Historical, Biblical & Systematic Theology

I am so glad you're here and decided to join me in this three week series. I know what it's like to feel completely intimidated by just the word 'theology.' Please don't.

My vision is to make this is informational as well as transformational! Transformational to the point of understanding it in such a way that you begin to incorporate some of this in your walk with the Lord, and in conversations with others. Not in a "look at what I know" way, but in a "because God's Word is inspired and inerrant, let's look to His Word for comfort right now" way. You pickin' up what I'm layin' down? Do people say that anymore?

There is also some Church History sprinkled in. Approach it with curiosity. Try not to dismiss it or check out. That's important too.

With all of that said, let's dive right in.

Take your time.

Ask questions.

Be curious.

First and foremost, let's develop specific definitions for three different types of theology. Then, we'll unpack how they relate to one another and how each of them impacts our relationship with Christ.

People of faith who are seeking to understand the truths, lessons, teachings, languages, culture, and wisdom of Scripture, should approach this with the perspective that it is not just about the learned information, but rather the applied transformation of Truth to everyday life.[1] Having a foundational theological, historical, biblical, and systematic framework will us establish the way we approach theology as a whole. It will also help us better understand how to live and how to apply it.

Together, let's establish a firm foundation and depth in both the head and heart knowledge of theology, and historical, biblical, and systematic theologies.

Theology and Historical Theology

Theology and historical theology go hand-in-hand. Theology is the umbrella and everything else under the umbrella are different types of theologies. Studying theology individually (historical, biblical, systematic) is key to grasping their meanings, but in the end all theologies should be looked at in unity with one another.[2] To better understand them in unity, we will look at them individually. Then, we will talk through how each theology shapes our faith and relationship with Christ.

Theology Shapes our Faith and Relationship with Christ

Theology can be defined in a variety of ways. Defining it sets the trajectory for our understanding of the other three we'll be looking at; historical, biblical, and systematic.

Theology: The study of the Triune God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit); how He has revealed Himself to mankind through general and special revelation (i.e., creation, His Word); how we can know of Him and know Him (personally); and lastly, what it means to follow Him according to what is revealed to us through His divinely inspired, inerrant Word (the Bible). I hope I didn't lose you! In a nutshell, theology is the study of God.

This understanding of what theology is, is foundational because it shapes both our faith and our relationship with Christ. It may seem confusing at times but studying (I use that term loosely) theology is vital to the Christian faith (as defined above). We can know Him. Not just a head knowledge know but an intimate know. We can learn new things about Him!

How we view God, what we know of Him both personally and experientially, and how we understand His character from His Word shapes us. It affects how we live out what we believe when we're under trials, facing suffering, or experiencing joy. It is in these moments that our theology either weakens or strengthens our relationship with Christ. [3] We can begin to dive a bit deeper and start looking at the three other types of theology under the umbrella of "theology." Let's look at historical theology and how it not only shapes our faith and relationship with Christ but how it's intertwined with theology.

Historical Theology Shapes our Faith and Relationship with Christ

Historical theology stems from theology. Remember, it's under the umbrella. If we know that theology is the study of God, then...

Historical Theology: The study of the Triune God over monumental historical periods of time that focused on the following: theologians and their beliefs on specific topics; events during the Patristic, Medieval, Reformation, and Modern periods that shaped our dogma, doctrine, practices, and denominations. The historicity of our theology has shaped how we view and live out our relationship with Christ.

[Dogma: a doctrine that is central to our faith.

Doctrine: an official teaching of the church.

*A dogma is a doctrine; a doctrine is not always a dogma.] (Thank you Dr. Svigel for your breakdown of this)

Everything that happened in history throughout the different time periods is connected to what has been believed about theology. For example: Gregory of Nazianzus was an orator and his desire was to unite ascetic piety (self-denial for spiritual goals) with literary culture using contemplation. [4] He became bishop of the capital at the Council of Constantinople in 381, and is most known for his five theological orations in which he clearly defines his understanding of the doctrine of the Trinity.[5] Because of Gregory’s desire and dedication, we have a foundation on which to start forming our beliefs on the doctrine of the Trinity (based on Scripture and study of other theologians and forefathers). Historical theology connects us to the roots of those who have gone before us, and it should shape our personal theology, which does affect our relationship with the Lord and what we believe about Him.

Biblical and Systematic Theology

Biblical and Systematic theology also go hand-in-hand. They are individual theologies that should be studied both separately and in unity with one another. Biblical theology is limited to the use of the Bible as its source, whereas Systematic theology is not limited to Biblical theology but is rooted in a system. It contains a more organized and structured way of viewing theology of the world, God, and mankind.

Biblical Theology Shapes our Faith and Relationship with Christ

Biblical theology seeks to shape our faith, worldview, and relationship with Christ by leaning on theology, historical, and systematic theology, in order to establish a Biblical view of who God is, and how He gives meaning to this world from what He has done throughout history.[6]

Biblical Theology: The study of the Triune God as He has revealed Himself to us through His Word. Some of the ways we can do this are as follows: observing and interpreting the Hebrew and Greek texts; studying the Word in its individual books; and coming back to the text as a unified whole (one whole story), seeking to apply what we've learned to our daily life as well as to our relationship with Christ.

Biblical theology is limited to Scripture and Scripture is true in all that it affirms; therefore biblical theology is rooted in faith seeking understanding of the Scriptures.[7] Studying the Scriptures helps shape our faith in the God we are desiring to know and understand. It also shapes our relationship with Christ in that the things we are learning about Him should be transformational not just informational. That means it the knowledge goes from our head to our hearts, changing the way we live little by little. Knowing what we do about Biblical theology will now help us understand how it works in unity with systematic theology.

Systematic Theology Shapes our Faith and Relationship with Christ

Systematic theology is just that; systematic. It consists of an organized system in which to better understand our (study of) theology.

Systematic Theology: The study of the Triune God in an organized, orderly way that synthesizes the dogma and doctrine (see definitions above) we live by, as it communicates the core values of what we believe about the main points of our Christian faith.[8]

Systematic theology is not biblical, but it contains biblical theology in that it uses Scripture to affirm the points of the faith that are being addressed. Did you follow that? In order to understand systematic theology we need to know that biblical theology is studying parts of Scripture as well as the whole. Biblical theology becomes systematic when we take what we have learned and apply it to our faith and relationship with Christ. The knowledge we have should be used for the edification of the church and its people, as well as for the proclaiming of the Gospel to the ends of the earth.[9] Systematic theology was instilled in the church for catechesis purposes (summary of principles of Christian faith in the form of question and answer), as well as for the spiritual formation of the body of believers. [10] It is a way for followers of Christ to approach the Scriptures intellectually, orderly, and in unity with biblical theology.

All of this was a very broad overview of what theology is and means, the different types of theologies, and what it all means to our Christian faith. Each of the theologies can be studied individually and it's also important to look at them in conjunction with one another. When we begin to understand how theology shapes our worldview, our lives, and our individual relationships with Christ, it transforms. All of theology is for our transformation, not just to gain more information.[11]

What does all of this mean for you? Know God.

Look at the history of our Christian faith/roots. Come to the Bible with questions, wanting to know more about God's heart and character.

Read up on some Christian dogma and doctrine (Exploring Theology vol.1&2 books).

In it together.

Bibliography

Elwell, Walter A. Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic,

2001.

Ferguson, Everett. Church History From Christ to Pre-Reformation Volume One. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005.

Holsteen, Nathan, D. and Svigel, Michael J. Exploring Christian Theology Volume One. Bloomington: Bethany House Publishers, 2014.

McGrath, Alister E. Christian Theology An Introduction. 5th ed. Malden: Blackwell Publishers, 2011.

______________________

[1] Nathan D. Holsteen, and Michael J. Svigel, Exploring Christian Theology, Douglas K. Blount, Nathan D. Holsteen, Glenn R. Kreider, and Michael J. Svigel, Volume One (Bloomington: Bethany House Publishers, 2014), 77. [2] Walter A. Elwell, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, Walter A. Elwell, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House Company, 2001), 1188. [3] Ibid., 77. [4] Everett Ferguson, Church History, Everett Ferguson, From Christ to Pre-Reformation, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005), 215. [5] Ibid., 216. [6] Ibid., 163. [7] Ibid., 75. [8] Alister E. McGrath, Christian Theology An Introduction, Alister E. McGrath, 5th ed. (Malden: Blackwell Publishers, 2011), 105. [9] Ibid., 1163. [10] Ibid. 1162. [11] Ibid., 77.