’s faith. Theology is not just talk about
God. To do theology is to understand our own faith in God.
ii. Being critical. Many of us have the mistaken notion that reason and
faith are not in good terms with each other: reason is said to make
realities clear and lucid; faith is supposedly for obscure realities that

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are impenetrable to reason. On the contrary Catholic theology has

always taken faith and reason as friends.

There can be no real disagreement between faith and reason, since

the same God who reveals the mysteries and infuses faith has also
endowed the human mind with the light of reason. (Vatican 1, Dei
Filius, DS 3017)

b. According to Gerald O’Collins, reason has the task of checking,

scrutinizing, and systematically reflecting on the content of faith and
the practice of faith. This is what it means for theology to be “critical”
(not in the sense of “finding fault”). Critical reasoning is demanded by
faith itself in order to distinguish from our religious traditions what is truly
of God and what is mindless piety, bizarre enthusiasm, sick
superstition and blind dogmatism. In the course of its history, the
Church as a believing community used reason to articulate, defend,
communicate, and deepen its faith by giving confirmation and
reinforcement what we already believe, and can enable faith to respond to
ever new environments and challenges by showing faith new horizons and
possibilities.

c. Thus faith and reason are both indispensable partners in the task of doing
theology, interacting in creative tension towards the truth that is God:

“Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to
the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart a
desire to know the truth – in a word to know himself or herself – so that,
by knowing and loving God, men and women may also come to a fullness
of truth about themselves.” - Pope John Paul II, Fides et Ratio 1

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B. Theology as a Religious Experience

1. Theology- is a reflection of religious experience.

2. Mabathalang Pag-aaral according to the Filipino Theologian from Leuvein

a. Ito ay pagninilay sa mga karanasan kay Bathala o karanasang “mahal-banal”
b. Mainam na sariwain natin ang mga panahon na kung saan nadama natin ang
kadahang-loob ni Bathala sa ating buhay.

3. An experience is defined as the encounter between man and reality.

a. However, Gabriel Marcel, a French theistic existentialist believes that
“experience is more than the simple meeting of self (inside) and sense
of world (outside).” Marcel suggests that an experience implies reflection.
Thus, reflection is intimately related with experience. Experience and
reflection do not just touch, they meet.
b. Experience thus implies not just juxtaposition of perceiver and perceived but a
meaningful and creative relationship between the two, a dialectic.
 We wonder when we reflect. We reflect when we
wonder. When we wonder, we ask questions.
 But, what sort of questions do we ask ourselves with
regard to any experience?
 A good question to ask is, what experience do we
consider as meaningful? Usually meaningful experiences are experiences
that bring us into the invisible but real world mediated by meaning like:
truth, beauty, love, etc.
 A meaningful experience also speaks of one’s
ultimate concern, the number one priority in life. This could be one’s
family, studies, special someone, dreams, or aspirations.
 This ultimate value or concern has a character of
unconditionally and unreserved commitment wherein you are willing to
sacrifice everything because you believe this will give you ultimate
satisfaction and meaning.
c. Roque Ferriols, a Jesuit theologian explains the meaning of “kahulugan” or
meaning using the image of a “funnel” or “embudo.” Kapag ikaw ay bumibili
ng “buko juice,” gumagamit ng embudo ang tindera para di matapon at tuluy
tuloy ito sa baso o plastic. Doon lang hinuhulog ng tindera ang buko juice o
sago’t gulaman. Sa buhay, kapag iisa lang ang pinaghuhulugan mo ng
panahon at lakas, doon mo rin makukuha ng kahulugan. Ang taong
makahulugan ang buhay ay iisa lang ang pinaghuhulugan niya ng panahon.
Kung maraming pinaghuhulan ang buhay ng tao (at di gumagamit ng

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embudo) tapun-tapon ang bagay na dapat sana iisa ang pinaghuhulugan.

Sabog at walang direksyon ang buhay.
d. For Paul Tillich, a theologian, the ultimate value is equal to “god”.
e. For Rudolph Visker, a Jesuit philosopher-theologian, the ultimate longing for
satisfaction is the ultimate longing for the Absolute. He equates this absolute
with God, the one who satisfies ultimately man’s longing for meaning.
*** Now, how can an experience be religious? What is the difference between depth
experience and religious experience? ***
f. According to Dermot Lane, religious experiences are those moments in life
when we perceive the world of meaning as grounded in that immanent and
transcendent reality we call God.
 For any believer, faith forms an intrinsic part of the
perceptual apparatus. This means, faith is an important component when
we perceive things (seen or unseen).
g. To perceive the world of meaning as grounded in God or even unseen
realities requires faith: the ability to see beyond the merely human or the
merely actual or obvious.
 It is faith that makes us see, for example, that this particular human
manifestation of truth, love, goodness, or forgiveness is in fact a reality of
God reaching out to us religiously or mundanely (ordinary moments in
life). An experience then can be religious w/o necessarily alluding to
religious or liturgical activities done in and by the Church. Secular
activities can be considered religious experiences.
 Faith as an intrinsic part of the perceptual apparatus enables us to see
beyond the ordinary moments in our life. It makes us transcend.
Transcendence then is an important factor in religious experiences.
 W/o faith, we can not come in contact with God or the “unseen” in the
depth of our experience. At the same time faith is a grace and a gift from
God.
 Our language, our culture, our personal history, prejudices and
preferences, and most importantly our faith, shape the way we perceive
things and integrate them to our consciousness. We forge, mould, and
configure the object of perception accdg to our mental “baggage” as it is
being integrated to our consciousness.
o Thus, any experience is both objective and subjective; it is not solely
determined and shaped by the person who experiences, nor it is wholly
determined by the object of perception (the one being perceived).
o Therefore, the experience of God occurs within and through
human experience.

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h. At the very core of humanity is the inclination for order and to the One
responsible for order. AYAW NATIN SA MAGULO. Religious experience is
surrender to this bigger reality, in this case, God. Religious experience is a
deeper experience of reality.
i. Religious experience is ecstatic which leads you out of yourself. It is
fulfilled time not filling in time. Filling in time is an experience of boredom. A
person starts becoming conscious of time. (parang ang tagal). In fulfilled time,
like being with a love one or in a game like basketball, you lose yourself, you
tend to be mindless of time; you become ecstatic (euphoric or delighted) -
leading you out of yourself.
j. Accdg to David Tracy, limit situations are disclosive of religious experience in
our way of self-transcendence. There are two limit situations:
 Positive limit situations: experiences of joy, jubilations, life, or happiness.
These are experiences of “bitin.”
 Negative limit situations: experiences of fear, loneliness as in “sagad,”
naubusan ka!
 Limit situations are self-transcending experiences.
k. Karl Rahner in his Theological Investigation (vol.3) has some questions that
would reflect on our religious experiences. One of the questions is, “Have we
not had the experience of pardoning with all sincerity? The act of forgiveness
is a religious experience.

4. Pananampalataya: Bilang Paniniwala, Pagtitiwala, at Pagkakatiwala

a. Tiwala ang salitang ugat ng paniniwala, pagtitiwala, at pagkakatiwala.
 Ang tiwala ay maaring mag-ugat sa:nagsasabi
(nagsasalita); o sa sinasabi (salita)
 Kapag ang nagsasabi (person) ay may credibilidad
(marunong; mabuti; matapat; maganda ang kalooban; busilak ang puso)
siya ay mapagkatitiwalaan. Tayo ay nagtitiwala sa kanya.
 Kapag ang salita ay “may dating”; “walang daya”, ito ay may “talab.”
Samaktuwid, tanggap ko ang salita. Ako ay may tiwala sa kanyang salita.
May epekto sa akin ang kanyang salita.
 Ang salitang galing sa malinis na kalooban ay salitang may dating; maari
kong isabuhay. Samaktuwid, salitang maari kong panindigan.
 Tiwala ang binibigay natin sa taong busilak ang kalooban. Tiwala ang
ating binibigay sa bagay na walang daya. Tiwala ang ating binibigay sa
salitang may dating.
 Dahil sa tiwalang binibigay ko, sa tao man o sa salita, ako ay
naninindigan: HINDI KO ITO PAPABAYAANG MAWALA, IPAGLALABAN
KO ITO.

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b. Kapag meron akong pananampalataya, ako ay naniniwala.

 Kapag ako ay naniniwala, ako ay nagtitiwala.
 Kapag ako ay nagtitiwala, ako ay naninindigan, itataya ko ang aking
sarili.I make a solemn conviction.
 Faith is pagtataya. Tiwala ang dahilan kung bakit handa kong itaya ang
aking sarili. Naniniwala akong magdudulot ito ng kahulugan sa aking
buhay.
 Faith is pananalig. Galing ito sa salitang “salig” na kasing-kahulugan ng
sandig o sandal ( to lean on; to depend).
o Pagsalig is relying or depending on someone as a foundation or
support. Samaktuwid, pagsalig ay pagtitiwala. Sinaligan ay
pinagtiwalaan.
 Pag-asa (hope) ang bunga ng pananalig (faith). Palagay ang loob ng
taong may tiwala. Pagasa ang dama ng taong nagtitiwala.
 Dahil naguugat sa malinis (maganda) na kalooban ang tiwala, maganda
rin ang bukas na naghihintay sa taong may pananalig.
 Ika nga ni Santino, “may bukas pa”
 Ika nga ni Sharon, “bukas sisikat din ang araw”
c. Magandang umaga ang bati nating mga Pinoy.
 Magandang umaga ang kaakibat ng taong
nagtitiwala’t may pananalig.
 Makahulugan ang buhay ng taong nakakikita pa ng
bukas. May kahulugan kapag may pag-asa; may bukas pa sa may
makahulugang pag-iral. Sumisikat ang araw.
 Sa taong walang pananalig o walang sinasaligan, ang
bawat araw ay kasalukuyan. Ang bawat araw ay pare-pareho. Gaya rin ng
kahapon, walang pinag-iba. Samaktuwid, walang kahulugan.
 Maitim ang budhi ng taong madaya. Tiwala ang wala
sa taong madaya. Dating at talab, samaktuwid ang wala sa taong walang
paninindigan. MASAMA ang tawag natin sa taong walang sinasaligan.
 ka ng mga matatanda, MAY ARAW KA RIN.
d. Ang Diyos ay ang Dakilang Ganap. Ganap ang kahulugang handog niya.
Ganap din and kapanatagang dulot nya. Ganap samaktuwid and tiwalang
ibibigay niya. Sa kanya ako magtitiwala. Sa kanya ako mananalig. Sa kanya
ko itataya ang aking sarili. Ipagkakatiwala ko sa kanya ang aking sarili.
 Dahil hangad kong gumanda ang kalooban ko, kay Bathala ako
mananalig. Kay Bathala ako sasalig. Pinagaganda niya ang kalooban ko.

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 Dahil pinapadama ng Diyos ang kanyang kagandahang loob, sisikapin

kong maisaloob ang kalooban niya. Susundin ko ang kanyang kalooban
(God’s Will).
 MAGPAPAKATAO AKO.
CONCLUSION: “to have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the
things we cannot see.” - Hebrew 11:1
RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE AND THE SACRED
Dr. James S. Dalton , Siena College.

The first question which arises is how do we distinguish "religious" folks from "non-
religious" folks? I would do so in the following fashion:

 Non-religious folks claim "what you see is what you get" or, in other words, that
reality is encompassed by the world of human experience (the physical universe,
time and history from "the big bang" until the end of the universe, our lives from
birth to death, etc.). Life finds its meaning within life. See, for instance, the claims
of The Secular Humanist Declaration.

 Religious folks claim that the above reality is not all there is but that there is
another order of reality (let us call it "the Sacred"). This Sacred reality is of an
order totally different from the ordinary reality of experience and is, therefore,
ultimately inexpressible and unknowable.

 Religious folks claim further that, despite its inexpressibility, this reality is
accessible to human experience. Human communities can, somehow, "link up"
with Sacred reality. The "how" of this link is the business of religious traditions.
It can vary from the self-revelation of God (in the Christian, Islamic and Jewish
traditions), the experience of a Sacred in and through the natural world, or to the
results of meditative experience in Buddhism. The point is that Sacred reality is
both "totally other" than ordinary reality and is accessible to human experience.

RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE AND ITS EXPRESSIONS

Joachim Wach defines religious experience as "the total response of the total being to
Ultimate Reality." Another way of expressing this is to say that religious experience
involves all dimensions of human experience (the social, political, economic,
psychological, etc.) in response to the encounter with the Sacred. This experience is not
self contained but is always expressed. Religious folks don't only experience the Sacred,
they also do something as a result of this experience. I would summarize Wach's
discussion (with my own emendations) of the expressions of religious experience as
follows:

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1. Religious experience is always expressed in THOUGHT. Human beings think

about what they experience when they experience the Sacred. This thought has
taken two forms in the history of religions.

 systematic thought: theology, religious philosophy, etc. Scholars or

thinkers within a tradition reflect systematically on the meaning of the
community's experience of the Sacred. The results are manifest, for
instance, in Christian theology, the Jewish Talmud, Buddhist abhidharma,
Hindu speculation and so forth.

 mythology (I would prefer to define this as "the truth about reality told in
the form of Story"): Present in all religious traditions and dominant in non-
literate traditions (many native traditions), this "telling of stories" is the
way in which the community reflects on the meaning of Sacred reality and
its significance for life, the world and the community. Examples can range
from the Genesis account of the creation of the world and the biography of
the Buddha to Native creation myths (the "dream time" of the Australian
Aborigines, emergence myths of Native Americans, etc.).

2. Religious experience is always expressed in ACTION. Religious folks do

something as a result of their encounter with the Sacred. This is manifest in two
major ways in religious traditions.

 Ethics: folks behave differently as a result of their religious experience (the

Ten Commandments, the Christian law of charity, the Buddhist "Five
Precepts," Native customs and traditions, the Confucian code, etc.).

 Ritual (what I would prefer to call "religious symbolic action"): religious

communities "act out" and "dramatize" their experience of the Sacred in
highly complex and symbolically dense ritual activities. Some examples
could include the Roman Catholic Mass, the Jewish Seder, Islamic
Pilgrimage to Mecca, Buddhist recitations of Sutras and mantras, Native
initiation rituals, universal rituals surrounding birth, marriage, puberty,
and death. These actions are extremely dense since they involve the
community's response to the Sacred.

3. Religious experience is always expressed in COMMUNITY. When religious folks

experience the Sacred they always gather into communities. The nature and form
of these communities is determined by the nature and form of the experience of
the Sacred. This has two major implications for the nature of community in
human experience.

 Religious experience of the Sacred gives rise to various forms of religious

communities. Examples include Christian churches or Church, the

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Buddhist sangha (the universal Buddhist community), the Jewish family,

the Chinese extended family, the Hindu caste system, the "tribal" identity
of Native Peoples, and so forth.

 Religious experience always has a social dimension or, in other words,

implications for the organization of the larger society. I often put this to
my students in a theistic context by saying "if God is God, how should the
world be?" Religious traditions have always seen the larger social
community in light of their experience of the Sacred. Some examples from
history include Christendom (the Middle Ages), Islamic societies today,
India and the caste system, Buddhist countries like Sri Lanka and
Thailand, tensions between Native societies and nations (tribal
sovereignty in the US, First Nations in Canada, etc.), the state of Israel and
so forth. Examples abound of the interactions of religious traditions and
the societies which encompass them.

4. Religious experience is always expressed through the religious imagination, that is,
imaginatively. Human beings gather together the various elements of their
experience and imaginatively recombine them in order to express their
experience of Sacred Reality. Often this takes the forms of what are called in
Western culture "the Arts." Thus painting, sculpture, music and, especially
performance (in ritual, for example) can be profound expressions of a tradition's
experience of the Sacred. The religious imagination can also play a decisive role
in the shaping of society and culture

THE CONTEXT FOR RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE

The pathway between religious experience and the human historical and cultural
situation goes both ways. Not only does religious experience have important shaping
influences on human culture and history (for examples see the history of any
civilization or society), but human economic, political, social, psychological, and
cultural experience shapes religious experience. Religious experience always happens in
a fully human context. What Christians think about Jesus (or, for that matter, Buddhists
about the Buddha or the Dharma) is partially dependent on who they are, where they
are, and when they are. To fully understand any religious experience demands an
analysis of all of its contexts. This also accounts for the divergencies within any
religious tradition and among the practitioners of these traditions.

4 Characteristics of Religious/Mystical Experience according to William

James (a psychologist and a philosopher) in his book entitled “The
Varieties of Religious Experience”.

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o Transient -- the experience is temporary; the individual soon returns to a

"normal" frame of mind.
o Ineffable -- the experience cannot be adequately put into words.
o Noetic -- the individual feels that he or she has learned something valuable
from the experience.
o Passive -- the experience happens to the individual, largely without
conscious control. Although there are activities, such as meditation, that can
make religious experience more likely, it is not something that can be turned
on and off at will.

Topic: Two Poles of Theology

I. Activity
 Introduction to the activity:
o We each have personal recollections of past events, personal memories, and
vivid, imaginative accounts of the events of our lives. These memories create
a springboard for the stories that will provide us a precious link to our past.
o We call these traditions. TRADITION is (1) a way of thinking , behaving or
doing something that has been used by people in a particular group, family,
society, etc., for a long time; (b) The stories, beliefs, etc., that have been part
of the culture of a group of people for a long time.
o Different world cultural traditions, national traditions, family traditions, etc.
 Objectives of the activity
o To research one’s family culture and heritage through interviews of the elders.
o To be exposed to values, perspectives and experiences of different
generations in their family.
o To develop sense of self, family and community through the crafting of the
TIMELINE FAMILY TRADITIONS.
 5 reasons to observe Family Traditions
o Family Traditions create good feelings and special moments to remember.
o Family traditions give every member of the family a stronger sense of
belonging.
o Family traditions help us discover and develop our identity.
o Family traditions keep us rooted with our family values.
o Family traditions provide a sense of security.
 Points for reflection
o Are your current family traditions still faithful to your original family traditions?
o If there were modifications, are these modifications faithful to the essence of
the original family traditions?
o How can you say yes or no? Are you knowledgeable of your past family
traditions?
o Overall, how has the activity helped you? Any insights?

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II. Content
 Balangkas ng Talaban at Talastasan sa pagitan ng Tradisyong Hudyo-
Kristiyano at Kasalukuyang Karanasan

Talaban
TRADISYONG HUDYO-
(Dialogue) KASALUKUYANG
KRISTIYANO
KARANASAN NG BAYANG
(Judeo-Christian
NANANAMPALATAYA
Tradition) (Contemporary Human
Talastasan Experience)
(Interaction)

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