Systematic theology, or systematics, is a discipline of

Christian theology Christian theology is the theology of Christianity, Christian belief and practice. Such study concentrates primarily upon the texts of the Old Testament and of the New Testament, as well as on Christian tradition. Christian theology, theologian ...

that formulates an orderly, rational, and coherent account of the

doctrine Doctrine (from la, doctrina, meaning "teaching, instruction") is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a belief system ...

s of the Christian faith. It addresses issues such as what the Bible teaches about certain topics or what is true about God and His universe. It also builds on biblical disciplines,

church history __NOTOC__ Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritual ...

, as well as

biblical The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

and

historical theology Historical theology is the study of the history of Christian doctrine. Stanley Grenz, Grenz, Guretzki and Nordling describe it as, "The division of the theological discipline that seeks to understand and delineate how the church interpreted Scri ...

. Systematic theology shares its systematic tasks with other disciplines such as

constructive theology Constructive theology is the redefinition of what historically has been known as systematic theology. The reason for this reevaluation stems from the idea that, in systematic theology, the theologian attempts to develop a coherent theory running t ...

, dogmatics, ethics,

apologetics Apologetics (from Greek , "speaking in defense") is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers (c. 120–220) who defended their beliefs against critics and ...

, and

philosophy of religion Philosophy of religion is "the philosophical examination of the central themes and concepts involved in religious traditions". Philosophical discussions on such topics date from ancient times, and appear in the earliest known texts concerning ph ...

Method

With a methodological tradition that differs somewhat from

biblical theology Because scholars have tended to use the term in different ways, Biblical theology has been notoriously difficult to define. Description Although most speak of biblical theology as a particular method or emphasis within biblical studies, some scho ...

, systematic theology draws on the core

sacred texts Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual prac ...

of Christianity, while simultaneously investigating the development of Christian doctrine over the course of history, particularly through philosophy, ethics, social sciences, and natural sciences. Using biblical texts, it attempts to compare and relate all of scripture which led to the creation of a systematized statement on what the whole Bible says about particular issues. Within Christianity, different traditions (both intellectual and ecclesial) approach systematic theology in different ways impacting a) the method employed to develop the system, b) the understanding of theology's task, c) the doctrines included in the system, and d) the order those doctrines appear. Even with such diversity, it is generally the case that works that one can describe as systematic theologies begin with revelation and conclude with eschatology. Since it is focused on truth, systematic theology is also framed to interact with and address the contemporary world. There are numerous authors who explored this area such as the case of

Charles Gore Charles Gore (22 January 1853 – 17 January 1932) was a Church of England bishop, first of Worcester, then Birmingham, and finally of Oxford. He was one of the most influential Anglican theologians of the 19th century, helping reconcile the c ...

John Walvoord John F. Walvoord (May 1, 1910 – December 20, 2002) was a Christian theologian, pastor, and president of Dallas Theological Seminary from 1952 to 1986. He was the author of over 30 books, focusing primarily on eschatology and theology including ' ...

, Lindsay Dewar, and Charles Moule, among others. The framework developed by these theologians involved a review of postbiblical history of a doctrine after first treating the biblical materials. This process concludes with applications to contemporary issues.

History

The establishment and integration of varied Christian ideas and Christianity-related notions, including diverse topics and themes of the Bible, in a single, coherent and well-ordered presentation is a relatively late development. In

Eastern Orthodoxy Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first m ...

, an early example is provided by

John of Damascus John of Damascus ( ar, يوحنا الدمشقي, Yūḥanna ad-Dimashqī; gr, Ἰωάννης ὁ Δαμασκηνός, Ioánnēs ho Damaskēnós, ; la, Ioannes Damascenus) or John Damascene was a Christian monk, priest, hymnographer, and a ...

's 8th-century ''Exposition of the Orthodox Faith'', in which he attempts to set in order and demonstrate the coherence of the theology of the classic texts of the Eastern theological tradition. In the West,

Peter Lombard Peter Lombard (also Peter the Lombard, Pierre Lombard or Petrus Lombardus; 1096, Novara – 21/22 July 1160, Paris), was a scholastic theologian, Bishop of Paris, and author of '' Four Books of Sentences'' which became the standard textbook of ...

's 12th-century ''

Sentences ''The Four Books of Sentences'' (''Libri Quattuor Sententiarum'') is a book of theology written by Peter Lombard in the 12th century. It is a systematic compilation of theology, written around 1150; it derives its name from the ''sententiae'' o ...

'', wherein he thematically collected a great series of quotations of the

Church Fathers The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical per ...

, became the basis of a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

scholastic tradition of thematic commentary and explanation.

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wi ...

's ''

Summa Theologiae The ''Summa Theologiae'' or ''Summa Theologica'' (), often referred to simply as the ''Summa'', is the best-known work of Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), a scholastic theologian and Doctor of the Church. It is a compendium of all of the main t ...

'' best exemplifies this scholastic tradition. The Lutheran scholastic tradition of a thematic, ordered exposition of Christian theology emerged in the 16th century with

Philipp Melanchthon Philip Melanchthon. (born Philipp Schwartzerdt; 16 February 1497 – 19 April 1560) was a German Lutheran reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, intellectual leader of the Lu ...

's '' Loci Communes'', and was countered by a Calvinist scholasticism, which is exemplified by

John Calvin John Calvin (; frm, Jehan Cauvin; french: link=no, Jean Calvin ; 10 July 150927 May 1564) was a French theologian, pastor and reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system ...

's ''

Institutes of the Christian Religion ''Institutes of the Christian Religion'' ( la, Institutio Christianae Religionis) is John Calvin's seminal work of systematic theology. Regarded as one of the most influential works of Protestant theology, it was published in Latin in 1536 (at th ...

''. In the 19th century, primarily in

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

groups, a new kind of systematic theology arose that attempted to demonstrate that Christian doctrine formed a more coherent system premised on one or more fundamental

axiom An axiom, postulate, or assumption is a statement that is taken to be true, to serve as a premise or starting point for further reasoning and arguments. The word comes from the Ancient Greek word (), meaning 'that which is thought worthy or f ...

s. Such theologies often involved a more drastic pruning and reinterpretation of traditional belief in order to cohere with the axiom or axioms.

Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher Friedrich may refer to: Names *Friedrich (surname) Friedrich or Friedrichs is a German people, German surname. Notable people with the surname include: Friedrich * Johannes Friedrich, Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria * Ariane ...

, for example, produced ''Der christliche Glaube nach den Grundsätzen der evangelischen Kirche'' (''The Christian Faith According to the Principles of the Protestant Church'') in the 1820s, in which the fundamental idea is the universal presence among humanity, sometimes more hidden, sometimes more explicit, of a feeling or awareness of 'absolute dependence'.

References

Resources

* Barth, Karl (1956–1975). ''Church Dogmatics''. (thirteen volumes) Edinburgh: T&T Clark. () * Berkhof, Hendrikus (1979). ''Christian Faith: An Introduction to the Study of the Faith''. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans. () * Berkhof, Louis (1996). ''Systematic Theology''. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. * Bloesch, Donald G. (2002–2004). ''Christian Foundations '' (seven volumes). Inter-varsity Press. (, , , , , , ) * Calvin, John (1559). ''

''. * Chafer, Lewis Sperry (1948). ''Systematic Theology''. Grand Rapids: Kregel * Chemnitz, Martin (1591). ''Loci Theologici''. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1989. * Erickson, Millard (1998). ''Christian Theology'' (2nd ed.). Grand Rapids: Baker, 1998. * Frame, John. ''Theology of Lordship'' () * Fruchtenbaum, Arnold (1989). ''Israelology: The Missing Link in Systematic Theology''. Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries * Fruchtenbaum, Arnold (1998). ''Messianic Christology''. Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries * Geisler, Norman L. (2002–2004). ''Systematic Theology'' (four volumes). Minneapolis: Bethany House. * Grenz, Stanley J. (1994). ''Theology for the Community of God''. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans. () * Grider, J. Kenneth (1994). ''A Wesleyan-Holiness Theology'' () * Grudem, Wayne (1995). ''Systematic Theology''. Zondervan. () * Hodge, Charles (1960). ''Systematic Theology''. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. * Jenson, Robert W. (1997–1999). ''Systematic Theology''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. () * Melanchthon, Philipp (1543). ''Loci Communes''. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1992. () * Miley, John. ''Systematic Theology''. 1892. () * Newlands, George (1994). ''God in Christian Perspective''. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. * Oden, Thomas C. (1987–1992). ''Systematic Theology'' (3 volumes). Peabody, MA: Prince Press. * Pannenberg, Wolfhart (1988–1993). ''Systematic Theology''. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. * Pieper, Francis (1917–1924). ''Christian Dogmatics''. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House. * Reymond, Robert L. (1998). ''A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith'' (2nd ed.). Word Publishing. * Schleiermacher, Friedrich (1928). ''The Christian Faith''. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. * St. Augustine of Hippo (354–430). ''

De Civitate Dei ''On the City of God Against the Pagans'' ( la, De civitate Dei contra paganos), often called ''The City of God'', is a book of Christian philosophy written in Latin by Augustine of Hippo in the early 5th century AD. The book was in response ...

'' * Thielicke, Helmut (1974–1982). ''The Evangelical Faith''. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. * Thiessen, Henry C. (1949). ''Systematic Theology''. Grand Rapids: William B. Erdsmans Publishing Co. * Tillich, Paul. ''Systematic Theology''. (3 volumes). * Turretin, Francis (3 parts, 1679–1685). ''Institutes of Elenctic Theology''. * Van Til, Cornelius (1974). ''An Introduction to Systematic Theology''. P & R Press. * Watson, Richard. ''Theological Institutes''. 1823. * Weber, Otto. (1981–1983) ''Foundations of Dogmatics''. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans. {{DEFAULTSORT:Systematic Theology Christian theology Christian terminology

Method

Categories

History

See also

References

Resources