Some remarks on Charles Hartshorne's conception of theology
pp. 153-162
in: Santiago Sia (ed), Charles Hartshorne's concept of God, Berlin, Springer, 1990Abstract
The term "theology' has traditionally served to designate: 1. an elaboration of the revelation of a given religion (e.g. Christianity), or 2. the philosophy of God. The latter is also designated by the following terms: rational theology, natural theology, theodicy, and even sensu largo, the philosophy of religion. The starting point for theology in the first of the above senses is the data of revelation in some concrete religion, which revelation is subject to synthetic or analytic elaboration, whether this be for theoretical, or for practical purposes.1 The philosophy of God is a rational (autonomous with respect to faith) investigation of the existence and essence of God. It has been cultivated as a methodologically uniform discipline (either in the character of general metaphysics or in some other character), or as a methodologically complex discipline (either in the character of general metaphysics or in some other character), or as a methodogically complex discipline (constituted by problematics belonging to various philosophical disciplines, or constituted by both philosophical and non-philosophical problematics).2
