BOOK REPORT: “Religion and Theology” by Mortimer J. Adler and Seymour Cain
INTRO: Throughout decades of history, a person’s theology has always been questioned. There are some things that pair hand in hand wonderfully. for example, peanut butter and jelly, chicken and waffles, fish and grits. However, the important pair that can not be overlooked is religion and theology. Religion and theology are not your typical topics to indulge, however, if faith is at the forefront of one’s life, religion and theology must be discussed.
SUMMARY: ” Religion is the covenant of the Absolute with the concrete,” says Martin Buber, ” philosophy of the Absolute with the universal.” Adler and Cain suggest that the relationship between the immediacy of religious experience and the universal forms, such as metaphysics and theology, in which are expressed is a central problem in our understanding of religion. The authors also believe that cultural knowledge is always historical knowledge, and historical knowledge is not merely an acquaintance with past human achievements, but it is primarily the exercise of cultural responsibility by way of a per-say, critical assessment of such achievements, a judgement that will mean either “arrestment” of their perspective or their preservation and development in new situations.
KEY LESSONS: Just as we have encountered dialogue regarding what piety is to us, so have our forefathers. Based upon historic knowledge, we attempt to create a sense of our own regards of theology. We do so by continuing to discuss terms of what religion is. The word religion comes from the Latin. Its original meaning may have been “rigorous care” or “bond” (from the same root as “obligation”) according to the authors. In any case, our basic view of the nature of God has theoretical and practical consequences. It determines the meaning and value we ascribe to man and the world, to nature and history, to matter and mind. Theology literally means the knowledge, study of God or divine things. The term “theology” may refer or include systematic thought about God “within a particular religious tradition,”- thought which starts with or from a specific faith or revelation that is accepted as authoritative.
MY TAKE ON THE BOOK: My religion or religion in general presented me with a form of theology. The question is, what do I believe? Is my theology complete due to my religious actions alone? The answer is no. Metaphysics doesn’t change, but I learned that theology continues to evolve based upon world innovation. I am persuaded that religion and theology can not exist without the other. The book has shaken my ecclesiastical questioning and theological prospective.
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