Friday, March 31, 2006

Isn't She Beautiful?

Theology is a particularly beautiful discipline. Indeed, we can confidently say that it is the most beautiful of all disciplines. To find academic study distasteful is the mark of the philistine. The theologian who labours without joy is not a theologian at all. Sulky faces, morose thoughts and boring ways of speaking are intolerable in this field.
Who said this? And does anyone have a reference for me? [I know who said it, I just don't have a reference. And I'm sorting out all my quotes so that I have proper references for them...]

2 comments:

Eddie said...

I know the quote, but is it polkinghorne?

Ben Myers said...

It is (of course!) Karl Barth. The reference is Church Dogmatics II/1, p. 656. In context, Barth is talking about the beauty of God -- because God is beautiful, the science about God (i.e. theology) is also the most beautiful of all the sciences.