The three “poles” of the theological method

Abstract

The question of method has been a recurring theme in theology over the last two centuries. This has been partly caused by the process that gave rise to the epistemology of sciences in modern and contemporary times; and also in part, due to the internal process of theological work, urged to take into account the context in which it is elaborated. This question has marked Christian theology since then. The extraordinary development experienced by theology since the end of the 19th century, both in the Protestant, Orthodox and Catholic world, is surely determined by the way in which the theological method has been understood. Several works of a historical nature, produced in recent decades, offer a reading of the currents that emerged throughout that period, though not specifically with an emphasis on an overview of the methods used. The objective of this study is to propose elements to elaborate such a vision. Its conceptual framework regroups some of the theological "models" of the last 150 years, taken from the typologies proposed by Rosino Gibellini and Jean
Greisch, around three poles from which the theological work takes place: the one that clarifies the hermeneutical presuppositions of the recipient, the one who puts the emphasis on the message, the one who is concerned with the speaking conditions of the sender. The interest of this type of study is to offer a kind of "map" from which one can locate oneself in one's own theological work, especially in a time of great cultural and theological pluralism, so that one can discern which pole should be privileged.