Theology and Rationality

In his recent article "What Is Systematic Theology?" in the International Journal of Systematic Theology, A. N. Williams helps us come to grips with what it means for theology to be rational. One of his several emphases in the article is that God, himself rational, bestows upon humanity our rationality. Williams argues that because God is rational and because he purposes that his creatures come to know him, theology is a rational discipline even though we must acknowledge the limitations set in place by human finitude and fallenness. He goes on to say that with God as the source of their rationality all disciplines can operate rationally and seek out the rationality embedded in reality. However, lest this appear to rob theology of its uniqueness, Williams notes that theology, as the field of inquiry concerned with the Source of all rationality, remains unique and positioned to speak to other disciplines as an older sibling speaks to a younger. This simile is an intriguing illustration of how to coordinate theology and other areas of discourse without compromising the glory of the study of God.

I'm reminded again of Alister McGrath's Nature, volume 1 of his Scientific Theology. There McGrath judges that divine rationality, the rationality of the created order, and the rationality of human beings resonate together and thus launch the possibility of human knowledge. One of the beauties of this line of thinking is that it opens up space to affirm a qualified "universal rationality" that instead of aiming to undercut Christian belief is bound up with it!