Experience of the human and transcendent: in Christian Faith and theology

Experience of the human and transcendent: in Christian Faith and theology
“I feel therefore I am” Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)

For this topic I think it is important for me to recall the definition of theology and connect that to the definition of experience.
So what is Theology? Theology describes the study, writing, research or speaking on the nature of gods especially in relation to human experience. (This definition was taken from the notes of the very first lecture we had on theology)
What is Experience? Experience as a general concept comprises knowledge of or skill in or observation of something or some event gained through involvement in or exposure to that thing or event.
So the next question that follows is what is the relationship between experience and theology? More precisely what is the variety of models in which experience is employed as a source for the doing of Theology?
From the definition of Theology, it is quite obvious that there is a significant but also complex relationship between the study of Theology and human experience and that was explored further in the lecture.
“Christian faith is bound up in some way with the experience of the individual both as an individual and as a member of that community” Practice page 185
Experience is very important in Christianity because every Christian must go on a personal spiritual journey and every journey is different . This journey is important because it helps create or solidify the foundation of your faith- “I feel therefore I am”
Having said that, there are two questions one must ask here- is experience important to study Theology? And vice versa?. To answer that question, one must understand that because experience is so personal and different to each individual the role it would play in the study of theology is very tricky because you then have to ask yourself – is one persons experience more real than the other? Which experience is more important? What characteristics must these experiences have? Where do you draw the line? And who is in charge of drawing the line? When you start asking these questions, you realise the relationship is not so clear cut after all.
Going back to the bible it is quite obvious that most stories in the bible are in part stories of human experiences with God, this could then mean that “the experience of the people of God has shaped and critiqued theology” but this should not mean that theology should accept a claim of truth that is based on experience alone for the reasons just mentioned above. Theology should be able to respect this claim but also seek out a way to test this claim.
At the risk of making this essay monotonus and repeating myself, experience of God is very personal but also has many grey areas as St Augustine of Hippo tried to point out. In his autobiography Confessions, he questions his own experiences “Shall I call on God so as to know him or do I call on Him because I know Him? “, Does experience of God equal the knowledge of God or does knowledge give the experience?
I think individual experience is very important for theological enquiry and perhaps this might apply more to the Christian faith but that’s the gift of Jesus Christ. The personal experience is important at some point in ones journey for you to have some knowledge of God as it is my belief that “Every Christian is a potential theologian”( http://www.ewtn.com/library/THEOLOGY/EXTHEO.htm) but it is not mandatory that Christians study theology to become a more rounded Christian. That would be putting Christianity in a box and Christianity can never be put in a box.