Systematic theology, or systematics, is a discipline of Christian theology that formulates an orderly, rational, and coherent account of the

doctrine Doctrine (from la, Wikt:doctrina, doctrina, meaning "teaching, instruction") is a codification (law), codification of beliefs or a body of teacher, teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given ...

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, as well as biblical and

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

. Systematic theology shares its systematic tasks with other disciplines such as constructive theology, dogmatics, ethics, apologetics, 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 Text (literary theo ...

Method

With a methodological tradition that differs somewhat from biblical theology, systematic theology draws on the core sacred texts 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,

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 Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonica ...

, an early example is provided by John of Damascus'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'', wherein he thematically collected a great series of quotations of the Church Fathers, 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 period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

scholastic Scholastic may refer to: * a philosopher or theologian in the tradition of scholasticism * ''Scholastic'' (Notre Dame publication) * Scholastic Corporation, an American publishing company of educational materials * Scholastic Building, in New Y ...

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'' best exemplifies this scholastic tradition. The

Lutheran scholastic Lutheran orthodoxy was an era in the history of Lutheranism, which began in 1580 from the writing of the '' Book of Concord'' and ended at the Age of Enlightenment. Lutheran orthodoxy was paralleled by similar eras in Calvinism and tridentine ...

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 L ...

'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''. 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 o ...

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, 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). '' Institutes of the Christian Religion''. * 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 Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Af ...

(354–430). '' De Civitate Dei'' * 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

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