Teologija Kaip Scientia Practica: Hermeneutika Ir Etika
Theology as “Sciencia Practica”: Hermeneutics and Ethics

Summary/Abstract: Big ideological shifts and innovations have always accompanied Western culture. One of the most important shifts was the formation and spread of Christianity, its interpretation of reality and ethics. It is impossible to overview all the different methodological approaches to Christianity, but it is still necessary to ask what validates the possibility of the Christian faith today and what practical outcomes can we expect in the future, for even the most fundamental institutions cannot live in the past. Therefore, this article aims to reflect upon the nature of theology and its status as Sciencia Practica rooted in two fundamental functions of theology: hermeneutical and ethical. Besides the cognitive and apologetic functions, theology first of all is an interpretation of reality that presupposes participation. Theoreticians as Plato, Thomas Aquinas, Martin Heidegger and many others were interested in the dialectics of understanding and participation. This feature of theology distinguishes it from natural approach of the natural sciences and supernatural doctrines. The first part of the article is dedicated to the hermeneutical function of theology, while Christian ethics is explored in the second. This survey uncovers the hermeneutic circle between the Church as the community of believers and the theological self-interpretation which ends up with ethical imperatives, best seen through the notion of conscience. For the deeper understanding of Christian notion of conscience I make a comparison to the perspective to the secular authority, Martin Heidegger.

• Details
• Contents