The Role of Love in Theology

Abstract

In most definitions of theology, the role of love is overlooked. Yet it was precisely love that opened the disciples to the experience of the Risen Lord and prepared their sensitivity — after Jesus’ Ascension — to His spiritual presence. During their missionary work of evangelization, the witnesses of the Paschal events became theologians. Their love for Jesus and their concern for the salvation of the Gentiles inspired extraordinary zeal in proclaiming the Good News. The Church Fathers inherited this inseparable link between theology and love. The first significant weakening of this relationship emerged in the 12th century, particularly evident in the dispute between Peter Abelard and Bernard of Clairvaux. The new theology, developed by Abelard and grounded primarily in reason, began to take shape in universities within a secular environment. This development gradually distanced theology from love in Western Christianity.

Today, there is growing awareness of the need to maintain a balance between love and reason in theological reflection. Recognizing the fundamental importance of love has profound implications for both the purpose and the method of theology. First, the pursuit of understanding and explaining the sources of faith should not overshadow another, equally vital task: introducing the recipients of theology into the mystery of salvation. From this perspective, theology is no longer merely an intellectual enterprise but becomes an existential experience. Second, valuing the role of love safeguards theology from being reduced to a purely historical discipline. The historical method, while indispensable, is subject to the same principle that governs every scholarly field: the more precisely it studies its sources, the more it tends to focus on ever smaller fragments of reality. Therefore, historical research must be complemented by the hermeneutical method, which enables the interpretation of Revelation in the light of contemporary human questions and experiences. In this way, theology preserves its identity as a living dialogue between faith and reason, between Revelation and existence, rather than merely a reconstruction of past forms and concepts.