Friday 7 November 2014

Divisions of Theology


Introduction:  As per our syllabus, Theology in the broad sense can be divided into four divisions:  (1) Biblical, (2) Historical, (3) Philosophical, and (4) Systematic.  These divisions will be briefly discussed below:


1          Biblical Theology:  Biblical Theology is not a distinct branch of theology, but a special way of considering theological questions, and clearly the pronouncements of biblical theology must be carefully considered.  Biblical Theology is the expounding of the meaning of the Bible in its parts and as a whole.  It is the foundation of the Church’s preaching, teaching, worship and action.  Biblical Theology includes textual and higher criticism, the exegesis of the separate books, the analysis of current themes, and it culminates in the elaboration of the theological consensus of the Bible.

2          Historical Theology:  Historical theology is the study of the ways in which the Church has interpreted the Bible and Christian faith and lived them out in the various periods of Christian history.  Historical theology is divided into Biblical and Ecclesiastical.  The first derived chiefly from inspired sources, and continuing down to the close of the NT canon.  The latter begins where the former ends and continuing to the present time.

3          Philosophical Theology:  This may be considered as corresponding to the natural theology of older treatment of the subject.  Philosophical theology differs from the old style natural theology in being descriptive rather than deductive; but it performs the same function of providing a link between secular thought and theology proper:  (a) It lays bare the fundamental concepts of theology and investigates the conditions that make any theology possible.  (b)  In doing this it also provides a defense of theology against its detractors, by showing that theology can claim to have foundations in the universal structures of human existence and experience.  Hence it has an apologetic function.  Apologetic is not a branch of theology, but rather a style of theology, namely that style which defends faith against attacks.
            There is a difference between philosophical theology and the philosophy of religion.  Philosophical theology belongs within the theological enterprise and is indeed a necessary part of any theology that claims to be reasonable.

4          Systematic Theology:  Systematic theology is the total theological enterprise as this has been unified by the architectonic reason.  The word ‘systematic’ should not be taken too strictly.  The word ‘systematic’ is the traditional word, and there are no good reason for dropping it, but it should not be taken to mean something like a metaphysical system in which everything from God to electron is given its place.  Systematic theology has more modest aims, but it claims to be systematic in the sense that it seeks to articulate all the constituent elements of theology in a coherent whole, and that it seeks to articulate this whole itself with the other fields that go to make up the totality of human knowledge, and especially with those disciplines which stand in a special close relation to theology.
            So Systematic Theology can be briefly defined as the explication of the content of the Christian faith and the testing of the Church’s language about God in the light of its norm.  It includes apologetics and ethics which are separated off only for expedient reason.


Conclusion:  We conclude with the note that the lines of demarcation separating the different divisions and modes of theology should not be considered as rigid.  One area merges into another, and indeed it is the conviction that they all belong together that makes possible the unified structure of a Christian Theology in a systematic system.

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