NOTE: We understand the terms “the whole counsel of God” and “foundation”, used by Paul (Acts 20:27; 1 Corinthians 3:10, 11), as synonymous with “the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” used by Judas in his epistle (vs. 3). These terms mean the entire body of truth given to us in the Bible. It is what we also call Christian Doctrine, and Biblical or Systematic Theology.
I. DEFINITION OF THEOLOGY
“Theology is the science of God and of the relations between God and the
universe” (Strong).
Theology is the “science of things divine” (Hooker).
1. Derivation.
Theology comes from two Greek words, namely, theos, God, and logos,
speech or reason. Etymologically, theology means a reasoned discourse or
treatise about God.
2. Use.
As a term, theology has both a narrow and a broad use:
a. In its narrow use, theology means the doctrine of God, His being and
works.
b. In its broad use, theology means the sum of Christian doctrines.
NOTE: John is called “the theologian,” because he
treats of the inner relations of the Trinity. Gregory Nazianzen was so called
because he defended the deity of Christ against the Arians (A. D. 325-300), and
since his time it has been the prevailing usage to employ the term theology in
the broad sense.
3. Possibility.
According to Strong’s definition,
theology has a threefold ground, viz:
a. “In the existence of a God who has relations to the universe”.
b. “In the capacity of the human mind for knowing God and certain of
these relations”.
c. “In the provision of means by which God is brought into actual
contact with the mind, or, in other words, in the provision of revelation”.
4. Necessity.
The science of theology finds its necessity in these grounds:
a. In the instinct of the mind for system.
“Theology is a rational necessity. If all existing theological systems
were destroyed today, new systems would arise tomorrow. So inevitable is the
operation of this law that those who most decry theology show, nevertheless,
that they have made a theology for themselves, and often one sufficiently
meager and blundering. Hostility to theology, where it does not originate in
mistaken fears for the corruption of God’s truth or in a naturally illogical
structure of mind, often proceeds from a license of speculation which cannot
brook the restraints of a complete Scriptural system” (Strong).
b. In the importance of systematic truth to the development of Christian
character.
Theology should be dignified, not disparaged. Its study has sometimes
been decried as deadening the religious affections. This is a mistake, since it
deals with those truths which are best adapted to nourish the religious
affections. Genuine piety is not weakened but strengthened by the systematic
study of religious truth. Other things being equal, he is the strongest
Christian who has the firmest grasp on the great fundamental truths of
Christianity. It has been well said that “Christian morality is a fruit that
grows only from the tree of doctrine and that Christian character rests upon Christian
truth as its foundation” (Farr).
“Some knowledge is necessary to conversion— at least, knowledge of sin
and knowledge of a Saviour; and the putting together of these two great truths
is the beginning of theology” (Strong).
See Colossians 1:10; II Peter 3.18. Texts representing truth as food,
Jeremiah 15.16; Matthew 4.4; I Corinthians 3.1, 2; Hebrews 5.14; Job 23.12.
c. In the importance to the believer of definite and just views of
divine truth.
Especially true is this of the preacher: Ephesians 6.17; II Timothy 2.2,
25. “To mutilate it or misrepresent it (the teaching of the Scripture) is not
only sin against the Revealer of it—it may prove the ruin of men’s souls. The
best safeguard against such mutilation or misrepresentation is the diligent study
of the several doctrines of the faith in their relations to one another, and
especially to the central theme of theology, the person and work of Jesus
Christ” (Strong).
d. In the close relation between correct doctrine and the safety and
aggressive power of the church: I Timothy 3.15; II Timothy 1.13.
“Defective understanding of the truth results sooner or later in defects
of organization, of operation, and of life. Thorough comprehension of Christian
truth as an organized system furnishes, on the one hand, not only an invaluable
defense against heresy and immorality, but also an indispensable stimulus and
instrument in aggressive labor for the world’s conversion” (Strong).
“A creed is like a backbone. A man does not need to wear his backbone in
front of him; but he must have a backbone and a straight one, or he will be a
flexible if not a humpbacked Christian” (H. Osgood).
e. In the injunctions of Scripture, both direct and indirect: John 5.39;
I Corinthians 2.13; Colossians 1.27, 28; Ephesians 4.11, 12; I Timothy 3.2; II
Timothy 2.15; Titus 1.9.
II. DEFINITION OF RELIGION
“Religion in its essential idea is a life in God, a life lived in
recognition of God, in communion with God, and under control of the indwelling
Spirit of God” (Strong). “The life of God in the soul of man”.
1. Derivation.
This is uncertain. Two views are held:
a. By some it is taken from the Latin verb religare, signifying “to bind back,” that is, man to God.
b. Others, with perhaps greater accuracy, take it from the Latin verb religere, signifying “to go over again,”
“to ponder carefully,” that is, a reverent observance of one’s duties to God.
2. Relation to Theology.
Theology is a science; religion is a life. “One may be a theologian and
not a religious man. One may know some things about God and not know God
Himself” (Farr).
NOTE: Some would make religion a kind of knowing,
while others would make it exclusively a matter of feeling; but as Strong says, “Since it is a life, it cannot
be described as consisting solely in the exercise of any one of the powers of
intellect, affection, or will. As physical life involves the unity and
cooperation of all the organs of the body so spiritual life involves the united
working of all the powers of the soul. To feeling, however, we must assign the
logical priority, since holy affection toward God, imparted in regeneration, is
the condition of truly knowing God and of truly serving Him”.
3. Relation to Morality.
Morality is a law; religion is a life. “Morality is conformity to an
abstract law of right, while religion is essentially a relation to a person,
from whom the soul receives blessing and to whom it surrenders itself in love
and obedience” (Strong). From the Latin mos, plural mores , comes the word
moral. The original word means a way of acting and the English word signifies a
right way of acting. “Ethical” comes from the Greek and has the same force. “Hence
the law which tells men how they should act with reference to right and wrong
is called moral law, and man is said to have a moral nature because he is
capable of acting right” (Farr). See Titus 2.1-15.
4. Relation to Worship.
Worship is an art: religion is a life. “Worship is the outward
expression of religion. In it God speaks to man and man to God. It therefore
properly includes the reading of Scripture and preaching on the side of God,
and prayer and song on the side of the people” (Strong).
Worship, of course, may be both private and public.
NOTE: “We judge a man’s theology by his creed. We
judge of a man’s religion by his life. Theology is of the head, religion is of
the heart. God judges us not by what is in our heads, but by what is in our
hearts. Religion, not theology, is the final test by which we stand or fall.
Many a one who did not subscribe to the Westminster Catechism may be in heaven
after all, while another, well grounded in the Five Points of Calvinism and
with the Thirty-nine Articles at his tongue’s end, may find himself in hell,
damned in spite of his theology” (Farr).
III. SOURCES OF THEOLOGY
The sources of theology are twofold, viz: Nature and the Scriptures. See
Romans 1.20; Psalm 8.3; 19.1; II John 9.
1. Nature.
“The universe is a source of theology. The Scriptures assert that God
has revealed Himself in nature. There is not only an outward witness to His
existence and character in the constitution and government of the universe, but
an inward witness to His character in the heart of every man. The systematic
exhibition of these facts, whether derived from observation, history, or
science, constitutes natural theology” (Strong). Outward witness: Romans
1.18-20, 33; 2.15.
2. The Scriptures.
“The Christian revelation is the chief source of theology. The
Scriptures plainly declare that the revelation of God in nature does not supply
all the knowledge which a sinner needs: Acts 17.23; Ephesians 3.9, 10. This
revelation is therefore supplemented by another in which divine attributes and
merciful provisions only dimly shadowed forth in nature are made known to men.
This latter revelation consists of a series of supernatural events and
communications, the record of which is presented in the Scriptures” (Strong).
NOTE: There are four mistaken sources of theology,
namely: traditionalism, rationalism, confessionalism, and mysticism.
1. TRADITIONALISM.
Rome elevates her interpretations of the Scriptures to a plane of
equality with the Scriptures themselves.
2. RATIONALISM.
Rationalists subject the teaching of the Scriptures to the criterion of
human reason, rejecting what is contrary thereto.
3. CONFESSIONALISM.
The symbol and creed of the church interpret and explicate the
Scriptures, but can add nothing thereto in the way of new knowledge.
4. MYSTICISM.
Christian experience is a witness to the truth of Scripture, but is not
an independent source of knowledge of divine things.
IV. LIMITATIONS OF THEOLOGY
These are found:—
1. In the finiteness of the human mind: Job 11.7; Romans 11.33.
2. In the imperfect state of science.
The so-called conflict between science and revelation grows out of
either an imperfect knowledge of science or an imperfect knowledge of
revelation. They cannot conflict when rightly understood, for both are from the
same mind and hand: Psalm 19.
3. In the inadequacy of human language: I Corinthians 2 13; II Corinthians 3.5, 6; 12.4.
It is impossible perfectly to express divine truth in human words. Even
the Greek language, the most perfect medium of human communication known, is not
subtle enough to catch shades of divine truth. The New Testament writers had to
give new meanings to old words, thus: logos, hamartia, mysterion, katallasso,
etc.
4. In the incompleteness of our knowledge of the
Scriptures: Psalm 119.18; Luke 24.32, 45.
5. In the silence of the written revelation: Deuteronomy 29.29; Luke 13.23, 24; John 13.7; I
Corinthians 2.9.
Observe the silence of Scripture: On the life and death of the virgin
Mary, the personal appearance of Jesus, the origin of evil, the method of the
atonement, the state after death. Little is said about social and political
questions, such as slavery, the liquor traffic, governmental corruption,
capital and labor, etc.
Of course principles of right action are laid down, but specific
injunctions about many things are lacking.
6. In the lack of spiritual discernment caused by sin.
“The spiritual ages make the most progress in theology. Witness the
half-century succeeding the Reformation and the half-century succeeding the
great revival in New England in the time of Jonathan Edwards” (Strong).
V. QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE STUDY OF THEOLOGY
In order to study theology to the best advantage one should have:
1. A well-disciplined mind.
2. An intuitional habit of mind.
The student should trust his intuitive convictions as well as his
logical reasoning. “The theologian must have insight as well as understanding.
He must accustom himself to ponder spiritual facts as well as those which are
sensible and material; to see things in their inner relations as well as in
their outward forms; to cherish confidence in the reality and unity of truth”
(Strong).
3. Some acquaintance with science: Physical, mental, and moral.
4. Some knowledge of the languages of the Bible: At least of their genius and idiomatic structure.
This of course is not indispensable, but yet a great help.
5. A holy affection toward God: Psalm 25.14; I Corinthians 2.14.
“Only the renewed heart can properly feel its need of divine revelation,
or understand that revelation when given” (Strong). “It is the heart that makes
the theologian”.
6. The illumination of the Holy Spirit: Psalm 119.18; Luke 24.32, 45; I Corinthians 2.10-12.
G. R. Crooks of Drew Theological
Seminary used to say: “One needs but three things to understand the Scriptures;
a knowledge of the languages, the illumination of the Holy Spirit and common
sense”.
VI. DIVISIONS OF THEOLOGY
Theological science is generally divided into exegetical, historical,
systematic, and practical theology.
1. Exegetical Theology.
This is the study of the languages of the Bible, the Hebrew and Aramaic
of the Old Testament and the Greek of the New Testament.
2. Historical Theology.
This is the study of the facts of Christianity. “As giving account of
the shaping of the Christian faith into doctrinal statements, Historical
Theology is called the History of Doctrine. As describing the resulting and
accompanying changes in the life of the church, outward and inward, Historical
Theology is called Church History” (Strong).
3. Systematic Theology.
Besides Systematic Theology, which is theology proper, two other terms
are used, namely: Biblical Theology and Dogmatic Theology. These three need to
be carefully distinguished.
a. Biblical Theology.
This “aims to arrange and classify the facts of revelation, confining
itself to the Scriptures for its material, and treating of doctrine only so far
as it was developed at the close of the Apostolic Age” (Strong).
Biblical Theology traces the development of revelation in successive
books of the Bible and compares the same revealed truth as treated by various
writers, as Paul, Peter, James, etc.
b. Dogmatic Theology.
This is the study of the theology of the creeds and confessions of faith
of the Christian Church. It often lays more stress upon these symbols than upon
the revelation of Scripture.
c. Systematic Theology.
This “takes the material furnished by Biblical and by Historical
Theology and with this material seeks to build up into an organic and
consistent whole all our knowledge of God and of the relations between God and
the universe, whether this knowledge be originally derived from nature or from
the Scriptures” (Strong).
d. There is yet another term to be preferred either to Biblical or to
Systematic Theology. It is Christian Doctrine.
The word doctrine comes from the Latin doctrina, signifying teaching or instruction. It is a New Testament
word; see Matthew 7.28; John 7.16, 17; Acts 2.42; 5.28; 13.12; 17.19; Romans
6.17; I Corinthians 14.6; II Timothy 4.2; Titus 1.9; Hebrews 6.2; 13.9; II John
9, etc. Christian Doctrine partakes in part of the character of Biblical
Theology and in part of the character of Systematic Theology. That is, while
not ignoring the material of Natural Theology (the universe) it yet lays chief
emphasis upon the contents of revelation. Christian Doctrine may be denned as
the cardinal doctrines or truths of the Bible arranged in systematic form. This
is the term which has been chosen for this course; and the expression Outline
Studies has been adopted because the lectures are not exhaustive of the
subject.
“The Scriptures are rich in doctrinal material, but in elementary form;
and it is only through a scientific mode of treatment that these elements can
be brought into a theology in any proper sense of the term” (Miley).
4. Practical Theology.
This is “the system of truth considered as a means of renewing and
sanctifying men, or, in other words, theology in its publication and
enforcement” (Strong).
VII. VALUE OF THE STUDY OF THEOLOGY
A good working knowledge of theology is of very great value:
1. It forms the basis of Christian experience: Titus 2; II John 9.
2. It is the touchstone of error: Matthew 22.29; Galatians 1.6-9; II Timothy 4.2-4.
3. It is the foundation of teaching: I Timothy 4.13.
VIII. METHODS OF THEOLOGY
Various have been the methods of treating the material of theology.
• The Analytical method begins
with blessedness, which is the end of all things, and then treats of the means
by which it is secured.
• The Trinitarian method
regards Christian Doctrine as a manifestation successively of the Father, the
Son, and the Spirit.
• The Federal method treats
theology under the old and the new covenants.
• The Anthropological method
begins with man’s disease, sin, and ends with redemption, the remedy for this
disease.
• The Christological method
treats of God, man, and sin as presuppositions of the person and work of
Christ.
• The Historical method
discusses, chronologically, the history of redemption.
• The Allegorical method
describes “man as a wanderer, God as the end, life as a road, the Holy Spirit
as a light, and heaven as a home”. This is done in Bunyan’s “Holy War”.
Opposed to all these is the Synthetic method, so called, which “starts
from the highest principle, God, and proceeds to man, Christ, redemption, and
finally to the end of all things” (Hagenback, Hist. Doctrine, 2:152).
We adopt the Synthetic method with some modifications from the usual
treatment. The following are the cardinal doctrines of the Bible. Around them
may be grouped all the teachings of revelation: God, angels (including Satan),
man, sin, Christ (His person and work), the Holy Spirit (His person and work),
the church, and the future. The doctrines of Christ and the Holy Spirit are
usually classed together under another doctrine called Soteriology, the
doctrine of salvation.
But preliminary to the study of all these doctrines is the study of the
Bible itself as the source and support of divine truth. Accordingly, we begin
with the Holy Scriptures. We may now exhibit the doctrines, which will comprise
our course of lectures in this subject:
1. Bibliology: Doctrine of the
Bible.
2. Theology: Doctrine of God.
3. Angelology: Doctrine of
Angels (including Satan).
4. Anthropology: Doctrine of
Man.
5. Hamartiology: Doctrine of
Sin.
6. Christology: Doctrine of
Christ, His Person and Work.
7. Pneumatology: Doctrine of
the Holy Spirit, His Person and Work.
8. Ecclesiology: Doctrine of
the Church.
9. Eschatology: Doctrine of
the Future.
~
end of introduction ~
