Metaphysical theology is a non-accredited field that combines metaphysics and theology, borrowing concepts from non-Western theology, philosophy, history, and medicine. It is offered by organizations offering unaccredited online degree programs to “holistic healers” and is unlikely to be recognized as a valid degree by any accredited institution. While it may offer a unique insight into a wide range of concepts, it is a misappropriation of legitimate terminology created to give authority to an ill-defined range of topics that would be better described under a different title.
Metaphysical theology is a little-known field of study that combines two disciplines, metaphysics and theology, in an attempt to create a blanket term for a school of thought that does not actually exist in any accredited institution of higher learning. It was created by organizations offering unaccredited online degree programs to “holistic healers” and does not refer to an accepted academic discipline.
Metaphysical theology borrows concepts from separate branches of non-Western theology, philosophy, history, and medicine to create its own fusion of thought and practice. This includes the history of world religion, spirituality, altered consciousness, the paranormal, and holistic healing. While metaphysical theology might provide a unique insight into a wide range of concepts, a graduate degree in metaphysical theology is unlikely to be recognized as a valid degree by any accredited institution.
In the history of religion, theology refers to the study of the nature of God and religious truth. Seminary or divinity schools, specializing in the training of priests, ministers, or rabbis, offer broad training in theology, which may culminate in a DD, or doctor of divinity. In metaphysical theology, a similar degree is supposedly offered, but without the same officially sanctioned training. In this case, the theology appears to be a hodgepodge of historical information gleaned from many religions and more closely resembles a study in comparative religion.
Metaphysics, which is a branch of philosophy, is concerned with understanding and describing the nature of the world and of being, approaching many of the same concepts as theology, but from a rigorous philosophical stance that accepts no reliance on a higher truth. Unlike theology, metaphysics is based on man’s rational ability to investigate the world. Some problems of metaphysical language and questions of logic led to what many philosophers agree was its “death” in the mid-twentieth century, which led to the emergence of other modes of philosophical inquiry such as “deconstruction” and “ordinary language philosophy”. ”.
In metaphysical theology, the current analytic philosophy of metaphysics is replaced by a free interpretation of the concept of metaphysics without any reference to its history. Instead, the emphasis is on ideas such as altered states of consciousness, hypnosis, mediation, and holistic healing. Various types of spirituality and paranormal theory are falsely associated with a legitimate academic discipline whose long history can only briefly or incidentally touch on such matters. Metaphysical theology also includes references to pseudoscientific concepts such as “metaphysical healing,” which are generally associated with fraudulent medical practices and money-making scams.
Anyone considering a metaphysical theology degree should be wary of its apparent academic validity. While it may offer a useful approach to new age or alternative medicine, and perhaps the comparative history of religion, the terminology and uses are taken out of context. The presentation of this discipline appears as a misappropriation of legitimate terminology created to give authority to an ill-defined range of topics that would be better described under a different title.
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