Doing Theology by Antonio Lambino, S.J.

Three Moments I follow Kosuke Koyamas definition (slightly amended here) of theology as reflection on human existence and history in the light of the word of God. [] In doing theology, there are : first, the experiential moment; second, the ideational moment, and; third, the integrating moment. Ang Taong Hindi Marunong Maglakad The experiential moment, the moment of insertion into the life of ones people that one may know as his own their joys and hopes, their griefs and anxieties, is important because it forms ones bases of perception and determines the problematic one sets up for theological reflection. Even scholastic thought knew of the decisive influence of the will on the operation of the intellect. How much more powerfully then should ones gut reactions of solidarity, religiosity, concern, dedication, love, service influence ones thinking and ones theologizing? The first moment of theology, then, is to walk, to walk among ones people that one may know them and belong to them. Ang taong hindi marunong maglakad ay hindi makakarating sa katotohanan. [] Ang Taong Hindi Marunong Umupo The second moment of doing theology is the ideational moment, the moment of reflection, the moment of conceptual ordering, clarification and precision. It is simply part of human reality that the person tends inexorably through the density and contours of experience toward the fullness of conceptual expression. Conceptual ability is a gift to be valued. But nowadays, it has become fashionable among students to minimize, in the name of praxis, the importance of conceptualization. I have only one question to ask those activists who are impatient with what they call the academic : Do you know that Karl Marx, whose theory forms the foundations of your praxis, spent nearly half of his life in the library of the British museum reading books and reflecting on them? The day we cease to learn from books will be the collapse of human knowledge. Remember that the two great forces shaping the lives of men and women today Christianity and Marxism owe their progress and success to books : the Bible in one case and Das Kapital in the other. The second moment of theology is to sit, to ponder, to reflect. If you have no sitting power, the truth will pass you by. Activism and commitment are no excuse for intellectual mediocrity. Ang taong hindi marunong umupo ay hindi makakarating sa katotohanan. So if you hear the slogan academic theologian lang yan, be careful; it is a slogan coined, I am afraid, by people who only know how to walk. Lakad sila nang lakad; they go around in circles because they stay so close to the experiential that they cannot give themselves the distance needed for reflection. Hindi sila marunong umupo. Ang Taong Hindi Marunong Lumuhod

There is still a third moment in doing theology : the integrating moment, the moment of prayer. Whether you are militant or mystic, prophet or politician, regarding the issues that divide the Philippine Church today, the quality of your theology and the worth of your apostolic service will depend on the authenticity of your prayer life. All theology will be judged by this : Does it serve the real, laying bare the integral, always unfashionable Mystery which is ever old and ever new, rendering adoration and obedience? As John Ashton says, the purpose of theology is to discover and expound the conditions of the possibility of Christian prayer. The third moment of theology is to kneel. Ang taong hindi marunong lumuhod ay hindi makakarating sa katotohanan. [] We must all learn, out of love for Gods people in this country, to walk, to sit, and to kneel. http://mctheology104.edublogs.org/doing-theology-by-antonio-lambino-s-j/