Theology and Human Experience

Abstract

Every human community that wants to last beyond a single generation must concern itself with theology. Every nation that intends to maintain its ideologies and worldview through generations would have to be constantly open to a religious interpretation and scrutiny of its life and activities. The function of theology is to maintain the vision, values and aspirations of a community so that the latter could uphold its self-concept and mission in the world. A community that neglects and shuns this religious interpretation may find it difficult to maintain its identity in times of great trouble or in the face of weird circumstances. The Hebrew Scriptures represent the anthology of a community that lasted over several generations. The people of Isracl were able to survive for several generations even in spite of experiences of oppression in the land, of the cataclysmic experience of destruction of the land and the exile from the land, and also in spite of the difficult conditions of life during the post-exilic period. The survival of Israel was thanks to the continuous prophetic interpretation and reinterpretation of the covenant in the light of these experiences, which lifted the people from their disillusionment, gave them new hope and sustained their vision. Theology, therefore, sustains a given community as it struggles with €ceentric internal and external threats to its stability and opens it to hope,