{"id":43670,"date":"2018-11-14T07:00:33","date_gmt":"2018-11-14T15:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/?p=43670"},"modified":"2023-12-19T07:38:28","modified_gmt":"2023-12-19T15:38:28","slug":"biblical-vs-systematic-theology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/biblical-vs-systematic-theology\/","title":{"rendered":"Biblical vs Systematic Theology"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When I was entering Bible college, I had no clue there was a difference between biblical and systematic theology. In fact, if you asked me to define systematic theology<\/em> and theology<\/em> separately, I wouldn’t have known how. So, fantastic resources like the ESV Systematic Theology Study Bible<\/a> or the NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible<\/a>, would have seemed odd to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are you in the same boat? Here’s an easy 3-part description of biblical and systematic theology. There’s even a video!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FIRST THINGS FIRST, WHAT IS THEOLOGY?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before we talk about different types of theology, we should nail this down. What is theology<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The dictionary gives us a basic answer:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the study of the nature of God and religious belief<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

That’s a sufficient definition, but it’s rather dry. Also, it doesn’t tell us the why\u2014why<\/em> study theology? What does it accomplish? Instead, let’s use a definition I often heard around my alma mater:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Theology is the study of God and the words we use to talk about Him.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The difference between these two definitions lies in the process. The first seeks to study the nature of God to know more about God. But the second seeks to pay very close attention to the words chosen to describe God. Then, after carefully selecting words, we can begin to build upon our knowledge of God in a consistent, coherent way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, there are different processes for choosing which words to use. This is where systematic and biblical theology differ. So, let’s start off learning what makes systematic theology systematic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHAT IS SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Truth be told, you have most likely practiced systematic theology. Don’t believe me? See if you’ve ever said one of the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bible says that God is…<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Bible, we learn that sin is…<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bible says that marriage is…<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I know the what the Gospel is because the Bible says…<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bible describes angels as…<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have ever made one of these statements, or anything similar to them, you have practiced systematic theology. That’s because systematic theology is the practice of making statements about God and Christianity, based off the entire Biblical canon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AN ILLUSTRATION<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Picture it this way: You have a bunch of buckets. They are labeled things like the end times<\/em>, holy spirit<\/em>, and Jesus Christ<\/em>. (Which, these have their own special names in theology: eschatology<\/em>, pneumatology<\/em>, and christology<\/em>, respectively).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Systematic<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Then, you cut out big portions of Scripture that talk about these topics in context<\/strong>. You put the passages in their respective buckets. Lastly, you go bucket-by-bucket, researching those passages. You write a few short, concise paragraphs describing your findings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How does this process help us build on our knowledge of God in a consistent and coherent way?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bible cannot contradict itself\u2014it is inerrant. So, we can confidently take all these different passages and use them to show us the big picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LISTEN TO WAYNE GRUDEM<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Wayne Grudem<\/a> is a fantastic theologian and Greek scholar. Listen to him simply explain systematic theology and why it is important in this short video.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n