History of the Development of Theological Methods

The scholarly monograph by Andrzej A. Napiórkowski OSPPE, History of the Development of Theological Methods, examines the historical formation of research methods used in theological reflection from the beginnings of Christianity to the present day. The aim of the publication is to fill a significant gap in Polish and European theological literature by offering a comprehensive account of the evolution of ways of interpreting Judeo-Christian Revelation and God’s action in history, the Church, and the human experience of faith. The methodology adopted is historical-theological, hermeneutical, and critical: the author reconstructs successive research models, analyses their cultural, philosophical, and ecclesial conditions, and takes into account Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant traditions. The main findings reveal the plurality of theological methods, their dependence on historical context, and the tension between academic rationality, fidelity to dogma, liturgical life, mystical experience, and the need to communicate faith intelligibly. The publication demonstrates that contemporary theology can be reduced neither to a positivist model of scientific inquiry nor to a static repetition of doctrinal formulas. The monograph concludes by proposing a new, integral theological methodology rooted in Sacred Scripture and Tradition, open to hermeneutics, interdisciplinarity, cultural context, and the ecclesial dimension of faith.