Reading Report for Submission Name: Huma Nasir

Summary:
Theology is like exploring the ideas about God and spirituality. We can also say theology means to
know God. It is an invitation to dig deep into your feelings about God and how you relate to others
with critical and post-critical faith perspective. This study can be challenging and help us to grow
personally and intellectually. We learn about things like the Bible, theology, history, and practical
skills. Before deciding to study theology, it is a promising idea to talk to different groups of people.
Like first who know you well and then get advice from experts in the field. The aim is to understand
God better and find ways to serve others with love and care.
Observations:
1: theology includes application as well. it is all about one’s own love of God and neighbor. (Page 6)
2: theology is not just trying to know unfamiliar things about God, but it also deals with fresh insights
from God’s spirit to tackle everyday challenges. (Page 6)
3: mathematics is not the only subject that have quadrilateral in it, theology also discipline division
known as the theological quadrilateral. (Page 7)
4: knowing unfamiliar terms like laity could be helpful. (Page 7)
5: Discerning a call to begin study at a theological school is best considered in conversation with a
number of people. (Lectures or teachers are not only ways to learn, conversation also is). (Page 7)
Personal Response:
I found “Doing theology research” by ROBERT W. PAZMIÑO chapter 1 quite helpful in terms of learning
about the basics of theology. the best thing that happened after reading this chapter is now, I knew
theology is not a separate subject that have no link with biblical theology, practical theology, or ethics
etc. now I can see the theology as a practical subject.
I am agreeing with the author’s viewpoint, but this chapter raised three main questions in my mind, like:
1: In second paragraph he used term of spiritual sources, my question is what was in his mind when he
said THE spiritual sources, is he talking about prayer, bible reading etc. or there is something else in his
mind.
2: The end of second paragraph and the start of third paragraph is all about critical and post-critical
faith perspectives. I am not against theological critics, Marton Lother is notable example for me but at
the same time I am worried about it because of Christian liberalism which is example of critical and post-
critical faith perspectives. So, this reading raised this question that if critic and post-critic is so important
in theology then how we can draw a line which can prevent us from going to wrong side.
3: last paragraph of page 8 says “God who is both the subject and object of theological study”. In this
sentence what does the writer really mean? because according to my limited knowledge if there are
subject and object in the same sentence then subject is that person who is working and object is
something whose subject is working. so, is it mean God is working on HIS own self? According to me it
does not make sense. There is another case where the subject is a person, thing or idea that being
explained but, in this case, again according to my limited knowledge we do not have object but predicate
which could be a verb or the words which explain the action or condition.