Abstract:
Notwithstanding the carefully defined parameters of the various departments within
theology, the aspirant student sometimes finds it difficult to define the precise department
within which a specific study would best be located. We have discovered that these various
fields and departments have many areas of commonality and the borders between them
are tested often, even in our own studies. However, we have learned that crossing between
one field and another should not be seen as a problem but as strength, as it will enable the
researcher to motivate and test his or her theological convictions. It is in this context that the
subject of this article finds its motivation. Through it we have argued for a practical theology
that will be responsible for engaging with its own theology, in order to find the necessary
energy to sustain itself. Not only should practical theology be energised by its theology, it
should also, as its name implies, be practical in its nature, offering help to all people in need
of pastoral care.
