On Modeling and Theological Truth
Haec disputatio tractat de modo quo modeling, ut actus formalizationis et interpretationis, constituit nexum inter linguam theologicam et veritatem ontologicam. Per modeling, sermo fidei inseritur in ordinem essendi; ita veritas theologica non est sola coherencia logica, sed participatio in statu rerum a Spiritu causato.
This disputation treats the manner in which modeling—as the act of formalization and interpretation—forms the bridge between theological language and ontological truth. Through modeling, the discourse of faith is inserted into the order of being; theological truth is thus not mere logical coherence but participation in a state of affairs caused by the Spirit.
__________
Thesis
Modeling is the formal mediation by which theological language T becomes truth-apt, linking the felicity of divine speech to the ontological realities that the Spirit constitutes.
Locus classicus
“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” — John 17:17
“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” — John 17:17
Christ’s prayer reveals that truth is not an abstract correspondence but an active sanctifying power: divine language that brings about what it says. Truth, in the biblical sense, is performative and causative—the Word making the world real in grace.
Explicatio
Theology begins as T, which we can think of as the entire language of faith—the collection of expressions, confessions, and formulations that Christians use to speak rightly of God. These expressions are governed by what we have called felicity conditions—the internal and external marks of speech that can truly be said in the Spirit.
Yet meaning and truth emerge only when T is interpreted within what philosophers of logic call a model, here denoted M. A model is not a human invention or a mere picture; it is a structured description of reality that tells us what there is and how things hang together. When theological language is interpreted within such an ontological framework, its words are connected to real things, not just to ideas.
In this way, modeling in theology performs an incarnational role. It is the descent of grammatical form into lived reality—the movement from syntax (the structure of language) to semantics (the structure of being). To model is to confess that divine words, to be true, must take root in being. Modeling, therefore, is both formal and causal: it not only shapes how theological sentences relate to one another but also identifies the real, Spirit-sustained situations in which they are fulfilled.
Objectiones
Obiectio I. Modeling subjects theology to human construction; it turns revelation into a system of our making.
Obiectio II. To link truth to ontological modeling reintroduces metaphysical speculation contrary to the Lutheran principle of sola fide.
Obiectio III. If models are plural and open to revision, theological truth becomes relative to whichever model is chosen.
Obiectio IV. The Spirit’s causality cannot be formalized without diminishing transcendence; therefore, modeling risks profaning mystery.
Responsiones
Ad I. Modeling is not the imposition of human order upon divine revelation but participation in divine rationality. The same Spirit who authorizes theological language also mediates its realization in the world. When theology models, it receives the structure of divine causality rather than invents it.
Ad II. Faith alone excludes works, not understanding. To describe how faith’s language corresponds to what is real is itself an act of confession: it declares that God truly acts and that divine words refer to genuine realities. Modeling protects this realism; it does not replace faith but allows faith’s content to be spoken truthfully.
Ad III. The existence of many models reflects the analogical participation of creatures in divine truth. Each model expresses one finite aspect of the infinite reality of God. The plurality of interpretations does not mean relativism but rather the richness of participation—many reflections of one light.
Ad IV. To formalize is not to confine but to acknowledge the trace of transcendence within the structures of creation. Just as the Incarnation manifests divinity without diminishing it, so modeling manifests divine intelligibility without erasing mystery.
Nota
Modeling theology is the grammar of divine realism. It allows theology to speak truthfully without collapsing either into empiricism—where only what can be observed is said to be real—or into fideism—where faith is severed from reason.
When we say that each formal model M interprets the language of faith within an “ontological environment of participation,” we mean this: theology’s words are set within an understanding of reality in which creatures truly share in the life and properties of God. The believer’s predicates (the words used to describe what the believer is or has) correspond to what we may call divine correlates—God’s own properties as they are communicated to the creature.
We sometimes write this correspondence as D_G → D, where D_G signifies a property belonging to God (for example, divine righteousness), and D signifies the participated form of that property in the believer (human righteousness given by grace). The arrow “→” does not indicate a logical inference but the living movement of divine communication: the Spirit’s act of transferring, without confusion, God’s perfection into creaturely participation.
In this way, modeling translates felicity (the Spirit-given capacity to speak rightly) into adequacy (the correspondence between what is said and what truly is). The Spirit bridges the two, ensuring that divine causality works not against but within the causal order of creation. Thus, modeling is not an abstract exercise but a sacramental form of reason—the point at which divine speech and creaturely reality meet without ceasing to be distinct.
Determinatio
From the foregoing it is determined that:
Modeling is essential to theology because it renders the language of faith truth-bearing within the order of being.
Theological truth arises when Spirit-given felicity joins ontological adequacy—that is, when divine authorization and real correspondence coincide.
The Holy Spirit acts as the principal cause of this mediation, establishing real relations between what theology says and what God causes to be.
The plurality of models reflects not relativism but the manifold participation of creatures in the one divine truth.
The act of modeling mirrors the Incarnation itself—the eternal Word entering the grammar of creation so that finite speech might bear infinite meaning.
No comments:
Post a Comment