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Theology is the systematic and rational study of concepts of God and of the nature of religious ideas, but can also mean the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university, seminary, or school of divinity. ==Definition== Augustine of Hippo defined the Latin equivalent, ''theologia'', as "reasoning or discussion concerning the Deity";〔''City of God'' (Book VIII. i. ) "de divinitate rationem sive sermonem"〕 Richard Hooker defined "theology" in English as "the science of things divine". The term can, however, be used for a variety of different disciplines or fields of study.〔McGrath, Alister. 1998. Historical Theology: An Introduction to the History of Christian Thought. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. pp. 1–8.〕 Theologians use various forms of analysis and argument (philosophical, ethnographic, historical, spiritual and others) to help understand, explain, test, critique, defend or promote any of myriad religious topics. Theology might be undertaken to help the theologian: * understand more truly their own religious tradition,〔See, e.g., Daniel L. Migliore, ''Faith Seeking Understanding: An Introduction to Christian Theology'' 2nd ed.(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004)〕 * understand more truly another religious tradition,〔See, e.g., Michael S. Kogan, 'Toward a Jewish Theology of Christianity' in ''The Journal of Ecumenical Studies'' 32.1 (Winter 1995), 89–106; available online at ()〕 * make comparisons among religious traditions,〔See, e.g., David Burrell, ''Freedom and Creation in Three Traditions'' (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1994)〕 * defend or justify a religious tradition, * facilitate reform of a particular tradition,〔See, e.g., John Shelby Spong, ''Why Christianity Must Change or Die'' (New York: Harper Collins, 2001)〕 * assist in the propagation of a religious tradition,〔See, e.g., Duncan Dormor et al (eds), ''Anglicanism, the Answer to Modernity'' (London: Continuum, 2003)〕 or * draw on the resources of a tradition to address some present situation or need,〔See, e.g., Timothy Gorringe, ''Crime'', Changing Society and the Churches Series (London:SPCK, 2004)〕 * draw on the resources of a tradition to explore possible ways of interpreting the world,〔See e.g., Anne Hunt Overzee's gloss upon the view of Ricœur (1913–2005) as to the role and work of 'theologian': "Paul Ricœur speaks of the theologian as a hermeneut, whose task is to interpret the multivalent, rich metaphors arising from the symbolic bases of tradition so that the symbols may 'speak' once again to our existential situation." Anne Hunt Overzee ''The body divine: the symbol of the body in the works of Teilhard de Chardin and Rāmānuja'', Cambridge studies in religious traditions 2 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992), ISBN 0-521-38516-4, ISBN 978-0-521-38516-9, p.4; Source: () (accessed: Monday 5 April 2010)〕 or * explore the nature of divinity without reference to any specific tradition. * challenge (ex. biblical criticism) or oppose (ex. irreligion) a religious tradition or the religious world-view. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Theology」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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