Numa Verse

FoundationsHow does theology know what it knows?

Foundations and method

What is foundations and method?

Foundations and method is the part of theology that reflects on theology itself: what grounds its claims rest on, how those grounds are related, and by what norms a theological claim is judged. Protestant theology calls it prolegomena and Catholic theology fundamental theology. It treats revelation, faith and reason, theological language, sources and norms, and the methods theologians use.

  • 136Sources
  • 12Traditions
  • 16Dated entries
  • 13Minutes

Study v1.1, 23 October 2026

Foundations and method

At a glance

Why it matters for reading Scripture

Every theological claim depends on how its sources are weighed: Scripture, tradition, reason and experience. This field sets those ground rules for the fields that lean on it.

What the study found

Every tradition names Scripture as fundamental but ranks other sources differently; theology reflects on its grounds as prolegomena or fundamental theology, and some twenty method models are now mapped.

Where traditions divide

Traditions divide on natural theology, from Vatican I's certain knowledge of God by reason to Barth's Nein!, and on how Scripture relates to tradition, reason and experience.

How the traditions compare

  • Catholic

    Takes Scripture and Tradition as flowing "out from the same divine well-spring", with the sensus fidei as a further locus and Melchior Cano's ten loci as the classic list.

    The norm is the Word of God, served by a magisterium that is "not above the word of God", and reason has a defined place: God can be known "with certainty" by "the natural light of human reason". Its characteristic method is the twofold movement of hearing the faith and understanding it, the auditus fidei and the intellectus fidei.

    Sources1–6

  • Eastern Orthodox

    Holds Holy Tradition to be "the very life of the Church itself as it is inspired and guided by the Holy Spirit", and within it "the Bible holds the first place", followed by the liturgy, the councils, the Fathers, the saints, the canons and the icons.

    The judge is the Church in council, its decisions received by the whole Church. Its characteristic method is Georges Florovsky's neo-patristic synthesis, faithful to the Fathers "ad mentem Patrum"; for Florovsky the Fathers "are guides and witnesses, no more".

    Sources7–9

  • Oriental Orthodox

    The Coptic, Ethiopian, Armenian, Syriac and Malankara churches describe their faith as resting on the Bible, holy Tradition and the first three ecumenical councils.

    The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church says it "experiences and expresses its theology in its Liturgy". Paulos Mar Gregorios held critical reason and revelation together, against both a scholasticism that removes mystery and "an unintellectual mysticism".

    Sources10–13

  • Assyrian Church of the East

    A catechism posted by one of its dioceses names Scripture and a Sacred Tradition, recognizes two "truly Ecumenical Councils", Nicaea and Constantinople, and holds that knowledge of God from creation is "only a preparation for faith".

    Its classical method looks to Theodore of Mopsuestia, cited in its biblical commentaries simply as "the Interpreter".

    Sources14–15

  • Lutheran

    Holds the prophetic and apostolic Scriptures to be the sole rule, with the creeds and confessions received as witnesses; the Lutheran World Federation names the Scriptures "the only source and norm of its doctrine, life and service".

    Lutheran orthodoxy admitted reason as an instrument and refused it as "a rule and a judge". Luther held that prayer, meditation and trial, oratio, meditatio and tentatio, make a theologian.

    Sources16–19

  • Reformed

    The Westminster Confession grants the light of nature a real but insufficient knowledge of God, holds that "The infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture is the Scripture itself", names "the Holy Spirit speaking in the Scripture" as supreme judge, and says that synods and councils "may err; and many have erred".

    Herman Bavinck's three principia give the tradition its modern prolegomena. In South Africa the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa holds the Belhar Confession of 1986 beside the Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism and the Canons of Dordt.

    Sources20–22

  • Anglican

    The Articles of Religion hold that "Holy Scripture conteyneth all thinges necessarie to saluation" and that general councils "may erre, and sometyme haue erred".

    The Lambeth Quadrilateral of 1888 names the Scriptures "the rule and ultimate standard of faith", the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds, the two dominical sacraments and "the historic episcopate, locally adapted". Richard Hooker's order of Scripture, reason and the voice of the Church is the classic Anglican account of method.

    Sources23–25

  • Methodist and Wesleyan

    The United Methodist Church names Scripture, tradition, experience and reason, with Scripture "primary"; experience here is not "individual, subjective experience" but how experience confirms and bears witness to God's work.

    The Global Methodist Church makes Scripture "the primary rule and authority" and the ecumenical creeds "normative", and names no fourfold method. Albert Outler, who gave the fourfold scheme the name Wesleyan Quadrilateral, wrote that he "regretted having coined it for contemporary use, since it has been so widely misconstrued".

    Sources26–29

  • Baptist and evangelical

    The Second London Confession makes Scripture "the only sufficient, certain, and infallible rule", and the Baptist Faith and Message (2000) holds confessions to be "only guides in interpretation, having no authority over the conscience".

    E. Y. Mullins named "the competency of the soul in religion" as the Baptists' historical significance. Evangelical methods divide between Carl Henry's revealed and propositional authority, the post-foundational method of Stanley Grenz and John Franke, and Kevin Vanhoozer's canonical-linguistic approach.

    Sources30–36

  • Pentecostal

    The Assemblies of God holds the Bible "our all-sufficient rule for faith and practice", and its position paper Modern Day Prophecy (2025) holds that "No prophecies today carry the authority or weight of Scripture".

    Several influential academic proposals are triadic: Amos Yong proposes "an ongoing tri-logue of Spirit-Word-Community" and holds that theological reflection "starts with the experience of the Holy Spirit".

    Sources37–40

  • Seventh-day Adventist

    Adventists "accept the Bible as their only creed", with the Fundamental Beliefs revisable by the General Conference in session.

    The writings of Ellen G. White carry "prophetic authority" under the Bible, reason "is subject to the Bible", and the historical-critical method is rejected. Frank Hasel of the Biblical Research Institute rejects the Wesleyan Quadrilateral: "Sola Scriptura does not mean solo Scriptura".

    Sources41–44

  • Anabaptist and Mennonite

    Holds Scripture to be "the fully reliable and trustworthy standard for Christian faith and life", read "in harmony with Jesus Christ", with the congregation as "the place where individual understandings and interpretations of Scripture are to be tested".

    The Mennonite World Conference's Shared Convictions (2006) accept the Bible as authority, "interpreting it together under Holy Spirit guidance".

    Sources45–46

How the field developed

  1. Early church
    Before c. 253

    Origen's preface to On First Principles, the first programmatic statement of method in Christian literature, makes the Church's teaching handed down from the apostles the rule that comes before inquiry.47

  2. Late antiquity
    c. 434

    Vincent of Lérins gives the West its canon of catholicity in the Commonitorium: hold the faith "which has been believed everywhere, always, by all", by universality, antiquity and consent.4849

  3. Medieval
    1077 to 1078

    Anselm of Canterbury's Proslogion states faith seeking understanding in the first person: "I do not seek to understand that I may believe, but I believe in order to understand".5051

  4. Medieval
    c. 1150

    Peter Lombard's Four Books of Sentences take a "middle course" between speculation and authority and become the core text of university theology until the sixteenth century.52

  5. Medieval
    1265 to 1273

    In the first question of the Summa Theologiae, Thomas Aquinas holds that sacred doctrine "is a science because it proceeds from principles established by the light of a higher science". It argues from its principles but does not prove them, and "the argument from authority based on divine revelation is the strongest".53

  6. Reformation
    1521

    Philipp Melanchthon's Loci communes arranges the chief doctrines by topics drawn from Scripture and becomes the first Lutheran system.54

  7. Reformation
    1563

    Melchior Cano's De locis theologicis, published at Salamanca, names ten places from which theological arguments are drawn, from Sacred Scripture to human history.355

  8. Modern
    1685

    Johann Andreas Quenstedt's Theologia didactico-polemica defines the principium of theology and admits reason "as an instrument, but not as a rule and a judge".5618

  9. Modern
    1798

    Immanuel Kant's The Conflict of the Faculties takes up the relation of theology and philosophy in the university, where the philosophical faculty "is free to pursue scholarship and judge the teaching of the other faculties".5758

  10. Modern
    1811

    Friedrich Schleiermacher's Brief Outline defines theology as a positive science whose philosophical, historical and practical parts are held together by the task of church leadership.59

  11. Modern
    24 April 1870

    The First Vatican Council's Dei Filius defines "a twofold order of knowledge" and teaches that "there can never be any real disagreement between faith and reason".5

  12. Modern
    1934

    Karl Barth answers Emil Brunner on natural theology with Nein!, and the Barmen Declaration of 29 to 31 May, largely Barth's work, rejects any source of the Church's proclamation "apart from and besides this one Word of God".606162

  13. Modern
    1965

    The Second Vatican Council's Dei Verbum presents revelation as "realized by deeds and words having an inner unity", and Optatam Totius orders dogmatic theology from biblical themes through the Fathers and the history of dogma.463

  14. Modern
    1998

    John Paul II's Fides et Ratio opens: "Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth". It gives fundamental theology the task of justifying and expounding the relationship between faith and philosophical thought.6

  15. Modern
    2011 to 2012

    The International Theological Commission's Theology Today: Perspectives, Principles and Criteria, approved on 29 November 2011 and published on 8 March 2012, states twelve criteria of Catholic theology.6465

  16. Modern
    2025 to 2026

    Pope Leo XIV tells the International Theological Commission on 26 November 2025 that "there is no science that theology may ignore", and on 19 October 2026 names its members for 2026 to 2031.6667

How to study foundations and method

The questions it asks

  • What grounds does a theological claim rest on, how are those grounds related, and by what norms is a claim judged?
  • How far does theology's knowledge rest on God's self-disclosure in creation, open in principle to everyone, as distinct from his self-disclosure in Israel, in Christ and in the Church's witness?
  • How does theology use reason, and is reason suspect, a partner or a judge?
  • If God is not one object among others, how can words formed for creatures speak of him truly?
  • How do theology's sources work together as a method, and how does each tradition rank them?
  • Is theology a science, and what place does it have in the university?

Its method

Start

  1. Ask what a theological claim rests on: a text, a tradition, an argument, an experience or a decision of the Church.

  2. Distinguish the work each source does: some supply material, some establish authority, some interpret another source, some disclose the question and some test a conclusion.

  3. Put the same questions to every tradition: its sources and their order, the norm that judges theology and who judges, the place of reason, experience and natural theology, its characteristic method, and the texts and theologians that carry the answer.

  4. Describe each tradition from its own governing texts, keeping apart standards a church has adopted, advisory texts such as those of the International Theological Commission, and the proposals of individual theologians, which do not bind a tradition.

  5. Ask how the sources are ranked: Lutheran and Reformed bodies make Scripture the norming norm and their confessions the normed norm, and Methodists name Scripture primary among four sources161726.

  6. Test a claim against the norms the traditions use, such as the rule of faith, the Vincentian canon, Scripture over the confessions, and the criteria of Catholic theology684865.

  7. Place a method on the typologies that compare ways of doing theology: Tracy's five models, Lindbeck's theories of doctrine, Frei's five types and Bevans's six models of contextual theology69707172.

  8. Separate the questions gathered under theology as a science: whether it is an ordered knowledge from principles, whether it belongs in the university, and how it relates to the natural sciences73.

What to read

Its primary witnesses

  • Origen's preface to On First Principles and Vincent of Lérins's Commonitorium (about 434), the patristic statements of the rule of faith and the canon of catholicity4748.
  • Thomas Aquinas's Summa Theologiae I q.1 and q.13 (1265 to 1273) and Summa contra Gentiles I.3 to 9 (1261 to 1264), on theology as a science, analogy and the two modes of truth537475.
  • The Formula of Concord (1577), the Westminster Confession, the Belgic Confession (1561) and the Thirty-nine Articles (1571)76207723.
  • The Confession of Dositheus (1672) and the Lambeth Quadrilateral (1888)7824.
  • Newman's Essay on Development (1845) and Grammar of Assent (1870)7980.
  • The First Vatican Council's Dei Filius (24 April 1870), Aeterni Patris (4 August 1879) and Humani Generis (12 August 1950)818283.
  • The Barmen Theological Declaration (29 to 31 May 1934), the Kairos Document (25 September 1985) and the Belhar Confession (1986)848586.
  • Dei Verbum and Optatam Totius (1965), Donum Veritatis (24 May 1990) and Fides et Ratio (14 September 1998)463876.
  • The Lausanne Covenant (1974), the Seventh-day Adventist statement Methods of Bible Study (12 October 1986) and the Lausanne Movement's Seoul Statement (2024)884389.
  • The United Methodist Book of Discipline's "Our Theological Task"26.
  • The International Theological Commission's Theology Today (2011 to 2012) and Sensus Fidei (2014), and Veritatis Gaudium (8 December 2017)6490291.

Standard reference works

  • Handbuch der Fundamentaltheologie, four volumes, edited by Walter Kern, Hermann Josef Pottmeyer and Max Seckler (Herder, 1985 to 1988)92.
  • Herman Bavinck's Reformed Dogmatics, volume 1, Prolegomena, edited by John Bolt (Baker, 2003)21.
  • T. F. Torrance's Theological Science (Oxford University Press, 1969)93.
  • Bernard Lonergan's Method in Theology, Collected Works 14, edited by Doran and Dadosky (University of Toronto Press, 2017)94.
  • George Lindbeck's The Nature of Doctrine (Westminster Press, 1984) and Stephen Bevans's Models of Contextual Theology (Orbis, 1992; revised 2002)9572.
  • Paul L. Allen's Theological Method: A Guide for the Perplexed (T&T Clark, 2012)96.
  • Analytic Theology, edited by Oliver Crisp and Michael Rea (Oxford University Press, 2009), and the T&T Clark Handbook of Analytic Theology, edited by James M. Arcadi and James T. Turner (Bloomsbury, 2021)9798.
  • Alister McGrath's A Scientific Theology (three volumes, T&T Clark, 2006 edition) and The Open Secret (Wiley-Blackwell, 2008)99100.
  • J. Wentzel van Huyssteen's Essays in Postfoundationalist Theology (Eerdmans, 1997)101.
  • Carl F. H. Henry's God, Revelation and Authority (six volumes, 1976 to 1983) and Kevin Vanhoozer's The Drama of Doctrine (Westminster John Knox, 2005)3436.
  • Hansjürgen Verweyen's Gottes letztes Wort (Patmos, 1991) and Erich Przywara's Analogia Entis, translated by Betz and Hart (Eerdmans, 2014)102103.
  • Dumitru Stăniloae's The Experience of God, volume 1 (Holy Cross Orthodox Press, 1994), Kwame Bediako's Theology and Identity (Regnum, 1992) and Kwok Pui-lan's Postcolonial Imagination and Feminist Theology (Westminster John Knox, 2005)104105106.
  • The Corpus Thomisticum (University of Navarra), the Newman Reader and the Christian Classics Ethereal Library107108109.

Scholarship referenced in this study

The works below shaped the field and are cited in this study, from the earliest to the most recent. Hover over a book, or select it, to see its author and the sources behind it.

  • 399 to 419 or laterDe TrinitateAugustine of HippoDe Trinitate (399 to 419 or later)Augustine of Hippo (13 November 354 to 28 August 430)Sources110
  • 1077 to 1078ProslogionAnselm of CanterburyProslogion (1077 to 1078)Anselm of Canterbury (1033 to 1109)Sources50111
  • 1265 to 1273Summa TheologiaeThomas AquinasSumma Theologiae (1265 to 1273)Thomas Aquinas (1225 or 1227 to 7 March 1274)Sources112
  • 1563De locis theologicisMelchior CanoDe locis theologicis (1563)Melchior Cano (1 January 1509 to 30 September 1560)Sources3113
  • 1811Kurze DarstellungFriedrich SchleiermacherKurze Darstellung (1811)Friedrich Schleiermacher (21 November 1768 to 12 February 1834)Sources114–115
  • 1870Grammar of AssentJohn Henry NewmanGrammar of Assent (1870)John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 to 11 August 1890)Sources116
  • 1932 to 1967Church DogmaticsKarl BarthChurch Dogmatics (1932 to 1967)Karl Barth (10 May 1886 to 9 or 10 December 1968)Sources61117–118
  • 1971A Theology of LiberationGustavo GutiérrezA Theology of Liberation (1971)Gustavo Gutiérrez (8 June 1928 to 22 October 2024)Sources119–120
  • 1972Method in TheologyBernard LonerganMethod in Theology (1972)Bernard Lonergan (17 December 1904 to 26 November 1984)Sources121
  • 1975Blessed Rage for OrderDavid TracyBlessed Rage for Order (1975)David Tracy (1939 to 29 April 2025)Sources69122
  • 1984The Nature of DoctrineGeorge LindbeckThe Nature of Doctrine (1984)George Lindbeck (10 March 1923 to 8 January 2018)Sources95123
  • 1988An Asian Theology of LiberationAloysius PierisAn Asian Theology of Liberation (1988)Aloysius Pieris (9 April 1934 to 22 March 2026)Sources124–125

Listed because this study draws on their published work; no association with or endorsement of Numa Verse is implied. Suggest a correction.

Key terms

The words that carry the most weight in this field, each defined from the sources of this study. Turn a card over to read its definition.

The opening part of a system of doctrine, on theology itself, its sources and its method; chiefly the Protestant name for the field12621.

The Catholic discipline of revelation, faith, credibility and the relation of faith and reason, which began as apologetics and was reshaped after the Second Vatican Council127691.

The source from which theology proceeds, in Quenstedt's definition "that from which anything, in some manner or other, proceeds"; Bavinck took revelation as the external and faith as the internal principle5621.

A place from which a theological argument is drawn; Melchior Cano named ten355.

The norm that norms, Scripture, and the norm that is normed, the creeds and confessions; the labels are later than the Formula of Concord and do not occur in it109128.

The faith the Church received from the apostles, used from Irenaeus and Tertullian onward to judge whether a teaching keeps the apostolic faith68129.

The test of catholicity: the faith believed everywhere, always and by all, judged by universality, antiquity and consent48.

Hearing the faith and understanding it, the two movements of theology in Fides et Ratio6.

Aquinas's account of names said of God and creatures "according to proportion", a mean between pure equivocation and simple univocation74.

Negative theology, which holds God to be beyond every name; for Pseudo-Dionysius even the negations must be negated130.

Where it sits

Builds on

Foundations and method

Leads to

From the Journal

An open Bible lit by lamplight beside a smartphone glowing faintly on a dark deskAI-generated imageFoundations

Can you trust what AI tells you about the Bible?

Sometimes, but not on its word alone. Chatbots summarize Scripture fluently, yet they can also invent verses and citations, so every answer needs checking against the Bible itself and published commentary.Numa Verse Editorial · November 2026 · 6 min readA smartphone glowing on a wooden church pew beside a closed Bible in an empty chapel at duskAI-generated imageFoundations

Is AI becoming a religion?

Not in the sense of a church with altars, but scholars of religion have shown that the way AI is spoken about, pictured and used carries patterns long familiar from religion. Christian teaching names the risk directly: treating a human artifact as if it were God.Numa Verse Editorial · November 2026 · 5 min readA human hand and a metal robotic hand resting side by side on an open BibleAI-generated imageFoundations

What does it mean to be made in God's image when machines can talk?

Christian theology has read the image of God in three main ways: as a capacity such as reason, as a calling to act for God in the world, and as relationship. Machines now imitate the first two closely, which is why Herzfeld and recent church statements place the weight on the third, and on the body.Numa Verse Editorial · November 2026 · 5 min read
All articles

Questions people ask

Not exactly: fundamental theology is chiefly the Catholic name, though Protestant faculties such as Zürich also use it, and prolegomena is chiefly the Protestant name127126. Theological method is the widest name and the one used across traditions.

The traditions divide. The First Vatican Council taught that God can be known with certainty from created things by the natural light of human reason5; the Westminster Confession holds that the light of nature manifests God but is not sufficient for the knowledge necessary to salvation20; John of Damascus held that God's existence is known by nature while what God is remains unknowable131; and Karl Barth rejected natural theology in Nein! (1934)61.

Every tradition names more than one source and ranks them. Lutheran and Reformed bodies make Scripture the norming norm and their confessions the normed norm1617; Methodists name four sources with Scripture primary26; Catholic theology takes the faith of the Church as its source, context and norm65; and Orthodox theology places the Bible first within Holy Tradition7.

The question remains open. Aquinas held that sacred doctrine is a science because it proceeds from principles known by a higher science53, while Durand of Saint-Pourçain held that it is not strictly a science, since it rests on faith132. The modern debate turns on whether theology belongs in the university and how it relates to the natural sciences, and Pope Leo XIV told the International Theological Commission in 2025 that "there is no science that theology may ignore"133.

No: typologies by David Tracy, George Lindbeck, Hans Frei and Stephen Bevans map some twenty models, from scholastic and confessional method through Lonergan's functional specialties, Tillich's correlation and Barth's revelation-centered dogmatics to postliberal, liberation, feminist, analytic and science-engaged theology6970717213413513697.

Contribute to foundations and method

Register to contribute

  1. 1Catechism of the Catholic Church 80-83 (The Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__PL.HTM (opens in a new tab)
  2. 2Sensus fidei in the life of the Church (International Theological Commission, The Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/cti_documents/rc_cti_20140610_sensus-fidei_en.html (opens in a new tab)
  3. 3Melchior Cano (John R. Volz, 1908) (Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03251a.htm (opens in a new tab)
  4. 4Dei Verbum, Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation (Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651118_dei-verbum_en.html (opens in a new tab)
  5. 5First Vatican Council, Session 3: Dogmatic Constitution on the Catholic Faith, Dei Filius (Papal Encyclicals Online)https://www.papalencyclicals.net/councils/ecum20.htm (opens in a new tab)
  6. 6Fides et Ratio (John Paul II, 1998) (Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_14091998_fides-et-ratio.html (opens in a new tab)
  7. 7Tradition, The Orthodox Faith vol. I (Orthodox Church in America)https://www.oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/doctrine-scripture/sources-of-christian-doctrine/tradition (opens in a new tab)
  8. 8The Councils, The Orthodox Faith vol. I (Orthodox Church in America)https://www.oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/doctrine-scripture/sources-of-christian-doctrine/the-councils (opens in a new tab)
  9. 9Teresa Obolevitch, "Faith and Knowledge in the Thought of Georges Florovsky" (Northwestern University, research scholar articles)https://rprt.northwestern.edu/documents/research-scholar-articles/obolevitch-arrticle-2.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  10. 10Armenian Apostolic Church, Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin (World Council of Churches)https://oikoumene.org/node/15677 (opens in a new tab)
  11. 11Our Faith (Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch, Archdiocese of the Western United States)https://soc-wus.org/ourchurch/ourfaith.htm (opens in a new tab)
  12. 12Faith and Doctrines (Malankara Indian Orthodox Syrian Church, Diocese of UK-Europe and Africa)https://indianorthodoxuk.org/the-church/faith-and-doctrines (opens in a new tab)
  13. 13Profile, Dr. Paulos Mar Gregorios (The Star of the East, Gregory of India Study Centre)https://paulosmargregorios.in/?page_id=4 (opens in a new tab)
  14. 14Catechism of the Church of the East, edited 2020 (Beth Kokheh, Assyrian Church of the East)https://bethkokheh.assyrianchurch.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/catechism-of-the-Church-of-the-East-edited-in-the-year-2020.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  15. 15Theodore of Mopsuestia (Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage)https://gedsh.bethmardutho.org/Theodore-of-Mopsuestia (opens in a new tab)
  16. 16Formula of Concord, Epitome: Summary Content, Rule, and Norm (The Book of Concord)https://thebookofconcord.org/formula-of-concord-epitome/summary/ (opens in a new tab)
  17. 17Constitution of the Lutheran World Federation (Lutheran World Federation)https://lutheranworld.org/sites/default/files/2024-02/lwf_constitution_en.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  18. 18Schmid, Doctrinal Theology, §5 Excursus: Concerning the Use of Reason in Theology (CCEL)https://ccel.org/ccel/schmid/theology/theology.iii.iii.ii.html (opens in a new tab)
  19. 19Kleinig, "Oratio, Meditatio, Tentatio: What Makes a Theologian?" (CTSFW media catalogue)https://media.ctsfw.edu/Text/ViewDetails/306 (opens in a new tab)
  20. 20The Westminster Confession of Faith (Orthodox Presbyterian Church)https://www.opc.org/wcf.html (opens in a new tab)
  21. 21Reformed Dogmatics, Vol. 1: Prolegomena (Bavinck, ed. J. Bolt, trans. J. Vriend) (Reformation Heritage Books, publisher listing)https://heritagebooks.org/products/reformed-dogmatics-vol-1-prolegomena-bavinck.html (opens in a new tab)
  22. 22Leslie van Rooi, "The Belhar Confession and its influence on the understanding of unity" (SciELO South Africa)https://scielo.org.za/pdf/she/v39n1/08.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  23. 23The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion of the Church of England (1571, with American revision 1801), Schaff, Creeds of Christendom vol. III (Christian Classics Ethereal Library)https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/creeds3.iv.xi.html (opens in a new tab)
  24. 24Lambeth Conference 1888 Resolutions (PDF) (Anglican Communion)https://www.anglicancommunion.org/media/127722/1888.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  25. 25"Anglican Theology", Stephen Spencer and Joseph Galgalo (St Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology)https://www.saet.ac.uk/Christianity/AnglicanTheology (opens in a new tab)
  26. 26Book of Discipline: ¶105. Our Theological Task (The United Methodist Church)https://www.umc.org/content/book-of-discipline-105-our-theological-task (opens in a new tab)
  27. 27Theological Guidelines (The United Methodist Church)https://www.umc.org/content/theological-guidelines (opens in a new tab)
  28. 28The Book of Doctrines and Discipline (text of 4 June 2025) (Global Methodist Church)https://globalmethodist.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/GMC_BDD-TEXT-06.04.25.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  29. 29Wesleyan Theological Journal 20.1 (1985), including Albert C. Outler, "The Wesleyan Quadrilateral in Wesley" (Wesley Center Online)https://wesley.nnu.edu/fileadmin/imported_site/wesleyjournal/1985-wtj-20-1.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  30. 30The 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith (Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals)https://alliancenet.org/creeds-confessions-and-catechisms/the-1689-london-baptist-confession-of-faith/ (opens in a new tab)
  31. 31The Baptist Faith and Message 2000 (Southern Baptist Convention)https://bfm.sbc.net/bfm2000/ (opens in a new tab)
  32. 32Preamble, The Baptist Faith and Message (Southern Baptist Convention)https://bfm.sbc.net/preamble/ (opens in a new tab)
  33. 33E. Y. Mullins, The Axioms of Religion (American Baptist Publication Society, 1908) (Internet Archive)https://dn720004.ca.archive.org/0/items/axiomsofreligion01mull_0/axiomsofreligion01mull_0.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  34. 34God, Revelation and Authority (6 vols) (Crossway)https://www.crossway.org/books/god-revelation-and-authority-tpb/ (opens in a new tab)
  35. 35Robert C. Kurka, Before "Foundationalism": A More Biblical Alternative to the Grenz/Franke Proposal for Doing Theology (JETS 50/1, 2007)https://etsjets.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/files_JETS-PDFs_50_50-1_JETS_50-1_145-165_Kurka.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  36. 36The drama of doctrine (Trinity Evangelical Divinity School faculty books)https://www.tiu.edu/divinity/books/the-drama-of-doctrine/ (opens in a new tab)
  37. 37Statement of Fundamental Truths (Assemblies of God, USA)https://ag.org/Beliefs/Statement-of-Fundamental-Truths (opens in a new tab)
  38. 38Modern Day Prophecy, Assemblies of God position paper (ag.org)https://ag.org/Beliefs/Position-Papers/Modern-Day-Prophecy (opens in a new tab)
  39. 39Amos Yong, Spirit-Word-Community (Taylor and Francis, Routledge)https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781351766593 (opens in a new tab)
  40. 40Spirit-Word-Community by Amos Yong (Mission Theology in the Anglican Communion)https://www.missiontheologyanglican.org/resource/spirit-word-community-theological-hermeneutics-in-trinitarian-perspective-by-amos-yong (opens in a new tab)
  41. 41Beliefs (Seventh-day Adventist Church)https://www.adventist.org/beliefs/ (opens in a new tab)
  42. 42Gift of Prophecy (Seventh-day Adventist Church)https://www.adventist.org/gift-of-prophecy/ (opens in a new tab)
  43. 43Methods of Bible Study (Biblical Research Institute)https://www.adventistbiblicalresearch.org/materials/methods-of-bible-study/ (opens in a new tab)
  44. 44Frank M. Hasel, The Wesleyan Quadrilateral and Sola Scriptura, Reflections 85 (January-March 2024) (Biblical Research Institute)https://www.adventistbiblicalresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/Reflections-85-January-March-2024.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  45. 45Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective, Article 4 Scripture (Mennonite Church USA)https://www.mennoniteusa.org/who-are-mennonites/what-we-believe/confession-of-faith/scripture/ (opens in a new tab)
  46. 46Shared Convictions (Mennonite World Conference)https://mwc-cmm.org/en/shared-convictions/ (opens in a new tab)
  47. 47De Principiis (Origen), Preface, ANF vol. 4, trans. F. Crombie (New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/04120.htm (opens in a new tab)
  48. 48Vincent of Lérins, Commonitorium (New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3506.htm (opens in a new tab)
  49. 49St. Vincent of Lérins (Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15439b.htm (opens in a new tab)
  50. 50Saint Anselm (Thomas Williams) (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/anselm/ (opens in a new tab)
  51. 51Proslogium, Chapter I (Anselm) (Christian Classics Ethereal Library)https://www.ccel.org/ccel/anselm/basic_works.iii.ii.html (opens in a new tab)
  52. 52Peter Lombard (Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11768d.htm (opens in a new tab)
  53. 53Summa Theologiae, First Part, Question 1: The nature and extent of sacred doctrine (New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/summa/1001.htm (opens in a new tab)
  54. 54Melanchthon's Magnum Opus (1517.org)https://www.1517.org/articles/melanchthons-magnum-opus (opens in a new tab)
  55. 55Guenter Frank, "Melchior Cano's Treatise on Theological Method (De locis theologicis) and Humanist Methodology in the Writings of Agricola, Erasmus, and Melanchthon" (AHA 2009 programme)https://aha.confex.com/aha/2009/webprogram/Paper1614.html (opens in a new tab)
  56. 56Schmid, Doctrinal Theology, §4 Revelation, not Reason, nor Tradition (CCEL)https://ccel.org/ccel/schmid/theology/theology.iii.iii.i.html (opens in a new tab)
  57. 57Kant's Philosophy of Religion (Courtney Fugate) (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant-religion/ (opens in a new tab)
  58. 58Kant, "The Contest of Faculties", in Kant: Political Writings, ed. H.S. Reiss (Cambridge University Press)https://cambridge.org/highereducation/books/kant-political-writings/F044FA976B84C8BF0268C08583B0DB80/the-contest-of-faculties/104DCB2D4B5D2114ADFB13D7D1979965 (opens in a new tab)
  59. 59Schleiermacher, Friedrich (1768-1834), Martina Kumlehn, 2019 (WiReLex, Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft)https://www.die-bibel.de/stichwort/200643 (opens in a new tab)
  60. 60Emil Brunner (Britannica)https://www.britannica.com/biography/Emil-Brunner (opens in a new tab)
  61. 61Natural Theology and Natural Religion (Chignell and Pereboom) (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/natural-theology/ (opens in a new tab)
  62. 62The Barmen Declaration (EKD text, PCUSA Book of Confessions translation) (interchurch.dk)https://www.interchurch.dk/_Resources/Persistent/6/c/e/b/6cebfa8a31bf1d0c68e0f88e2058baedc61606e1/The%20Barmen%20Declaration%20%E2%80%93%20EKD.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  63. 63Optatam Totius, Decree on Priestly Training (Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decree_19651028_optatam-totius_en.html (opens in a new tab)
  64. 64Press communiqué, Theology Today: Perspectives, Principles and Criteria (International Theological Commission, The Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/cti_documents/rc_cti_20120308_comunicato-theology-today_en.html (opens in a new tab)
  65. 65Theology Today: Perspectives, Principles and Criteria (International Theological Commission, Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/cti_documents/rc_cti_doc_20111129_teologia-oggi_en.html (opens in a new tab)
  66. 66Pope Leo XIV to the International Theological Commission plenary (Vatican News)https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-11/pope-leo-xiv-international-theological-commission-plenary.html (opens in a new tab)
  67. 67Una Chiesa sempre più globale: ecco come cambia la Commissione teologica del Vaticano (Avvenire)https://www.avvenire.it/chiesa/una-chiesa-sempre-piu-globale-ecco-come-cambia-la-commissione-teologica-del-vaticano_114530 (opens in a new tab)
  68. 68Irenaeus, Against Heresies 1.10 (New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0103110.htm (opens in a new tab)
  69. 69David Tracy (Derek Michaud and others) (Boston Collaborative Encyclopedia of Western Theology)https://people.bu.edu/wwildman/bce/tracy.htm (opens in a new tab)
  70. 70Ronald T. Michener, Postliberal Theology (2024) (St Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology)https://www.saet.ac.uk/Christianity/PostliberalTheology (opens in a new tab)
  71. 71Schubert Ogden, review of Hans Frei, Types of Christian Theology (Ogden Notebooks, Drew University Digital Collections)https://digitalcollections.drew.edu/OgdenNotebooks/13893809.html (opens in a new tab)
  72. 72Stephen B. Bevans, Models of Contextual Theology, revised and expanded (Bookshare record)https://www.bookshare.org/browse/book/1820125 (opens in a new tab)
  73. 73Wissenschaftsrat, Empfehlungen zur Weiterentwicklung von Theologien und religionsbezogenen Wissenschaften an deutschen Hochschulen, Drs. 9678-10 (PDF hosted by Universität Siegen)https://www.uni-siegen.de/phil/kaththeo/sliding_box/unterseiten_box/wr-gutachten_neu.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  74. 74Aquinas, Summa Theologiae I q.13 (New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/summa/1013.htm (opens in a new tab)
  75. 75Aquinas, Summa contra Gentiles Book One, contents (Pegis translation) (isidore.co)https://isidore.co/aquinas/ContraGentiles1.htm (opens in a new tab)
  76. 76Epitome of the Formula of Concord, "Rule and Norm" (Book of Concord, bookofconcord.org)https://bookofconcord.org/epitome/rule-and-norm/ (opens in a new tab)
  77. 77Belgic Confession (Christian Reformed Church in North America)https://www.crcna.org/welcome/beliefs/confessions/belgic-confession (opens in a new tab)
  78. 78The Confession of Dositheus (excerpt, ed. Dennis Bratcher) (CRI / Voice)https://www.crivoice.org/creeddositheus.html (opens in a new tab)
  79. 79An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine (Newman Reader)https://www.newmanreader.org/works/development/index.html (opens in a new tab)
  80. 80An Essay in Aid of a Grammar of Assent (Newman), contents (Newman Reader)https://www.newmanreader.org/works/grammar/index.html (opens in a new tab)
  81. 81Dei Filius (Latin) (Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/i-vatican-council/documents/vat-i_const_18700424_dei-filius_la.html (opens in a new tab)
  82. 82Aeterni Patris, Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII on the Restoration of Christian Philosophy (Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_04081879_aeterni-patris.html (opens in a new tab)
  83. 83Humani generis, Encyclical of Pope Pius XII (Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/content/pius-xii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xii_enc_12081950_humani-generis.html (opens in a new tab)
  84. 84The Barmen Declaration (EKD)https://www.ekd.de/en/The-Barmen-Declaration-303.htm (opens in a new tab)
  85. 85Challenge to the Church: the Kairos Document 1985 (South African History Online)https://www.sahistory.org.za/archive/challenge-church-theological-comment-political-crisis-south-africa-kairos-document-1985 (opens in a new tab)
  86. 86Confession of Belhar (text, 2016) (Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.))https://centernet.pcusa.org/wp-content/uploads/Confession-of-Belhar-text-2016.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  87. 87Donum Veritatis, Instruction on the Ecclesial Vocation of the Theologian (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, The Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_19900524_theologian-vocation_en.html (opens in a new tab)
  88. 88The Lausanne Covenant (Lausanne Movement)https://lausanne.org/statement/lausanne-covenant (opens in a new tab)
  89. 89The Seoul Statement (Lausanne Movement)https://lausanne.org/statement/the-seoul-statement (opens in a new tab)
  90. 90Theology Today: Perspectives, Principles and Criteria (EWTN Library)https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/theology-today-perspectives-principles-and-criteria-10191 (opens in a new tab)
  91. 91Veritatis Gaudium (Francis, 2017) (Holy See)https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_constitutions/documents/papa-francesco_costituzione-ap_20171208_veritatis-gaudium.html (opens in a new tab)
  92. 92Handbuch der Fundamentaltheologie, catalogue record (Universidad Loyola)https://colectivo.uloyola.es/Record/T163784?lng=en (opens in a new tab)
  93. 93Theological Science (1969-263) (Thomas F. Torrance Theological Fellowship bibliography)https://tftorrance.org/1969-263 (opens in a new tab)
  94. 94Collected Works of Bernard Lonergan Volume 14: Method in Theology (Marquette University e-Publications)https://epublications.marquette.edu/marq_fac-book/352 (opens in a new tab)
  95. 95George Lindbeck at 100: A tribute (Yale Divinity School)https://divinity.yale.edu/news/george-lindbeck-100-tribute (opens in a new tab)
  96. 96Don J. Payne, review of Paul L. Allen, Theological Method: A Guide for the Perplexed (Themelios 39.1, The Gospel Coalition)https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/themelios/review/theological-method-a-guide-for-the-perplexed/ (opens in a new tab)
  97. 97Crisp and Rea (eds), Analytic Theology: New Essays in the Philosophy of Theology (PhilArchive)https://dc2.philarchive.org/rec/CRIATN (opens in a new tab)
  98. 98T&T Clark Handbook of Analytic Theology (Reading Religion, AAR)https://readingreligion.org/9780567681294/ (opens in a new tab)
  99. 99A scientific theology, vol. 1 Nature (2006) (British Library catalogue)https://eld.bl.uk/catalog/019391412 (opens in a new tab)
  100. 100The Open Secret: A New Vision for Natural Theology (Alister McGrath) (Wiley-Blackwell)https://gov.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1405126914.html (opens in a new tab)
  101. 101Essays in Postfoundationalist Theology (Eerdmans 1997) (Fitzhenry & Whiteside)https://www.fitzhenry.ca/Detail/9780802843098 (opens in a new tab)
  102. 102Hansjürgen Verweyen, Gottes letztes Wort: Grundriß der Fundamentaltheologie (front matter, PDF) (Universitätsbibliothek Freiburg)https://www.ub.uni-freiburg.de/fileadmin/ub/referate/04/verweyen/golewo00.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  103. 103Now available: Erich Przywara's Analogia Entis (14 January 2014) (The Centre of Theology and Philosophy)https://theologyphilosophycentre.co.uk/2014/01/14/now-available-erich-przywaras-analogia-entis-metaphysics-original-structure-and-universal-rhythm (opens in a new tab)
  104. 104The Experience of God, Vol. 1 (Dumitru Stăniloae) (Holy Cross Bookstore)https://holycrossbookstore.com/products/the-experience-of-god-vol-1 (opens in a new tab)
  105. 105Keith Ferdinando, Christian Identity in the African Context: Reflections on Kwame Bediako's Theology and Identity (JETS 50.1, 2007)https://etsjets.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/files_JETS-PDFs_50_50-1_JETS_50-1_121-143_Ferdinando.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  106. 106Postcolonial Imagination and Feminist Theology (Westminster John Knox Press)https://www.wjkbooks.com/Products/0664228836/postcolonial-imagination-and-feminist-theology.aspx (opens in a new tab)
  107. 107Corpus Thomisticum (University of Navarra)https://www.corpusthomisticum.org/ (opens in a new tab)
  108. 108Newman Reader home (National Institute for Newman Studies)https://www.newmanreader.org/ (opens in a new tab)
  109. 109The Formula of Concord A.D. 1576 (1584), Schaff, Creeds of Christendom vol. III (Christian Classics Ethereal Library)https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/creeds3.iii.iv.html (opens in a new tab)
  110. 110Saint Augustine (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/augustine/ (opens in a new tab)
  111. 111St. Anselm (Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01546a.htm (opens in a new tab)
  112. 112St. Thomas Aquinas (Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14663b.htm (opens in a new tab)
  113. 113Loci Theologici (Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09320a.htm (opens in a new tab)
  114. 114Friedrich Schleiermacher (Britannica)https://www.britannica.com/biography/Friedrich-Schleiermacher (opens in a new tab)
  115. 115Christian Tapp, Wissenschaftliche Theologie: Anforderungen und Grundlinien eines theorie-orientierten Modells, 2018 (Ruhr-Universität Bochum)https://www.kath.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/mam/ph-th/downloads/tapp_a41_2018_wissenschaftlichetheologie_2auf1.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  116. 116William Barry, John Henry Newman (Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10794a.htm (opens in a new tab)
  117. 117Karl Barth (Encyclopaedia Britannica)https://www.britannica.com/biography/Karl-Barth (opens in a new tab)
  118. 118Philosophy and Christian Theology (William Wood) (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/christiantheology-philosophy/ (opens in a new tab)
  119. 119Gustavo Gutiérrez Merino (1928-2024) (Centre of Latin American Studies, University of Cambridge)https://www.latin-american.cam.ac.uk/news/gustavo-gutierrez-merino-1928-2024 (opens in a new tab)
  120. 120Gustavo Gutiérrez (Encyclopaedia Britannica)https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gustavo-Gutierrez (opens in a new tab)
  121. 121Lonergan, Bernard (F. G. Lawrence) (New Catholic Encyclopedia, Encyclopedia.com)https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/lonergan-bernard (opens in a new tab)
  122. 122David Tracy, influential theologian and beloved UChicago professor, 1939-2025 (UChicago News)https://news.uchicago.edu/story/david-tracy-influential-theologian-and-beloved-uchicago-professor-1939-2025 (opens in a new tab)
  123. 123George Lindbeck obituary report (Christianity Today)https://christianitytoday.com/news/2018/january/died-george-lindbeck-postliberal-theology-lutheran-yale.html (opens in a new tab)
  124. 124Asian theology pioneer Fr Aloysius Pieris passes away at 92 (Radio Veritas Asia)https://www.rvasia.org/mission-unplugged/asian-theology-pioneer-fr-aloysius-pieris-passes-away-92 (opens in a new tab)
  125. 125Peter C. Phan, Take and Read: An Asian Theology of Liberation (National Catholic Reporter, 7 March 2016)https://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/take-and-read-asian-theology-liberation (opens in a new tab)
  126. 126Schmid, Doctrinal Theology, Introduction §1 (CCEL)https://ccel.org/ccel/schmid/theology/theology.iii.html (opens in a new tab)
  127. 127Apologetics (C. F. Aiken, 1907) (Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01618a.htm (opens in a new tab)
  128. 128Philip Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom, vol. I, section 3 "Authority of Creeds" (Christian Classics Ethereal Library)https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/creeds1.iii.iii.html (opens in a new tab)
  129. 129Tertullian, The Prescription against Heretics (New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0311.htm (opens in a new tab)
  130. 130Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite (Corrigan and Harrington) (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pseudo-dionysius-areopagite/ (opens in a new tab)
  131. 131John of Damascus, Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Book I (New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/33041.htm (opens in a new tab)
  132. 132Durandus of Saint-Pourçain (Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent)https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05208a.htm (opens in a new tab)
  133. 133Address of Pope Leo XIV to members of the International Theological Commission, 26 November 2025 (vatican.va)https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/speeches/2025/november/documents/20251126-cti.html (opens in a new tab)
  134. 134Tad Dunne, Method in Theology: A Summary (2008) (Lonergan Resource)https://www.lonerganresource.com/pdf/articles/Dunne-Method_in_Theology_-_A_Summary.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  135. 135Paul Tillich (Derek Michaud and others) (Boston Collaborative Encyclopedia of Western Theology)https://people.bu.edu/wwildman/bce/tillich.htm (opens in a new tab)
  136. 136Karl Barth (Derek Michaud and others) (Boston Collaborative Encyclopedia of Western Theology)https://people.bu.edu/wwildman/bce/barth.htm (opens in a new tab)

Page record

Reviewed and approved by Duane Herholdt, BA (Theology), Chief Executive Officer, Numa Verse

Study version: v1.1, 23 October 2026 (theology map v1.27)

Last reviewed: 9 November 2026

How these pages are made

  • 9 November 2026: First draft from the approved assessment v1.1.