Studying
Theology?!
What I am
seeking to do here, is to answer some questions such as why would one want to
go study theology? What classes should theological training be made up of? I
will develop a little bit about how though none of these things are essential
for salvation, anyone who desires to worship God in Spirit and in Truth might
want to consider studying topics across all of the following fields.
I.
God
intends for us to study theology
“Man will not live on bread alone, but every
word that comes out of the mouth of God”
First I
want to defend that God intends all of us to study theology! I do not mean that
we need to go to a particular school, or follow a specific program, read
specific books, but rather: if ‘theology’ means the study of God, as
evangelical Christians who stress the importance of a personal relationship
with God, the way to begin, is getting to know him better, and thus Study Him!
This is not
a salvation issue! It is all about the cross! All we need to know about God to
be saved is the cross![1] But the same as any parent desires
their children to grow up, and grow in maturity, so does God (Eph. 3:17-19, 1
Pet 2:2; Col 3:16, 1 Tim 4:15, etc.)
This
probably brings up a few questions already – (1) Isn’t it more important to be
a good neighbour than have all of our theology intact? (2) Is it even possible
to have good theology, how can we know what is true, when no one ever seems to
agree? Some quick answers – (1) we will not be judged for what we know, but for
what we do, so I would just quote John 13 - 17If you know these things, blessed are you
if you do them. rYou
must know what is good, before you can do it. But absolutely, theology cannot
be an end to itself to glorify God.” For the (2), yes there are different
opinions but why should that ever stop us from studying more, if you love
someone, you will want to get to know them, even if different people have
different opinions about them… Right!?
II.
So
what is studying theology
Theology is
the study of God. This study shapes our understanding of God, leading to change
our desires, what we are passionate about, and eventually lead us to action,
which will eventually affect our surroundings, the place where we live (Head to
Heart to Hands to Habitat).
So what is
it that we should study to have a complete theological understanding?
1.
Hermeneutics
God has revealed himself in time to different people in
time, and led them to write the scriptures, that we have to know Him (Deut
29:29, 2 Pet 1:20-21). Because we have the Bible as a means to know God, we
must be able to interpret it. There are more ways to know God than just the
Bible (General Revelation + Special Revelation), but it is the only final and
ultimate authority for the Church.
The Bible is made up of different genres which need to be
interpreted differently, we must learn to interpret a text for what it is, treated
it according to its genre whether apocalyptic, narrative, poetry,…
a) Epistles
b) Old Testament Narratives
c) Book of Acts
d) The Gospels
e) Parables
f) The Law
g) The Prophets
h) Psalms
i) Wisdom
j) Revelation[2]
Hermeneutics help you to understand how to interpret the meaning
of texts as they are intended by the authors.
2.
Biblical Studies
Biblical Studies leans on hermeneutics. Studying the Bible
in its original languages. This includes the study of grammar and syntax, the
study of words all for the point of doing exegesis. All this language
acquisition allows for a more careful interpretation of the Bible.
a) Greek
b) Hebrew
c) Aramaic
d) Learn how to do word studies
3.
Biblical Theology
Biblical theology is the first level of a synthetic
understanding of biblical teaching. It analyzes texts, so that you read
passages, and exegete passages, working through trying to follow the flow of
passages. You analyze the meaning of texts in their contexts.
a) Genre
You take a particular genre, for example, the wisdom
literature of the Old Testament and ask, “What are the main theological themes
and how are they developed in the wisdom literature? So you look at Job, you
look at Psalms, you look at Proverbs, you look at these wisdom books and ask,
“What are the main themes that you find there? I notice that this concept of
the fear of the Lord keeps coming up. What might that mean in the wisdom
literature? So then, you look at all the places where fear of the Lord is used,
you analyze how they are used in their context, and then you synthesize. You
make generalized statements about what the fear of the Lord means in the wisdom
literature. It could be apocalyptic literature, or it could be narrative
literature. Biblical theology can be focused on different genres.
b) Authorship
Other than genre, one of the other main ways biblical
theology is done is by authorship.
A Pauline theology, seeks to answer the question, “What are
the main theological themes emphasized by Paul in his letters?” The emphasis on
the themes of an author focuses on how a particular biblical author makes his
point. Why is it that you find such emphasis on the Holy Spirit in Paul’s
writings in Galatians and Corinthians, and there is there little of it in Peter
by comparison? It is not that Peter doesn’t believe in the Holy Spirit; he has
other things he emphasizes.
c) Old Testament Theology
(1) Historical Critical Approach
(2) Canonical Approach
d) New Testament Theology
4.
Systematic Theology
Systematic theology builds on Biblical theology. Now the
endeavor is to take all of the Bible and ask the question, “What does the Bible
teach about God, Christ and the Holy Spirit?” It attempts to bring everything
together relying on the work of Biblical studies, and Biblical theology.
a) Studying and Knowing God
b) Doctrine of the Word of God - Bibliology
c) Doctrine of God - Theology Proper
d) Doctrine of Man – Anthropology
e) Doctrine of Sin
f) Doctrine of Christ - Christology
g) Doctrine of the Holy Spirit - Pneumatology
h) Doctrine of Salvation - Soteriology
i) Doctrine of Church - Ecclesiology
j) Doctrine of the Future - echatology
5.
Church History/Historical Theology
Church history is history about the church. It is dates,
places, times, institutions, and events. Historical theology is theology as it
was developed historically.
6.
Apologetics
Systematic theology answers the question, “What do we
believe?” Apologetics seeks to answer the question, “Why do we believe what we
believe?” You go into the world and confront people, and you believe Christ is
the only way; why would you believe that? You believe that the Bible is the
Word of God; why would you believe that? You believe that there is one God,
Creator of heaven and earth; why would you believe that? In light of evolution,
why do you believe in creation? When theology goes public, it faces questions.
7.
Missions/Evangelism
Another thing that happens when theology goes public is that
it shares its understanding of the gospel of Christ with people who don’t know
what that is and need desperately to hear it. So missions and evangelism is the
result.
8.
Ethics
Additionally, when theology goes public it encounters issues
that have to be faced and answered. What about sexual behavior? Is there
actually a norm by which people’s behavior is judged to be right or wrong? What
about bioethics? What about reproductive technology? All of these questions are
raised by the culture and have to be answered by theology. We can bring theological
insight and understanding to these questions of the day.
a) Christian Ethics – Moral Decision Making
b) Abortion
c) Euthanasia
d) Capital Punishment
e) Sexual Morality
f) Birth Control
g) Homosexuality
h) Genetic Engineering – Reproductive Technologies
i) Divorce and Remarriage
j) War and Peace
k) Christian Faith in a Nuclear Age[3]
9.
Practice of Ministry
It is, the result of all biblical studies. It is the
capstone of the theological studies disciplines, and it is the platform for
ministry in the world.
Spiritual Formation, Pastoral ministry,
a) Marriage and Family
b) Counselling
c) Pastoral Ministry
d) Preaching
e) Leadership
10.
Spiritual
Formation
a) Meditation
b) Prayer
c) Fasting
d) Study
e) Simplicity
f) Solitude
g) Submission
h) Service
i) Confession
j) Worship[4]
III.
Conclusion
So here we
have it, a list of things that I understand that I knew nothing about. Slowly but
surely, I am working on working through each one of these fields, it will be a
never ending process. But I feel based on Eph 4:11-12 11And he
gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12to equip the saints for the work of
ministry, for building up the body of Christ
Why I am a
seminary right now, is so that I can help equip fellow believers to do
ministry!
[1]Sinclair B. Ferguson and J.I. Packer, New Dictionary
of Theology, electronic ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000,
c1988), 181.
[2] Gordon
D. Fee and Douglas K. Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, 3rd ed. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, ©2003),
table of content.
[3]John S. Feinberg, Paul D. Feinberg and Aldous Huxley, Ethics
for a Brave New World (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 1996, c1993), 13.
[4] Richard
J. Foster, Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth (San
Francisco: PerfectBound, 2003), Table of Content.
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