Oratio, Meditatio, Tentatio

Martin Luther, Preface to the Wittenberg Edition of Luther's Works, WA 34:

Moreover, I want to point out to you a correct way of studying theology, for I have had practice in that. If you keep to it, you will become so learned that you yourself could (if it were necessary) write books just as good as those of the fathers and councils, even as I (in God) dare to presume and boast, without arrogance and lying, that in the matter of writing books I do not stand much behind some of the fathers. Of my life I can by no means make the same boast. This is the way taught by holy King David (and doubtlessly used also by all the patriarchs and prophets) in the one hundred nineteenth Psalm. There you will find three rules, amply presented throughout the whole Psalm. They are Oratio [prayer], Meditatio [meditation], Tentatio ["Anfechtung," that is, affliction, confliction, temptation, experience, trial].

Firstly, you should know that the Holy Scriptures constitute a book which turns the wisdom of all other books into foolishness, because not one teaches about eternal life except this one alone. Therefore you should straightway despair of your reason and understanding. With them you will not attain eternal life, but, on the contrary, your presumptuousness will plunge you and others with you out of heaven (as happened to Lucifer) into the abyss of hell. But kneel down in your little room [Matt. 6:6] and pray to God with real humility and earnestness, that he through his dear Son may give you his Holy Spirit, who will enlighten you, lead you, and give you understanding.

Thus you see how David keeps praying in the above-mentioned Psalm, "Teach me, Lord, instruct me, lead me, show me," [Ps. 119:26] and many more words like these. Although he well knew and daily heard and read the text of Moses and other books besides, still he wants to lay hold of the real teacher of the Scriptures himself, so that he may not seize upon them pell-mell with his reason and become his own teacher. For such practice gives rise to factious spirits who allow themselves to nurture the delusion that the Scriptures are subject to them and can be easily grasped with their reason, as if they were Markolf or Aesop's Fables, for which no Holy Spirit and no prayers are needed.

Secondly, you should meditate, that is, not only in your heart, but also externally, by actually repeating and comparing oral speech and literal words of the book, reading and rereading them with diligent attention and reflection, so that you may see what the Holy Spirit means by them. And take care that you do not grow weary or think that you have done enough when you have read, heard, and spoken them once or twice, and that you then have complete understanding. You will never be a particularly good theologian if you do that, for you will be like untimely fruit which falls to the ground before it is half ripe.

Thus you see in this same Psalm how David constantly boasts that he will talk, meditate, speak, sing, hear, read, by day and night always, about nothing except God's Word and commandments. For God will not give you his Spirit with the external Word; so take your cue from that. His command to write, preach, read, hear, sing, speak, etc., outwardly was not given in vain.

Thirdly, there is tentatio, Anfechtung. This is the touchstone which teaches you not only to know and understand, but also to experience how right, how true, how sweet, how lovely, how mighty, how comforting God's Word is, wisdom beyond all wisdom.

Thus you see how David, in the Psalm mentioned, complains so often about all kinds of enemies, arrogant princes or tyrants, false spirits and factions, whom he must tolerate because he meditates, that is, because he is occupied with God's Word (as has been said) in all manner of ways. For as soon as God's Word takes root and grows in you, the devil will harry you, and will make a real doctor of you, and by his assaults will teach you to see and love God's Word. I myself (if you will permit me, mere mouse-dirt, to be mingled with pepper) am deeply indebted to my papists that through the devil's raging they have beaten, oppressed, and distressed me so much. That is to say, they have made a fairly good theologian of me, which I would not have become otherwise. And I heartily grant them what they have won in return for making this of me, honor, victory, and triumph, for that's the way they wanted it.

There now, with that you have David's rules. If you study hard in accord with his example, then you will also sing and boast with him in the Psalm, "The law of thy mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces" [Ps. 119:72]. Also, "Thy commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for thy testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, for I keep thy precepts," etc. [Ps. 119:98-100]. And it will be your experience that the books of the fathers will taste stale and putrid to you in comparison. You will not only despise the books written by adversaries, but the longer you write and teach the less you will be pleased with yourself. When you have reached this point, then do not be afraid to hope that you have begun to become a real theologian, who can teach not only the young and imperfect Christians, but also the maturing and perfect ones. For indeed, Christ's church has all kinds of Christians in it who are young, old, weak, sick, healthy, strong, energetic, lazy, simple, wise, etc.

If, however, you feel and are inclined to think you have made it, flattering yourself with your own little books, teaching, or writing, because you have done it beautifully and preached excellently; if you are highly pleased when someone praises you in the presence of others; if you perhaps look for praise, and would sulk or quit what you are doing if you did not get it-if you are of that stripe, dear friend, then take yourself by the ears, and if you do this in the right way you will find a beautiful pair of big, long, shaggy donkey ears. Then do not spare any expense! Decorate them with golden bells, so that people will be able to hear you wherever you go, point their fingers at you, and say, "See, See! There goes that clever beast, who can write such exquisite books and preach so remarkably well." That very moment you will be blessed and blessed beyond measure in the kingdom of heaven. Yes, in that heaven where hellfire is ready for the devil and his angels. To sum up: Let us be proud and seek honor in the places where we can. But in this book the honor is God's alone, as it is said, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble" [I Pet. 5:5]; to whom be glory, world without end, Amen.

A True Theologian

Herman Witsius, On the Character of a True Theologian, pp. 46-47 (1994 RAP ed.):

Show me a man who, intently meditating on sacred realities, does not simulate gravity by his beard or dress but, panting after the things which are above and eternal, holds in low estimation the sumptuous halls of the rich and the whole earth itself, with its gold and silver; who, satisfied with the grace of Christ the Saviour and the fellowship of the Divine Spirit inhabiting his breast, looks down as from a lofty eminence upon all the vanities and allurements of the world, coveting neither pleasures, nor wealth, nor honors; who, devoting himself wholly to the care of souls, and the defense, promotion, and enlargement of the kingdom of Christ, does not give himself up to secular business or politics, watches for no office, is no demagogue, does not pay court to the great, does not cringe to his ecclesiastical superiors, nor lord it over God's heritage, and, accurately assigning to the church, the college, and the civil power their proper relative places, confines himself to his own church or chair; who, the farther he advances in the contemplation of the things which are above and in the practice of chair; who, the farther he advances in the contemplation of the things which are above and in the practice of virtue, is the less disposed to tarnish the glory of his neighbor, measuring himself not by himself, but with those who are more perfect, and above all, with the perfect law of God; who, whensoever the cause of God, the salvation of souls, the defense of the Church, and the guardianship of the heavenly doctrine call for exertion, is all on fire with zeal for God and would rather die a hundred deaths than that one jot should be yielded to the enemy in that cause which is not his, but his Lord's; who, at the same time, would seek no revenge for personal injuries, would bear with moderation reproaches directed against himself, and in doubtful matters not insist upon his own opinion; who, as was said of Athanasius by the ancients, stands firm as a rock against the assaults of the violent, but as a magnetic center of attraction and union to those at variance; who, always exercising prudence, attempts nothing rashly, exerting himself unobtrusively even in the most difficult undertaking; who in fine, not feignedly nor lightly, but with the most unaffected simplicity, is ready to throw himself at the feet of all, preferring himself to no one, but everyone to himself, is forward to give honor to all, esteeming his neighbor more than himself -- show me, I say, such a man, and I will salute him as A TRUE THEOLOGIAN; him will I revere, him will I embrace, acknowledging that he is, and that in him is, the glory of Christ.

Catechetic and Acroamatic Theology; or, Milk and Meat

Luther Poellot, trans. and ed., The Nature and Character of Theology: An Introduction to the Thought of J.A. Quenstedt from Theologia Didactio-Polemica Sive Systema Theologicum, pp. 43-47:

Thesis XVI

The theology of indirect revelation, or of institution, is either catechetic, initial, or more elementary (which is also called [theology] of babes, of novices and beginners) or profound, advanced, or more detailed (which is also called [theology] of the mature [or] established).

Thesis XVII

Catechetic theology is that which singles out only the chief heads of Christian doctrine and trains the unlearned common people in them. Hence it is also called elementary or initial, because it teaches the first elements and rudiments of Christian religion and is chiefly concerned with laying the foundations of the doctrine of faith. This kind of teaching was once called catechesis and catechism, the teachers themselves were called catechists, the learners [were called] catechumens, [and] the action itself was called instruction or catechization, 1 Co. 14:19; Gl 6:6; Acts 18:25.
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Thesis XVIII

Acroamatic theology is that which teaches [and] establishes the mysteries of faith in greater detail and at greater length and refutes errors against sound doctrine, and it is [the theology] of the bishops and presbyters in the church, and especially of those who in the schools teach not simply Christians but future teachers of Christians and are called chief theologians.

Note: Catechetic theology differs from acroamatic not in the matter considered but by reason of the object and way of considering [it]....

Thesis XIX

In regard to manner of presentation, acroamatic theology is either exegetic, or didactic strictly so called, or polemic, or homiletic, or casual, or finally historical.

Thesis XX

Exegetic theology, which [is] also Biblical, also called prophetic by some, is that which is concerned with a paraphrase or a fuller explanation and commentary on either the whole or part of Holy Scripture, a book or some passage of it, and investigates its truth and true meaning.

Thesis XXI

Didactic theology, strictly so called, which is also called systematic and thetic or positive, is that which sets forth in order and clearly explains the theological commonplaces, exactly defines and divides the doctrines of faith, and derives and proves them from the fundamental seat that they have in Holy Scripture.

Note: This didactic theology is suited to schools and academies and is much more detailed and fuller than the popular or catechetical [theology] that obtains in the churches among the unlearned people....

Thesis XXII

Polemic theology, polemic and controversial, or controversial and refutative, which others call scholastic, or rather academic, deals with ancient and more recent theological controversies, properly formulates the point of the question, establishes the heavenly truth with arguments drawn from Holy Scripture, defends established [truth] against objections, asserts vindicated [truth] against objections and is thus concerned with building up orthodoxy and tearing down heterodoxy or in building up the truth and destroying falsehood. Briefly, Didactic theology teaches the truth, polemic [theology] defends the truth.

Note I. Didactic and controversial theology do not differ in regard to matter but only as to the way of handling [it].

Note II. In polemic theology this is especially to be avoided, that idle questions be piled up and arguments grow out of arguments, thus creating a theology of strife and contention, in which the truth is lost by too much altercation.

What is Theology?

A short but sweet answer to the question, What is theology?, is found in the Aphorisms of Campegius Vitringa the Elder:

Theology is that doctrine (John vii.16, 17) by which man, though a sinner, is rightly instructed concerning God, His way, and His worship, to the attainments of sure consolation in this life, (Rom. xv.4,) and safety in the life to come. (John xx.31. 1 Pet. i.9, 10.)

Prayer, Meditation, and Temptation

William Cunningham, Theological Lectures, pp. 59-62:

Luther was accustomed to say that there were three things that were necessary to make a theologian, viz., prayer, meditation, and temptation or experience. Under the head of meditation, he, of course, comprehended reading, to which the apostle enjoined Timothy to give attendance; but by including it under the head of meditation, he showed very emphatically the strength of his conviction, that it was not the mere perusal of books that was in itself of any very great value, unless men’s faculties were really brought to bear upon the subjects of the books read. There must be reading, much reading; but this reading must not be the mere devouring of books. It must be accompanied with such a careful weighing and digesting of what is read, that it should rather be called meditation than reading.
...
The necessity of combining reading and meditation, or reflection, is thus happily expressed by a celebrated writer, Gerhard John Vossius [1577-1649], the father of the equally celebrated Isaac Voss [1618-1689]: - "[English translation of the Latin remarks given here:] Reading and meditation ought to be very closely and intimately combined; for even reading does not penetrate into the mind, there being a necessity for attention while reading, and for meditation after it, that we may perceive the reasons and grounds of the particular statements made, and be able to apply what we read to other things of a similar kind. Without this what is read is not understood, and the small portion that may be comprehended will produce no fruit, because it has no root. It will also soon be forgotten, just as we see that what is not fixed deep in the earth is generally carried away by the wind. So that it is not be wondered at that men of extensive and multifarious reading are sometimes possessed of little or no judgment. The reason is, that they merely load their memories, and do not sharpen their judgment by exercising it. But as many 'helluones librorum' err on one side, devouring much and digesting nothing, so they err in an opposite extreme who, despising the labours of others, spend their time wholly in meditation, and because they are ignorant of what others have written, though much more true and excellent than anything they could have written, though much more true and excellent than anything they could produce, they often embrace their won dreams and fancies for oracles." - Gerhard Vossius, quoted in [Johann Buddeus' Isagoge historica-theologica ad theologiam universam 1727], p. 89.)

Art and the True Theologian

It is often said that "theology is the queen of the sciences" and that all secular learning is the "handmaiden" of theology. Bonaventure wrote in De reductione artium ad theologiam (On Retracing the Arts to Theology) that "all divisions of knowledge are handmaids of theology" and that "theology makes use of illustrations and terms pertaining to every branch of knowledge." He identifies four lights or illuminations ("lumen") which increasingly reveal knowledge to man: (1) lumen exterius, scilicet lumen artis mechanicae (the exterior light of the seven mechanical arts: weaving, armor making, agriculture, hunting, navigation, medicine and drama); (2) lumen inferius, scilicet lumen congnitionis sensitivae (the inferior light of sensory cognition corresponding to the five natural senses); (3) lumen interius, scilicet lumen cognitionis philosophicae (the interior light of philosophical knowledge, rational, natural and moral); and (4) lumen superius, scilicet lumen gratiae et sacrae Scripturae (the superior light of grace and sacred scripture). Elsewhere (in Itinerarium mentis ad Deum, or The Mind's Road to God), he employs the image of a ladder whereby one ascends from knowledge of that which is natural to that which is divine: "Since, then, we must mount Jacob's ladder before descending it, let us place the first rung of the ascension in the depths, putting the whole sensible world before us in a mirror, by which ladder we shall mount up to God." He sums up the aim of these ascending lights or ladder rungs in De reductione artium ad theologiam: "And this is the fruit of all sciences, that in all of them, faith may be strengthened, God may be honored, character may be formed, and consolation may be derived from union of the Spouse with His beloved, a union that takes place through charity, to the attainment of which the whole purpose of sacred Scripture, and consequently, every illumination descending from above, is directed. And this charity is that without all knowledge is vain, because no one comes to the Son except through the Holy Spirit Who teaches us all the truth and Who is blessed forever."

Herman Witsius, likewise, speaks of ascending knowledge and in this context shows how the arts are of value in his famous 1675 inaugural oration at the University of Franeker, De vero Theologo, or, On the Character of a True Theologian, pp. 28-30 (1994 Reformed Academic Press ed.):

Let us begin, therefore, with the lowest stage. He who would be a true theologian, and worthy of that honorable appellation, must lay the foundation of his studies in the lower school of nature and from every quarter of the universe, from the wonders of divine providence, from the monuments of ancient as well as modern history, from the shrines of all the arts, from the beauties of the various tongues, bring together and store up in his memory, as in a treasury of the most sacred kind, those things which, when afterwards advanced to a higher school, he may lay as a foundation for a nobler superstructure. It is not in vain that God has impressed visible marks of His invisible excellencies on His works. It is not in vain that He has introduced man, gifted with a discerning mind, into the magnificent theater of this world. It is not in vain that, in the government of the universe and in the vicissitudes of human affairs, He dispenses all things with an uncertainty that yet is regular -- with a good pleasure yet so wise. It is not in vain that He has so arranged the works of nature that in them may be discerned a sort of type of the works of grace and glory and, as it were, the rudiments of a better world. On the contrary, He has designed that from the attentive consideration of all these things, we should learn who and what He is, the Eternal, the Infinite, the Omnipotent, the Supremely Wise, at once the best and the greatest of beings, sufficient of Himself for His own full blessedness, since He gives life, and breath, and all things to all; worthy, in fine, of our worship and our imitation -- one to whom we should unreservedly give ourselves -- one in whose love, and in the enjoyment of whose excellence, we should place our highest happiness...Nor would we have our theologian contemplate only the works of God. Let him, on the contrary, labor to be thoroughly master of whatever aids of human industry has contrived for the guidance of the mind in the investigation of truth, or for that of the tongue, that it may prove a suitable interpreter to the mind. Let him consult in no cursory manner those who are masters in the sciences of logic, grammar, and rhetoric, using them as the Israelites of old did the Gibeonites, whose work it was to cleave wood and draw water for the use of the Sanctuary. The former furnish rules for definition, division, and arrangement; the latter teach the art of discoursing, not only with purity and precision, but also with elegance and effect. Their united influence can thus afford the most appropriate aids to those who serve in the Tabernacle of God. Let the theologian collect moral precepts from the opinions of the philosophers, and examples from the monuments of history, that they may prove a spur in his pursuit of higher attainments, or if less effectual for such a purpose, that they may at least serve to put to shame habits of sluggishness and inactivity. Let him apply himself diligently to the acquisition of different languages, and especially of those which God has distinguished by making them the channels of conveyance for His heavenly oracles, that he may understand God when He speaks, as it were, in His own language, that he who acts as the interpreter of God and hears the word at His mouth, may not require an interpreter for himself. Whatever is sound and judicious in human arts, whatever is true and substantial in philosophy, whatever is elegant and graceful in the wide extent of polite literature, all flow from the Father of Lights, the inexhaustible Fountain of all reason, truth, and beauty; and all this, therefore, collected from every quarter, ought again to be consecrated to Him. Although such things may appear trifling and earthly, yet these same trifling and earthly things form the needle by which we may introduce the golden threads of heavenly truth and fasten them securely in our minds. They are as a mirror by whose aid the exquisitely delicate ideas of spiritual objects may be more clearly perceived by our renewed eyes. These are the elementary studies of the future theologian. If they are contempuously despised, it is scarcely to be expected that his engaging in those of a higher description will be attended by the wished for fruits, or fulfil what is justly expected in one of his name and office.

The True Theologian

Martin Bucer: "True theology is not theoretical, but practical. The end of it is living, that is to live a godly life."

William Perkins: 'Theology is “the science of living blessedly forever.”'

William Ames: 'Theology is the “doctrine of living to God.”'

Herman Witsius: “He alone is a true theologian who adds the practical to the theoretical part of religion.”