Fundamental theology, in
John Hardon
John Anthony Hardon (June 18, 1914 – December 30, 2000) was an American Jesuit priest, writer, teacher and theologian. A candidate for sainthood since 2005, he is recognized by the Catholic Church as a Servant of God.
Early life
John Hardon ...
's ''Modern Catholic Dictionary'', is a "branch of theology which establishes the fact that God has made a supernatural revelation and established the Church, founded by Christ, as its divinely authorized custodian and interpreter.".
Encyclopedia.com
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History
The website was launched by Infonautics in March 1998. Infonautics w ...
, using an excerpt from
New Catholic Encyclopedia
The ''New Catholic Encyclopedia'' (NCE) is a multi-volume reference work on Catholic Church, Roman Catholic history and belief edited by the faculty of the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. The NCE was originally published in 196 ...
, states that "fundamental theology", a "very literal translation" of ''theologia fundamentalis'', is "commonly understood within Roman
Catholic theology
Catholic theology is the understanding of Catholic doctrine or teachings, and results from the studies of theologians. It is based on canonical scripture, and sacred tradition, as interpreted authoritatively by the magisterium of the Catholi ...
.. orefer to the introductory tract that treats the nature, possibility, and existence of revelation", and is "often used today indiscriminately" with the term foundational theology.
Unlike
apologetics
Apologetics (from Greek ) is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers (c. 120–220) who defended their beliefs against critics and recommended their f ...
, fundamental theology does not directly work towards evangelization, but rather towards the analysis of where and by what means God brings human beings to assent to his Word.
Joseph Pohle in 1912 wrote:
See also
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Apostolic succession
Apostolic succession is the method whereby the Christian ministry, ministry of the Christian Church is considered by some Christian denominations to be derived from the Twelve Apostles, apostles by a continuous succession, which has usually been ...
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Four Marks of the Church
The Four Marks of the Church, also known as the Attributes of the Church, describes four distinctive adjectives of traditional Christian ecclesiology as expressed in the Nicene Creed completed at the First Council of Constantinople in AD 381: " e ...
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Fundamentalism
Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that are characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguis ...
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Origin myth
An origin myth is a type of myth that explains the beginnings of a natural or social aspect of the world. Creation myths are a type of origin myth narrating the formation of the universe. However, numerous cultures have stories that take place a ...
References
Catholic theology and doctrine
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