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Theology is a complex idea that refers to different things to distinct individual.
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What is Theology?
Theology is a complex idea that refers to different things to distinct individual. However, the basic meaning of theology is that this discipline is the study of, or the discipline that involves discourse about, God. The word comes from two words with a Greek origin: theos, which means the word about God, or talking of God for the purposes of understanding what can be comprehended of who God is. One essential explanation of theology is that it is equal to the practice of contemplation of or thinking of God. As it follows, people know and study God through meditation, and through their inner experiences that only occur during sessions of deep prayers that helps one comprehend of God and how he is involved with creation. When knowledge of who God is and what God can do is gained through this way, those involved in the study and prayer of God are said to be involved in mystical theology.
This kind of theology is culturally conditioned, highly personal and idiosyncratic. The most common and most popular understanding of theology is one that refers to theology as the ‘study of God and religious beliefs about God’ (Flynn 2).theology has developed into a number of things. For instance, it developed into an answer to a religious position that conflicts with the proposed guidelines and doctrines implemented and practiced by a church. In the Roman Catholicism’s context, theology is a statement of belief that conflicts or is at considerable variance with the teachings of the hierarchy in Roman Catholic. There are other developments as well, that are owed to the shaping of theology that has occurred over the years. However, of theology one can conclude that every instance of theology is an activity of seeking understanding about God.
What is Faith?
Religious faith can be described as one’s choice to live life in a relationship or in association to God or one’s choice to believe firmly in God. In Isaiah 49: 15 and Mathew 6: 11, faith is described as ‘one’s choice to believe in God and to live life in relationship to God; God, our Mother and Father who cannot be without tenderness for the child of the womb and who provides our daily bread’ (Flynn 49). Faith is unique and intangible in the heart of every believer, it is complex and challenging to fashion a precise description that describes it best. For some individuals, faith is usually a dominant force in that determines and rules their life; to others it is not so significant. It is easy for people to misunderstand and confuse faith with superstition and take one for another. Others confuse it with the resignation of personal responsibilities. Faith is a complex phenomenon, but this is not to mean that it is a reality whose certain elements cannot be understood.
Faith has a number of characteristics, five to be specific. For instance, faith is a gift. Those whose believe is in God know and acknowledge that faith is a gift. God is the provider of the gift of faith and believers can chose or not chose to accept this gift. Another characteristic of faith is that it is obscure. This characteristic is well understood after reading the book of Mark. The obscurity characteristic of faith is located in one’s psychological reality, and not in the element of faith. Other characteristics of faith include that faith is stained by certitude, faith involves risk and that it is and must be rooted deeply.
Who is Jesus Christ?
Jesus Christ is a critical foundation to Christianity, as without Jesus, there would be no Christian theology or Christianity. Jesus is the son of God who lived on this earth two thousand years ago. He came to earth after being sent by God, his father, to come save the world. There is enough evidence that shows that Jesus Christ was a person. A number of epistles in the New Testament and in the four Gospels have Jesus as their key subject. These bible books cite different sayings of Jesus, his anecdotes about his message and life, and recollections of his messages and life from eyewitnesses. Jesus is also mentioned in other books other than the Christian bible. For example, he is mentioned in apocryphal gospels and Talmud, as well as, by a number of secular historians.
Therefore, one can say that Jesus existed as a man during this period and that his influence and life accounted for his being the topic of religious teachings. Jesus was also mentioned in secular treatises after he died. This fact leads to one to conclude that Jesus was a significant person whose life and teachings continue to make numerous, critical impressions on Christians and other individuals even after centuries after his death. Jesus Christ was involved in different events during his life, which when carefully analyzed provide a foundation for an outline of his life and the major events he was involved in during his life on earth.
Work cited
Flynn, Eileen Patricia. Why Believe? Foundations of Catholic Theology. New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2000. Print.
What is the Categorical Imperative and What Role does it play in Kant’s Moral Philosophy
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What is the Categorical Imperative and What Role does it play in Kant’s Moral Philosophy?
It is difficult for any philosopher in any given century to make a significant influence on any particular issue in philosophy. For a philosopher to influence as numerous areas in philosophy as Kant did is, therefore, impressive. His theory on ethics is as influential as his work in metaphysics and in epistemology. In most of his works, the philosophy is decidedly against what is commonly referred to as deontology in ethics. Deontology is a term used to refer to the study of duty. On the view of the philosopher, the sole trait that gives an action some worth in morality is not the result that the action achieves, but the motive guiding the action. The categorical imperative is the philosopher’s famous stance of the duty. He argues that individuals should only act according to that dictum by which they can similarly will that individuals should understand it as a law that is universal to all. This paper, therefore, will look at what this categorical imperative really is and try to show what role the notion plays in the rest of the philosophy of Kant.
The categorical imperative is the key philosophical concept in Kant’s moral philosophy. There are a number of ways through which the categorical imperative can be defined, and one is that it is a way of assessing the driving forces behind human actions. According to Immanuel Kant, human beings are special among all the other creations. To him, one can sum up or understand morality as one ultimate imperative or commandment of reason, from which all obligations and duties derive. An imperative, to the philosopher, is any kind of proposition that declares or defines both an action and inaction to be crucial. Therefore, hypothetical imperatives drive actions in certain circumstances. For instance, one has to learn if he wishes to add to his knowledge, and just the same, one has to have a drink if they need to quench their thirst. On the other hand, a categorical imperative denotes or defines a requirement that is both unconditional and absolute, one that asserts its authority in every circumstance, both justified and required as an end to itself.
Kant felt extremely dissatisfied and discontent with the common moral philosophy of his time, and he believed that this moral philosophy could never pass over the level of hypothetical imperatives. The utilitarian, for example, practiced one of these moral philosophies. To them, when one committed a murder, they thought it was wrong because it did not maximize good for the largest groups of people. This philosophy, however, does not apply to individuals who are only worried about themselves and in benefiting themselves. As it follows, Kant pointed out that systems of hypothetical morals cannot persuade any actions in morality or be seen as moral judgment bases against others, as the imperatives driving them depend too much on considerations that are subjective. As an alternative, he came up with a deontological moral system that categorical imperatives determined, and guided.
The categorical imperative has a number of duties to play in the philosophy developed by Kant. For instance, it helps us understand which actions are forbidden and which are obligatory. Hypothetical imperatives are usually conditional; if I want something then I must engage in a certain action. To Kant, these imperatives are not moral or ethical, as to him, the only moral actions and imperatives are those that are categorical; I have to do something, without referring to needs or desires. He came up with three types of categorical imperatives. The first is the universal law, which points out that all moral statements ought to be general laws, which apply to all individuals under all circumstances.
This category suggests that there should not be any time under which a person makes any exception. The other the category of categorical imperative is that people should treat all people as ends to themselves. The philosopher argues here that individuals should not treat others as a way to some end. To him, people must be treated and seen as ends in themselves, something that ensures that there is equality. The final category that Kant came up with is that people should act as if they live in a kingdom made up of ends. He assumed that all agents who are rational had the ability to deduce whether an argument is moral, and not only through reason, and that all humans who are rational should have the ability to come to the same conclusion on moral laws.
The categorical imperative, therefore, plays an essential role in the development and conception of the rest of the philosophy developed by Kant because with it comes the guiding principle of ethics and morality, the categorical imperative becomes the driving force for determining whether an action is ethical or not. At this point, it is essential to understand that the categorical imperative is concerned only with abstract and general moral actions. Therefore, it determines whether an action is wrong or right. In general, Kant’s philosophy relies on the critical realization of moral law that is present in the subject or agent, and this moral law is best defined by his categorical imperative.
There is no Hope of Doing Perfect Research, the very essence of the process is imperfect
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There is no Hope of Doing Perfect Research, the very essence of the process is imperfectResearch is a term commonly used to refer to the fetching of information and investigations carried out on a certain topic from different sources such as books, people, the Internet, journals, newspaper articles, among other sources of information. As it follows, knowledge and the information present on a certain matter is far from perfect, and that is the reason why it is necessary for new innovation, inventions, discoveries, and up- gradations after studies have been completed and published. Research involves searching for information that is already available in the minds of researchers or in print. Researchers have to find this information through a number of ways, and they have to depend on a numerous sources, but all in all, most studies are accomplished under the basis of trial and error, and this is what is commonly referred to as the research process. As the name indicates, this process is marred with numerous inaccuracies, errors, misunderstandings and mistakes, without which the essence of a real process of research can never be attained. As one develops a subject from scratch; therefore, the process in its development encounters notable failures. As it is, saying that it is possible to conduct a perfect research is absurd and even incorrect because the very essence of the process is imperfection.
One thing that we are all aware of and that has caused much controversy and furthered doubts that perfect studies can ever exist is the controversy that relates to the third law of motion formulated by Newton. This controversy came about after the Bernoulli, another scientist, carried out a similar study but came up with different results. Newton’s study was on principles guiding motion while Bernoulli’s was on the principles governing the conservation of energy, which is also controversial to the third law of motion by Newton. Both of the researchers through their surveys have gotten results and formulated theories that justifies why airplanes are able to fly and stay in the air without falling. The third law of motion by Newton states that, for any act, there is a reaction that is either opposite or equal (Dole and Lewis 143). On the other hand, the theory of conservation of energy by Bernoulli states that air that moves faster creates a pressure that is low and that the converse also applies (McCormick, Papadakis and Asselta 46).
The Bernoulli principle is controversial to the law of motion, and this is enough proof that research is never perfect. Research, therefore, is a process that never ends. It is also a process that is continuous and evolves in a manner that one researcher uses the conclusions made by another to conclude and make some entirely new findings. There happenings that have taken place that have proven numerous studies wrong. Had such researches been perfect and complete, there is a possibility that a necessity would not occur to repeat the same study. In fact, one of the main reasons why I conclude that there can never be a perfect research or study is that research usually makes use if a conclusion that was in existence and that which had been formulated by another researcher to make or base the conclusions of a present research. As such, there is no and there, can never be a perfect research.
Works cited
Dole, C. and Lewis, J. Flight Theory and Aerodynamics: a Practical Guide for Operational Safety. New York: Wiley- IEEE, 2000. Print.
McCormick, B., Papadakis, J. and Asselta, J. Aircraft Accident Reconstruction and Litigation. New York: Lawyers & Judges Publishing Company, 2003. Print