Search verses, phrases, and topics e. John , Jesus faith love. Other Searches. Blue Letter Bible offers several daily devotional readings in order to help you refocus on Christ and the Gospel of His peace and righteousness. Recognizing the value of consistent reflection upon the Word of God in order to refocus one's mind and heart upon Christ and His Gospel of peace, we provide several reading plans designed to cover the entire Bible in a year.
Is it possible to make the distinction between religion and theology? Yes, it is. We can make the following observations about these two terms.
Theology consists of what a person believes about God. Thus theology is more like a science, while religion is more like the practical application of the belief.
Theology analyzes the truth, while religion attempts to live it. Therefore, religion is practice, while theology is knowledge. There should be a balance between what one knows about God, and how a person conducts their life. Unhappily, this is not always the case. Many theologians, who have much intellectual knowledge about God, do not live a spiritual, or religious life. On the other hand, there are those who live a godly life who do not have a large amount of knowledge of biblical truth.
Consequently, one can be a brilliant theologian without being spiritual, and one can be spiritual without being much of a theologian. However, each of us should strive to know as much as we can about God, and then live consistently with what we know. We must appreciate the fact that our mind is only one part of our total makeup.
Too much emphasis on the intellectual can be dangerous. Paul wrote to the Corinthians:. On the other hand, too much emphasis on the heart, or the personal side, is also wrong. Our heart can deceive us. Jeremiah wrote:. If we ignore our mind and let our emotions guide us, we also run the risk of pride and an attitude of self-righteousness. A balance between the two is certainly needed. We are to know the truth and live in the truth.
John wrote elsewhere about doing the truth. He said:. Believers should be passionate about both. The message to those who are spiritual would be what Paul wrote to Timothy—study. He wrote the following:. All who believe in Jesus Christ should study the Scripture; there are no exceptions to this command.
Study of the Scriptures takes work. The Bible was written in the languages of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, that most of us are unfamiliar with. It describes experiences of people who lived thousands of years ago in a different culture.
In addition, there are constantly new discoveries being made that throw light on the background of the Bible. Therefore, if we are to correctly interpret the Scripture, we will have to work at understanding some of the history and background of the times in which it was written.
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What can you do with a religious studies degree? Religious studies investigates the fundamental aspects of human society, culture and history. It forces students to think, debate and communicate persuasively. As a result, it paves the way for several different career branches, including:.
Theology is the systematic study of God. It derives from the Greek words theos God and logos knowledge. Theological studies is more closely related to the rigorous training of spiritual leaders and thinkers within specific religious traditions—whether they take place in a seminary, monastery, semikhah or elsewhere.
Religious studies differs from theology in that religion functions more as a backdrop than a central tenet of personal faith. Religious studies is broader, more focused on learning about all world religions as opposed to one.
Therefore, it tends to be more analytical and objective while comparing and contrasting various religious faith and their practices in terms of their impact on the world. However, many who opt for an emphasis on theology do so as preparation for divinity school. In most cases, it takes about years to complete divinity school.
Those who graduate with such degrees often follow one of a few select career paths:. Although you do not have to be religious to study theology, your should be prepared to spend a lot of time discussing, researching and wrestling with the fundamental nature of God.
Theology, by contrast, differs because it mostly studies about God or the deity. To many, this may even come as a more biased field compared to religious studies that tries to understand different religious beliefs and behaviors apart from a single, specific religious view. The reason for such is because theology tends to focus more on the Protestant and Roman Catholic sector as opposed to religious studies embracing all world religions possible.
As such, religious studies also works hand in hand with other fields like sociology, anthropology, philosophy, history of religion, and psychology. Historically speaking, religious studies was born in the 19th century.
It is the time when analysis of religious books, not only the Holy Bible, but also Buddhist, Hindu and other texts flourished. It has been known by many other alternate names like; History of Religion, Science of Religion, and Comparative Religion, among others.
Today, many universities and learning institutions have both theology and religious studies departments. But each field has a different approach used among their learners.
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