Overview

Theology is the study of religious belief from a divine perspective. It usually focuses on supernatural forces and revelation. Theology comes from the Greek word θεολογία (theoloyía) meaning the study of God from the words Θεός (theós) meaning God and λογία (loyía) meaning study. The words then passed from the Latin word theologia to the French word théologie, finally ending with the English word theology. The topics covered in this article are paterology, the study of The Father; Christology, the study of Jesus Christ; pneumatology, the study of The Holy Spirit; soteriology, the study of salvation; hamartiology, the study of sin; ecclesiology, the study of the church; missiology, the study of Christian messages and missions; angelology, the study of angels; and demonology, the study of demons.

Paterology

Paterology and patriology is the study of the Father or God. The word comes from the Greek words πατήρ (patír) meaning father and λόγος (lógos) meaning teaching. The Father is the creator of all and the father to all as well. Because of the vastness of Christian denominations, many churches take different approaches to paterology

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Christology

Christology is the study of Jesus Christ or the Son. The word comes from the Greek words Χριστός (Christós) meaning Christ and λογία (loyía) meaning study. Christology mainly focuses on the works of Jesus like incarnation and resurrection. According to Christology, this is due to Jesus’s divine nature. 

Pneumatology

Pneumatology is the study of the Holy Spirit. The word comes from the Greek words πνευμα (pnevma) meaning spirit and λόγος (lógos) meaning teaching. Pneumatology studies the Holy Spirit as an entity and its divine workings. These divine workings include salvation, charisms, Spirit-baptism, sanctification, and the spurring of prophets. 

Soteriology and Hamartiology

Soteriology is the study of salvation. It comes from the Greek words σωτηρία (sotiría) meaning salvation and λόγος (lógos) meaning study. In Christianity, salvation is the absolution of sin from humans. There are different viewpoints in Christianity on soteriology, mainly among Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, and Protestantism. 

Hamartiology is the study of sin. The words come from the Greek words αμαρτία (amartía) meaning departure from righteousness and λογία (loyía) meaning study. The first sin is called original sin which is the idea that due to Adam and Eve’s sin of eating the apple, all humans are born with sin. There is also generational sin which is passed down from generation to generation. These ideas are common between all divisions of Christianity; however, there are many other views on sin across all Christian sects.  

Ecclesiology and Missiology

Ecclesiology is the study of the Christian church and the origins of Christianity. It comes from the Greek words εκκλησία (ekklisía) meaning church and λογία (loyía) meaning study. Due to the nature of ecclesiology, it has many forms across religious sects in Christianity. However, most agree on the origin of Christianity. 

Missiology is the study of Christian messages and missions. It was first developed by a Scottish missionary Alexander Duff. Other notable missionologists were Gustav Warneck and Joseph Schmidlin. Most Christian messages include passages from the Bible and Ten Commands. 

Angelology and Demonology

Angelology is the study of angels. The main text of angelology is Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite’s book De Coelesti Hierarchia, On the Celestial Hierarchy. According to Dionysius, there were nine levels of angels and three orders. The highest orders are seraphim, cherubim, and ophanim. The middle orders are dominions, virtues, and powers. Lastly are the lowest-order principalities, archangels, and angels. 

Demonology is the study of demons. The main text on demons is Ars Goetia. The first book in the Lesser Key of Solomon is the Ars Goetia. In Latin ‘ars’ is a craft that requires a lot of skill and ‘goetia’ is the summoning of demons or spirits. The term ‘goetia’ comes from the Ancient Greek word ‘γοητεία’ (goitía) meaning witchcraft. During the medieval period when Lemegeton was first published there were three types of magic. Theurgia, theurgy or divine magic, and magia naturalis, natural magic, were seen as noble while goetia was seen as an evil practice. The Ars Goetia is sourced using Reinald Scot’s translation of Johann Weyer’s Pseudomonarchia Daemonum from the De Praestigiis daemonum. Heinrich Cornelius Arippa’s Three Books of Occult Philosophy, pseudo-Pietro d’Abano’s Heptameron, and the Magical Calendar, Calendarium Naturale Magicum Perpetuum a renaissance grimoire, were also used as sources in the creation of the Ars Goetia. The Ars Goetia gives the names of 72 demons and the sigils, a seal/symbol to summon something, to invoke them.