What is theology?

What is theology?

Is it the study of God?

Which is better? Having a real experience with God which seems so real or to read about him in the Bible which seems less real.

Example,

Imagine yourself walking along a beach and looking out into the South China Sea along the east coast of West Malaysia. It is indeed the South China Sea because you can see it, hear it, feel it and even taste it but when you look into the map featuring the South China Sea, it seems less real.

However, the map is needed to navigate if say, you want to sail to Hong Kong. Remember that that map includes the real experiences of hundreds of people who have sailed that sea. These are not elementary drawings but advanced cartography.

Our experiences though real are elementary and quite often confusing because it does not quite often leads us to action.

So theology is a map that leads us to God

This is my reflection based on the readings of C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity (Book Four - Theology)