Christology, for one thing. What does it mean that Jesus is the Son of God? Is he God Himself? How is that possible if there’s only one God? Is he but a man? Or a lesser divine being? Etc. Scripture is far from clear on these points, and many divergent schools of thought emerged in early Christianity.
Angels, heads of pins, etc. etc…
Quite the ironic post, isn’t it?
Ahaha, I had you pegged as a preacher’s kid and I was right. I thought it might be your dad, though, so I was only half-right.
OK, but in complete 100% seriousness, that isn’t really that complicated a topic… wait… the concept itself, is not complicated. it is a story element just like in any mythology or story. what is complicated is all the complicated interpretations. like in my step mom’s library, (the preacher) there is book after book after book about say, predestination. but all of the “study” is really study of other people’s opinions on the topic.
half right
my resentment to christinaity comes from growing up in the south in the 1970’s and 1980’s. the step mom came along when i was in my 20’s…
Well, there you are. Theology isn’t about understanding the Bible, it is about understanding Christian doctrine, which is much more complicated and draws on many extra-Biblical sources. And when Bible-focused Protestants came along and changed the doctrine, it didn’t get a whole lot simpler. If you think that’s all bullshit, don’t be a Christian.
hmm… ok, good point. my counter point: the people with the most direct understanding of the bible are people who’ve probably never been to seminary, your independent baptists and pentecostals and the like. if you agree with my statement about these groups having the most direct understanding of the bible, doesn’t it seem that divinity school actually “harms” your understanding of the bible instead of helping it?
You noticed too, huh?
And Robert163 - it’s PhD or Ph.D.
Regards,
Shodan
Is it possible to get a PhD in theology for any other religion? I’m honestly curious, since I don’t know. I’d imagine that places such as Yeshiva would have graduate study, but do they offer degrees in theology rather than, say, Torah studies?
I think the point that the OP might be vaguely flailing in the general direction of is that there do exist “diploma mill” versions of “Doctor of Theology” degrees that are pretty lightweight, academically speaking.
So the average person interested in acquiring “credentials” for the ministry could certainly obtain something called a “Doctorate in Theology” involving no rigorous study.
This, of course, has little or nothing to do with what a reputable university’s doctoral research program in theology would look like.
This site lists a number of US universities that offer doctoral degrees in Islamic studies, but some appear to be “tracks” in general religious studies programs. You’ll no doubt be amused to learn that no Indian university offers PhD level programs in Hindu studies; the only Western university I could find which does is “Alameda University”, which appears to be a diploma mill.
Do you mean a PhD that exclusively focuses on Theology? I think most major universities offer PhDs in Islamic Studies, which has (at least) a historical component to it. I would be shocked if there weren’t a number of places that offered a “Islamic Theology” program.
Always trust someone who has not studied a subject to inform us just how incredibly easy that subject is.
you are correct! (about the diploma mill part)
but also not correct
i was watching a preacher, Dr Charles Stanley and noted that his real skill, his real real skill had nothing to do with academic training and everything to do with being an incredibly gifted orator. like as in, nobody can learn to speak this well, it s a natural gift.
He uses no capitalization at all and that’s what you zero in on?
I’ve listened to this guy on his radio show as well…yes, he’s a talented orator. And if it’s who I’m thinking of, every once in a while he’ll throw in a “but that comes from the Greek word “wordikakis”, which can mean this or this. Paul very cleverly used it to mean BOTH!”
Makes him sound very smart, learned, and probably convincing to those predisposed to believe.
I (The self-styled Reverend Doctor) think that the main purpose for a large part of post-secondary divinity or theology educationis learning to keep the flock dazzled with smoke and mirrors.
It’s the 2005 join date that throws me. Nothing for seven years, then a brief flurry of activity two years ago, then silence, and now posting like it’s going to be taxed as of next week.
yes, thats him, he’s usually real relaxed and simplistic but then he puts in those points of empahsis
… unemployed and bored