Theology has sometimes been a great aid to the Christian Church and its work when its study and development has been carried out by intelligent and wise believers for the purpose of edification first of the theologian and then of his or her contempories.
There have been different approaches to this field through the centuries sometimes focussing upon ideals or philosophies, sometimes ideologies and sometimes its more commonly accepted practice, the study of God and godly attributes. Theology has been the domain of Greek and Roman philosophers, priests, kings, courtiers, businessmen, peasants and revolutionaries. It is as varied and complicated in its forms and appearances as the men and women who have shaped it. It was once referred to as the Queen of the Sciences.
Physics, originallly one of its subdivisions, led us into the industrial and information ages. It has provided us with the technological tools with which we now access and interpret our world. Natural theology has provided the foundation upon which rests the so-called scientific method.
Biblical theology has informed and inspired the churches. Systematic theology has butressed our educational institutions. Speculative theology has challenged believers to answer the questions which inevitably come from the world in which we find ourselves.
Doubters and believers alike raise issues for both clarification and encouragement. To the extent that these two goals are acheived, theology has been and will continue to be useful for mankind.
