In years past, theology was known as "the queen of the sciences." "Science" in this context means "an organized body of knowledge"—thus it applies to subjects other than biology and the physical sciences, although it includes those as well.

Why was theology given this title by scholars and saints in prior centuries?

Because these very wise men and women understood a basic truth—a truth which many intellectuals of our generation have either ignored or forgotten. You can express the truth in this way: Good theology, good everything else; bad theology, bad everything else.

For example, if your theology is good (in other words, if your understanding of God and his eternal law is correct), then your morality will be good (in the sense that you will clearly recognize the difference between right and wrong, the difference between virtue and vice). If your theology is good and you are a doctor, then your medical practice will be good: you will use your medical knowledge and training to preserve life and not to manipulate or destroy it. If your theology is good, your use of technology will be good: you will follow the laws of God in using computers and other high-tech devices. If your theology is good, your use of money will be good. This is an insight we get in today’s second reading from 2 Corinthians 8. Good theology teaches us (among other things) that God is a generous Giver—the most generous of all givers! After all, he gave us his very best—his only begotten Son—so that through him we might have eternal life. Paul’s message to us in this text is that our giving to one another should also be generous—as generous as possible given our particular financial circumstances.

Good theology also makes for good psychology! In today’s Gospel reading from Mark 5, Jesus says to the synagogue official (and to all of us), "Do not be afraid; just have faith." Good theology teaches us that God is faithful and that he’s always with us. If we truly believe those things, fear and anxiety will diminish in our heart, and we will have peace.

Good theology even fosters good coping skills—especially when tragedy strikes. How many people blame God when, for example, a loved one dies? They say, "Why did God do this? Why did he take this person from me?" They act as if God were the enemy; they talk as if he (and not the devil) were the dealer of death. No wonder they have such trouble coping with their loss! Now please don’t misunderstand me, these situations are always difficult to deal with—even Jesus cried when his friend Lazarus died. But it’s so much worse when our minds are filled with bad theology! Good theology teaches us that God is not the dealer of death, HE’S THE LORD AND GIVER OF LIFE! This is one of the theological messages contained in our first reading from the Book of Wisdom: "God did not make death . . . by the envy of the devil death entered the world. . . . God formed man to be imperishable . . . he fashioned all things that they might have being." Believing basic, theological truths like these will make a big difference whenever we lose someone close to us. Because if we truly believe that God is the Lord and giver of life and not the dealer of death, then we will turn toward him and not away from him in our pain. This will bring us grace and consolation. And if we know good theology concerning the passion, death, and resurrection of Christ, we will also have a deep hope in our heart—hope that our deceased relative or friend is now sharing in the eternal happiness that God wants to give all of us in Christ Jesus. This is the hope St. Paul is pointing us toward in today’s second reading when he says that Jesus, "though he was rich, for [our] sake became poor, so that by his poverty [we] might become rich."

And here’s one final, timely example: good theology leads to good judicial decisions. Which means that bad theology leads to evil, unjust judicial decisions—like the one made this past week by the U.S. Supreme court which legalizes infanticide! Five of those judges need to go back to college and take Theology 101, where you learn that God is the author of life, and that every human person is made in God’s image. Consequently, every human being is to be treated with respect from the moment of their conception until the moment of their natural death.