Original scientific paper
On the Place and Role of Researching into Religions in the Frame of Catholic Theological Studies. Historical review and prospects for the future
Nikola Bižaca
orcid.org/0000-0001-9412-508X
; Catholic Faculty of Theology University of Split
Abstract
After the author has outlined the basic elements of a radical
progress that characterizes contemporarv perception and
relationship of Christian churches, especiallv of the Catholic Church
toward other religions, he affirms that "auditus religionum" or being
alert to other religions is one of the constitutive elements of
theological process. Then, in the first part, he investigates very
strained history of the relationship betvreen theology and historicalcomparative
study of religions, in the area of the protestant and
catholic theology alike. In the second part the author tries to answer
the question what kind of scientific, non-theological historical study
of religious traditions in the world would be the most appropriate
today in the frame of institutional theological studies. The third part
is about the sustaining elements of a theologically normative
theology of religions, theology that is necessarily strMng after more
harmonious articulation of Christ's developments and various
forms of historical experience of God and man's companionship on
the field of religious traditions. Such theology of religions is oriented
to methodological appreciation and empathic monitoring of the
results of previously described scientific historical study of
religions, so that the enriching elements, but also the negative
elements of religious traditions could be properly evaluated. At the
end, the author considers the theological foundation of structural
need of the entire catholic theology to open itself in the future, not
only in the frame of a specific theology of religions but also on the
level of ali its tractates, to the experiences condensed in the religious
history of mankind. In this connection, the author points out that,
when interpreting genuine religious experiences in the light of
proclaimed indepth logics of God's mystery, theology in religious
traditions can certainly find the authentic living of values and
original experiences of the encounter with the divine, which are able
to enrich the perception of divine and human reality by insights and
inspirations to shape one's own practice.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
38775
URI
Publication date:
21.9.2004.
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