The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1922-05-04
RELIGION AND THEOLOGY
From The Baptist FORUM

and when good people love to sing
Of "the oldtime religion it is well
TO mark the distinction between re-
ligion and theology and the relation
is subjective; theology is objective.
Religion is ones real attitude toward
God; theology is his belief or opinion
about God. A person may be genu-
inely religious and yet have very
crude or erroneous opinions about
God. On the other hand he may
have entirely orthodox opinions, i.
e., opinions that are generally held
to be- correct, about God, and still be
very irreligiouS maintaining in
heart and life very wrong attitude
toward God
Religion means binding back or a
binding again. Its central idea is duty.
duty in attitude and conduct. Religion
is the important thing, not theology.
Says the prophet Micah, what doth
the Lord require Of thee but to do
justly, to love mercy, and to walk
humbly with thy God?" Jesus says
that on the two commandments,
love God" and Love thy neighbor,"
hang all the law and the prophets"
James says that pure religion is to
do 20 -, nd 20
ones self "unspotted from the
world" True religion is right re-
lation with God and with men. The
two things go together. The first is
impossible without the second. The
preacher says, Get right with Cod
But you cannot get right with God
until you get right with your fell
bowman. Leave there thy gift be-
fore the altar and go thy way; first
be reconciled with thy brother, and
then come and offer thy gift"
Theology means the science or doc
trine of God. The truth of any sys-
TEN of theology will depend upon the
knowledge of God possessed by its
author The author of theology is
not God, but man. God gives man
some knowledge of Himself, but
leaves him to formulate his theology.
But mans theology is not his relig.
ion. His religion is his relation to
God and to his fellow-man.
Are religion and theology fixed
once for all and Interchangeable, or do
they follow the general law of evo-
luton and change with the develop
ment of the moral and intellectual
condition Of man? As to theology,
the answer is obvious. 1t has chang
ed in the past and is changing now.
That its changes in the past have
been for the better cannot be denied.
Whether il is now changing for the
better or the worse is a question up
on which people differ, some prefer
ing the old theology and others the
new. 1t is equally true that religion
has changed. Religion is manifested
in life and conduct. The fundament.
al principles of true religion are I'M
changeable, like the principles of
mathematics. But comprehension of
those principles and their application
in conduct, which constitutes a mans
real religion, good or bad, have GER
tainly changed since men considered
it a religious duty to burn heretics
and to hang witches, and people were
excluded from some churches for be-
lieving and advocating Christian mis-.
sions. 1t is not so long since human
slavery was defended by Christian
people on Biblical grounds.
While religion and theology are not
identical, yet they do sustain an i'm
portant relation TO each other. A
peoples conception of duty and OBJ
legation depends to a great degree
upon their conception of the God
they believe in and worship. Be.
levers in a false, cruel and vindic-
tive deity will on occasion be false,
cruel and vindictive towards their
fellow-man. While religion is the
important thing, theology is also i'm
portant because of its influence on
religion, and the question whether
the present changes in theological
opinions are for the better or worse
is not to be dismissed as of no i'm
portance. This at least may be said:
The changes in theological thought
in the past, and the corresponding
changes in religion, have been large
ly due to a scientific study of nature,
Of man and of Gods revelation to
man. Likewise the changes now
taking place are the result of vast
increase in the knowledge of the
world in which we live, the develop