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Hugh McElwain. O.S.M.
Theology in an Age of Christian Renewal
To be revelant to the modern world theologr must seek to renew itself .both internallr and externallr
"The substance of the ancient doctrine of the deposit of faith is one thing and the way in which it is presented is another. And it is the latter that must be taken into great consideration, with patience if necessary, everything being measured in the forms and proportions of a magisterium which is predominately pastoral in character" (Pope John XXIII, Opening address to Vatican II). Theology must be alert to the danger of becoming irrelevant. No matter how solid a conceptual structure a theological framework may present in itself, it is quite useless ultimately if it does not speak to the people of our time in the signs and symbols that they understand. The Church by divine declaration must be the constant Christian challenge to the world. On the specific level of dogmatic theology, that is, the systematic understanding and synthesis of divine revelation, the 147