The Highway Forums General Discussion Theology Discussion Forum Differences between Historical/biblical/systematic Theology?

"Historical theology integrates the thoughts of other Christians throughout the centuries since the times of the Bible. Church history is of vital importance to historical theology since it provides theology the context in which it was produced and defined. Systematic Theology attempts to create a statement of faith explaining the leading doctrines of the Christian Bible. Historical Theology, then, embodies both of these concepts as a way of informing theologians as to what has been believed in the past, and as to what corrections, improvements, or adherence ought to be made in the present based on that information. Historical Theology was first prominent in the Reformation and in its emphasis of returning to the original sources of the Bible (ad fontes). It is critical that the systematic theologian remember that it is nearly impossible to do theology as if it has never been done before. Historical Theology, then, is used both as a pedagogic tool (for systematic theology) and as a critical tool (highlighting various important topics through history as key elements of the Christian faith)."

Biblical theology "seeks to discover what the biblical writers, under divine guidance, believed, described, and taught in the context of their own times." ^[1]^ It is based first and foremost on the Bible itself, and takes the Scriptures as they are given to us to be the inspired, authoritative word of God. Further, biblical theology assumes that the canon was provided by the Holy Spirit through the instrumentality of human authors. From an evangelical perspective, biblical theology also assumes that the original autographs of Scripture were inerrant.

Systematic theology is a discipline which addresses theological topics one by one (e.g. God, Sin, Humanity) and attempts to summarize all the biblical teaching on each particular subject. Sometimes called constructive theology or even dogmatic theology, the goal is to present the major themes (i.e. doctrines) of the Christian faith in an organized and ordered overview that remains faithful to the biblical witness.

Systematic theology integrates biblical, historical and sometimes philosophical theology into its methodology. Its main goal is to draw a clear description of what the Bible teaches about a particular doctrine. Furthermore, systematic theology not only looks to biblically construct individual doctrines of the Christian faith, but remains aware of the cause-effect relationship of each doctrine. That is, on the one hand, if one doctrine is changed, effects will take place in other areas of doctrine. On the other hand, each doctrine has implications for other doctrines. For example, within the doctrine of Christ (i.e., Christology) the belief in Jesus' resurrection means that we are not left in our sins (cf. 1 Cor 15:17). Jesus has conquered sin, and those who are in Christ also experience this victory (cf. Rom 6). Moreover, Christians have a future hope that they too will be resurrected and experience eternal life. These are just a few of many other examples of how each doctrine is interrelated to one another. In the end, systematic theology should naturally flow into practical theology where the conclusions drawn from Scripture are made applicable to the Church.