CHAPTER 1. THE MEANING OF THEOLOGY

Earth, stars and the vastness of space; yesterday, today and tomorrow,
and the endlessly increasing knowledge of the relations of forces,
present an illimitable universe of numberless phenomena. Only as a
whole, and in general outline, can the human mind understand the
universe. In its infinite variety of expressions, it wholly transcends
the human mind.

**Man in the Universe.**  In the midst of this complexity, man finds
himself. As he progresses from childhood to manhood, and as his
slumbering faculties are awakened, he becomes more fully aware of the
vastness of his universe and of the futility of hoping to understand
it in detail.

Nevertheless, conscious man can not endure confusion. From out the
universal mystery he must draw, at least, the general, controlling
laws, that proclaim order in the apparent chaos; and, especially is he
driven, by his inborn and unalterable nature, to know, if he can, his
own place in the system of existing things. Every normal man desires
and seeks an understanding of his relation to all other things, and
practically every man has worked out for himself, on the basis of his
knowledge, some theory which explains, more or less satisfactorily,
the mystery of star and earth and man and life. No other quest is
followed by man with such vigorous persistence, as is that of
establishing an intelligible and satisfactory philosophy of
earth-life.

**A Man's Religion.**  The philosophy, or system of thought, adopted
to explain man's place in nature determines largely the joy and manner
of a man's life. If the philosophy be poor and loose, life will be
confused; if rich and firm, life will be clear cut, and if law be made
supreme, life will be orderly. Those who have no religion at all
become the playthings of unknown forces. Every act of a man's life is
influenced by the philosophy of his life. It is the most important
product of an individual life, and is the most compelling power in
life.

In a broad sense, the philosophy, according to which a man orders his
life, may be called that man's religion. It may or may not involve the
idea of God or an organized body of believers. If it guides a life, it
is that life's religion, whether it leads to weakness or to strength.

**Theology Defined.**  Since all men are placed in the same universe,
with approximately the same powers, and under conditions nearly alike,
it is possible for each person to establish for himself a religion as
above defined, for the guidance of his life. All religions must be
organized from the content of the one, and so far as we know, the only
universe; and the presumption would be, therefore, that the religions
of all men should be the same, in as far at least as men are the same.
In fact, however, during the course of human history, many more or
less dissimilar religions have been established and accepted. True,
most of these religions show close kinship, but the vital differences
are often very great. For instance, the religions of men fall
naturally into two great classes: those that adopt as their central
idea a great governing intelligence and power--a God; and those that
refuse to include a God in their system of thought.

A religion which accepts the idea of a God is a theology. The great
majority of the religions of men are theologies, for the majority of
men believe in some form of personal divine power.

**The Gospel.**  The word gospel is also frequently used, among
Christians, to designate the religion of men. The Gospel is a theology
which includes the doctrine of the life and mission of Jesus Christ,
as the Son of God. Among Christians, the words religion, theology and
gospel are freely used in the same sense. It is well, however, to bear
in mind the distinction in meaning of the three words. The Christian
religion, the Christian theology and the Gospel are equivalent in
meaning. In the following pages, the terms are often used
interchangeably without the qualifying words. Indeed, the Gospel will
be used most frequently, and wherever used, it must be understood to
stand for the rational theology discussed in this book.

**The Purpose of This Book.**  This volume is devoted to the
exposition of the fundamental principles of a rational theology--a
philosophy of life which, because of its complete harmony with all
knowledge, should be the one to which all men might give adherence.



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