Em busca de uma epistemologia para a teologia cristã: caminhos possíveis

Abstract

The search for an epistemology specific to Christian theology is the theme and, from this perspective, the action that problematizes the research proposed in this thesis. The research takes place in a completely bibliographical and theoretical context, and its development is carried out with the aim of meeting three objectives. In short, the research aims to first offer a general understanding of the constituent elements of epistemology and contextualize them within the reality of theological knowledge. It then seeks to present the main epistemological currents in the human sciences, placing them in dialogue with the methodological horizon of theology. Finally, it presents possible paths towards a scientifically valid epistemology for theology. The three proposed objectives respectively pave the way for the three chapters of this thesis, which are organized from the perspective of a gradation of the theme. Thus, they are arranged: Definition and characterization of terms linked to epistemology; Process of epistemological construction of the human sciences and the possibility of dialogue with Christian theology; Paths towards a Christian theological epistemology, from a consensual, comprehensive and dialogical perspective. Meanwhile, as the research developed, a dialogue was proposed between the methodological paradigms of the human sciences and the epistemological perspectives of theology, and significant spatialities of methodological convergence were perceived. Thus, the research identified that the transdisciplinary horizon and the presence of a prudent rationality, in the environment of the human sciences, provided an opportunity for the construction of a fruitful dialogue with Christian theology. In this sense, this research concluded that Christian theology did not need to renounce its revelational assumptions in the elaboration of a theological method, but, should complement it from the perspective of a rationality negotiated with the other human sciences (theological rationality). In this sense, not only the viability of an epistemology for Christian theology was demonstrated, but also the need for its configuration in the academic-scientific environment.