Nigel Brookson

Official Website of Nigel Brookson

Home/Archives for Theology

Theology

Just as in the case of religions themselves, so also their theological reflections are not limited to a special religious sphere, separated from common life. Whoever speaks of God and the gods speaks at the same time of humanity and of the meaning of existence. He makes therewith statements about the world, its conditions of being created, its estrangement from the purpose of creation (e.g., sin), and its determined goal (eschatology, or view of the last times). Out of these statements result normative directives for life in the world, not only for the purpose of gaining salvation but also for concrete ethical behaviour in the context of the I-Thou (or person to person) relationship, of the clan, of the nation, and of society. In ancient times, all aspects of life (e.g., the relationship between the sexes, hygiene, and work, among others) were determined religiously and permeated by cultic forms and practices. In this regard, every religion contains the totality of being that its “theology” intends to express—if one also includes certain rudiments of reflection in primitive religion in the concept “theology.”