© 1997 Meredith Sprunger
© 1997 The Christian Fellowship of Students of The Urantia Book
In the 1997 Spring issue of Voices of United, Dr. Wilson Yates, President of United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, has observations entitled “Ruminations on Theology.” “Theology is the articulation of faith in a logical and coherent fashion” (p. 2) Yates says, and admits that theology is a human undertaking that has limits of wisdom. He envisions theology as an attempt to shape a prophetic view of the world. To achieve this construct we need to have the frames of reference of the historian, the social scientist, the humanist, and the artist along with communication abilities. “To construct theology is finally a human endeavor whose end is to help create a world that will be well-pleasing in the eyes of God.” (p. 3)
Theology was the primary intellectual discipline of the Middle Ages. Today it is recognized as a branch of philosophy. In the Renaissance Period theology was sometimes referred to as “the mother of the sciences.” The distinction between theology and religion is sometimes blurred. Theology is a function of the mind; religion is a spiritual experience. Because of the limitations of language, it is impossible to adequately describe religious experience. In fact, when theology masters religion, religion dies. It is impossible to imprison truth in theological statements or creeds. Living truth is dynamic and can only be engaged as a noetic experience in the human mind. Theology is actually an admixture of the psychology and philosophy of religion.
Those who construct theology based on the Fifth Epochal Revelation need the intellectual abilities referred to by Yates, but in addition are challenged by vastly expanded dimensions of reality as compared with traditional theological perimeters. The enlarged views of Deity and Reality, universe cosmology, the ascension plan of human destiny, along with a new presentation of the pre-incarnation and post-resurrection personality of Jesus will stretch the potentials of theological thinking to their limits over the next thousand years. These enlarged dimensions in theological thinking are so extensive that they will create a new theological-religious paradigm and a new period of cultural creativity.