It's science Jim, but not as we know it!

Chapter One continues with its discussion of 'The Church, Theology and Science'. As I understand it Karl suggests, in a very Captain Kirk manner, that 'Theology is a science Jim, but not as we know it!". The task of theology truly is a discipline and a quest for knowledge, but as that knowledge is related to God's self revelation it is subtly different to other scientific explorations.

We then move onto consider 'Dogmatics as an Enquiry'. On p16 he writes '(Thus) Dogmatics as such does not ask what the apostles and prophets said, but what we must say on the basis of the apostles and prophets"

Relating that to the task of preaching and preparing sermons (and teaching Scripture in general) the suggestion seems to be that it is not the task of dogmatics to critique the content, or to rewrite the text, but rather to take the text 'as is' and figure out how it applies in the now. Again he draws us back to the question "What should the church say about God?" . Well... what did the prophets and apostles say? And where does what they say apply in our contemporary situation?

There is a logical transition to the next section 'Dogmatics as an act of faith'. Dogmatics as a science requires the application of all our faculties (just as any scientific discipline does). Yet over and above that, it also requires Christian faith. (I'm back with 'It's science Jim, but not as we know it!')

"In faith, and only in faith, human action is related to the being of the Church, to the action of God in revelation and reconciliation..... without faith it would be irrelevant and meaningless" (P17)

I like the way that the whole task of dogmatics requires 'a pre-supposition of grace'. Without God's input it is a futile quest.

"It always rests with God and not with us whether our hearing is real hearing and our obedience is real obedience, whether our dogmatics is blessed and sanctified as knowledge of the true content of Christian utterance or whether it is idle speculation." (p18)

Dogmatics is a task that has to be conducted within an attitude of prayer. "We always seem to be handling an intractable object with inadequate means" (p23).

As Karl reflects on prayer, he writes P23 'We do not speak of true prayer if we say 'must' instead of 'can'. According to Romans 8:26 ( In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans) the way from 'can' to 'must' is wrapped in the mystery at the gates of which we here stand." 

He concludes the chapter with the words; 'Lord, I believe, help Thou my unbelief'.

 Chapter 1, 'The Task of Dogmatics' 'It's science Jim, but not as we know it!'. It's  a devotion and a quest and a pilgrimage that we are not called to make alone, but only in the presence and company of God, remaining completely reliant on God's grace.

So I will move onto chapter 2 'The task of Prolegomena to Dogmatics". The immediate problem is that I have no idea what a 'prolegomena' is.  Maybe I'll ask the assistant for one when I go to Wal-Mart. 'Two pounds of prolegomena please, with a dogma on the side".