What Is Theology?
Ryrie breaks down theology according to its etymology to show that, “The word ‘theology,’ from θεός (theos), meaning God and λογός (logos) meaning rational expression, means the rational interpretation of religious faith.”1 Therefore, theology, in a broad sense, is anything dealing with a system of religious belief. This definition would include everyone’s belief systems, even that of an atheist. However for our purposes, theology has a much more narrow definition. Theology is anything that is said about God and His work from Scripture. Reasons for this will be explained as we study the Bibliology section.
What Is Systematic Theology?
Theology can be studied using different methods. The method that will use for our study is systematic theology. Systematic theology is nothing more than theology organized into topics and/or categories. “Systematic theology is any study that answers the question, ‘What does the whole Bible teach us today?’ about any given topic.”2 So, for example, what does the Bible say about angels? One would then search for all of the Bible passages that mention or pertain to angels. Once they are all found, one would then harmonize and summarize those passage into an applicable statement. “Theology, therefore, is the exhibition of the facts of Scripture in their proper order and relation, with the principles or general truths involved in the facts themselves, and which pervade and harmonize the whole.”3 What I will be presenting are the final conclusions of such work.
There is a total of ten systems in systematic theology.
- Bibliology. The study of what the Bible says about itself.
- Theology Proper. The study of what the Bible says about God.
- Pneumatology. The study of what the Bible says about the Holy Spirit.
- Christology. The study of what the Bible says about Jesus Christ.
- Angelology. The study of what the Bible says about angels.
- Anthropology. The study of what the Bible says about mankind.
- Hamartiology. The study of what the Bible says about sin.
- Soteriology. The study of what the Bible says about the way of salvation.
- Ecclesiology. The study of what the Bible says about the Church.
- Eschatology. The study of what the Bible says about last things or things yet to come.
There is no hard and fast list of systems in systematic theology. I use the list above only because it is what I am accustomed to. Some theologians will group one system with another or possibly add another system to the list. As we study these systems, you will notice that one will cover portions of another system.
The other possible methods of studying theology include historical theology (studying popular theological beliefs that were taught during different periods of time, e.g. Medieval Theology), biblical theology (theology that emphasized by specific parts or authors of the Bible, e.g. theology of the Noahic period), dogmatic theology (theology that is emphasized by a specific church group or denomination, e.g. Calvinistic theology), or apologetic theology (theology that is used to demonstrate the Christian faith as a valid and sound system of belief). We will be using a systematic approach for studying theology because it will be the easiest method to find a personal application.
Why Study Systematic Theology?
The truth of the matter is that everyone is theologian weather they realize it or not. Everyone has a personal belief in matters that relate to God. Even the atheist is a theologian. The atheist’s belief concerning God is that there is no God. The naturalist, the deist, the new age spiritualist, the muslim, the pantheist, the skeptic, and the Christian all have ideas that pertain to God and/or a worldview. Everyone has a worldview. A worldview is a set of presuppositions that one holds to be true and uses these presuppositions to interpret the rest of one’s beliefs and opinions.
The end goal in studying systematic theology for the Christian faith would be that the Christian will have a logically sound worldview that is consistent with the whole Bible. This will enable the believer to know when these different worldviews conflict with the Christian worldview presented in the Bible and to understand why a false worldview fails (Eph. 5:15-17; Col. 2:7-8). Another end result of studying systematic theology would be that the Christian will know how to live his life properly (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Correct actions are followed by correct thinking.
Examples of Systematic Theology in Scripture
The following are examples of when individuals studied or presented the Scripture to see or show what the Scriptures say about a particular topic.
- The Jerusalem council searched the Scriptures to decide if circumcision was necessary for salvation (Acts 15:1-29).
- Apollos showed that Jesus was the Christ from the Scriptures (Acts 18:28).
- Paul showed that Jesus was the Christ from the Scriptures (Acts 17:1-3).
- The author of Hebrews demonstrates the divine Sonship of Christ (Heb. 1:1-14).
- The author of Hebrews demonstrates the nature of faith (Heb. 11:1-40).
- Jesus explains to the disciples on the road to Emmaus that it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer (Luke 24:13-27).
Necessary Presuppositions
Language conveys meaning that can be understood by the audience as originally intended by the author. I should not have to say this but I do thanks to a post modernity movement called Deconstruction. Deconstruction states that no one can truly know what a person is trying to communicate because the meaning is lost through the interpretation of words. When a Deconstructionist looks at Scripture, they claim that one can never truly know what the author meant, especially since the source came from a different language than our own. However, the theory of Deconstruction is self defeating. The only way to communicate what Deconstruction means is through words that are subject to interpretation.
Reason is a valuable tool in studying theology. However, if there be a time when our reasoning is coming to a conclusion that is different from what is stated in Scripture, then our reasoning must be wrong. This is due to the authority, inerrancy and inspiration of Scripture. This will be shown to be the case as we go through Bibliology.
There will be times when the Scriptures has statements that appear to not be consistent with each other. This is usually due to a misunderstanding of one of the Scripture passages. A further study of Scripture will often correct these cases. Every once in a while Scripture will teach us something that does not make sense (e.g. the will of man and the sovereignty of God). At these times, the Christian must be willing to admit that he does not understand the thoughts of God even though they have been revealed to us in Scripture (Isa. 55:8-9).
1. Charles C. Ryrie, Basic Theology: A Popular Systematic Guide to Understanding Biblical Truth (Chicago: Moody Press, 1999), 13.
2. Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994), 21.
3. Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology (1873; repr., Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2013), 1:19.
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