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Systematic Theology Is, in My Opinion, the Most Comprehensive Type of Theology

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Systematic Theology Is, in My Opinion, the Most Comprehensive Type of Theology CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY I CLASS LECTURE NOTES JOHN S. HAMMETT, PH.D. PROLEGOMENA THE DOCTRINE OF REVELATION THE DOCTRINE OF GOD THE DOCTRINE OF GOD THE FATHER THE DOCTRINE OF HUMANITY CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY I CLASS LECTURE NOTES TABLE OF CONTENTS Unit 1: Prolegomena 1 Unit 2: The Doctrine of Revelation Part A: Universal Revelation 14 Part B: Special Revelation 24 Unit 3: The Doctrine of God Part A: The Nature and Attributes of God 54 Part B: The Works of God 78 Unit 4: The Doctrine of God the Father 107 Unit 5: The Doctrine of Humanity Part A: The Creation of Humanity 117 Part B: The Image of God in Humanity 144 Part C: The Constitution of Humanity 158 Copyright © John Samuel Hammett Wake Forest, North Carolina July 2013 CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY I UNIT 1: PROLEGOMENA OUTLINE I. What is theology? A. The nature of theology. B. The divisions of theology. 1. Philosophical Theology. 2. Biblical Theology. 3. Historical Theology. 4. Systematic Theology. 5. Practical Theology. C. The possibility of theology. D. The necessity of theology. E. The nature of doctrine. II. What is systematic theology? A. It is an academic discipline. B. It seeks to give a systematic, coherent exposition. 1. God is infinite and we are finite. 2. The Bible is not a systematic book. 3. Post-modern culture distrusts systems. C. Of the Christian faith. D. Based principally on the Scriptures. 1. A Scripturally compatible philosophical basis. 2. A Scriptural attitude toward Scripture. 3. A Scriptural perspective on history. 4. A Scriptural scrutiny of contemporary culture. 5. An integrative motif? E. Addressing the concerns and questions of contemporary culture. F. Leading to practical application. III. How do we do theology? A. Begin with Scripture. B. Use history to help. C. Does it "fit" theologically? D. Can you live it? 1 2 CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY I UNIT 1: PROLEGOMENA Introduction We begin the study of theology with the topic of “Prolegomena,” or what we must say before we really begin. While many issues will call for comment, the goal here is to set the ground rules by giving our definition for theology, specifically systematic theology, and a discussing various aspects of a proper approach and methodology for theology. I. What is theology? A. The nature of theology. It is the study of God, from the Greek words theos (God) and logos (word, thought, reason, etc.). More broadly, we use the word theology to refer to the study of all that involves God. For example, we are a theological seminary, in that all we do here pertains to God. B. The divisions of theology. All that involves God is pretty broad. It encompasses: 1. Philosophical Theology. This includes the basic philosophical assumptions involved in theology--the existence of God and all of reality, the epistemological possibility of knowing something about God, and much more. We touch on these areas in the prolegomena of systematic theology but it is more important in apologetics and the philosophy of religion. 2. Biblical Theology. Systematic theology and biblical theology are closely related disciplines. They both take their content from the Bible, but they differ in how they organize it. Biblical theology organizes either around the overall story line of the Bible (something like creation, fall, redemption, consummation), or around some section of the Bible (Old Testament theology, Pauline theology, etc.). Systematic theology organizes around doctrines. It tries to take the insights of biblical theology together and to systematize the results. As well, systematic theology seeks to incorporate insights from history and to respond more directly to contemporary concerns. 3. Historical Theology. This type of theology looks at the historical development of doctrine, controversies that have shaped the questions we ask and the answers we get, key historical theologians, and how others have viewed the various areas of theology. It assumes that God the Holy Spirit has been active in illuminating his people all through history, and that we are unbelievably arrogant if we ignore what they thought the Bible taught on all the doctrines we study. 4. Systematic Theology. Systematic theology is, in my opinion, the most comprehensive type of theology. We have to engage some areas of philosophical theology to give a basis for theology as a whole, then seek to incorporate biblical and historical theology, and give it a systematic formulation that responds to contemporary issues and gives a basis for 3 Christian life and ministry (practical theology). Systematic theology is the approach to theology taken in this class. Our subject is usually divided into nine or ten areas. a. The Doctrine of Revelation b. The Doctrine of God (Theology proper) c. The Doctrine of God the Father d. The Doctrine of Humanity (Anthropology) e. The Doctrine of Sin (Hamartiology) f. The Doctrine of Christ (Christology) g. The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit (Pneumatology) h. The Doctrine of Salvation (Soteriology) i. The Doctrine of the Church (Ecclesiology) j. The Doctrine of Final Things (Eschatology) 5. Practical Theology. This refers to theology as it is applied in Christian life and ministry (preaching, counseling, discipling, worshiping, ethics, etc.) C. The possibility of theology. We do have to face the issue of knowing genuine metaphysical truth, for we are bucking a strong philosophical current running since the time of Kant that denies the possibility of objective metaphysical knowledge. Kant argued that all knowledge comes to us via our senses (empirical data), but that data is so shaped by our mind that we can never know things in themselves, but only how we perceive them. That has been reinforced by postmodern thought and its distrust of reason itself. But Kant's statement denying the possibility of knowing metaphysical truth (all knowledge comes from empirical data) is itself a claim to know a metaphysical truth, and thus contradicts itself. We affirm the possibility of objective, non-relative knowledge of metaphysical reality based on divinely-given revelation in Scripture. Thus, we start with a presupposition: the self- revealing God and epistemologically competent human beings, as assisted by the Holy Spirit. We justify our theology by demonstrating internal consistency and coherence, and showing its ability to explain the observable data of reality. Furthermore, we assert that all attempts to explain reality begin with presuppositions. Our presupposition is at least as credible as any other, and thus unbelievers should not be allowed to hide behind intellectual objections. At the same time, we recognize that no one can be argued into conversion, for it is a moral rather than a mental decision, and the determining factor is the internal working of the Holy Spirit. D. The necessity of theology. Theology is a practical necessity for anyone embarking on the Christian life. For once you start to try to make sense of God, the Scriptures and life, you have embarked on the road to becoming a theologian. Now the need is to be a good one, for your personal good, your evangelistic effectiveness (I Pet. 3:15) and your edification of others (Eph. 4:11-14). You have already received more formal training in theology than the vast majority of people you will meet. You will be someone’s theologian; will you be a good one? 4 James Leo Garrett, Jr., suggests seven functions that Systematic Theology serves: (1) catechetical (church members need it), (2) exegetical (biblical interpretation requires it), (3) homiletical (theology demands proclamation), (4) polemical (error must be confronted), (5) apologetic (truth must be defended), (6) ethical (the true and the right go together), and (7) cross- cultural (theology helps missionaries rightly relate gospel and culture). E. The nature of doctrine. As we noted above, theology is divided into various doctrines. But what are doctrines? A simple, standard definition of a doctrine such as, for example, Christology, would be the study of Christ. But are doctrines just subjects for study? In a landmark 1984 work, The Nature of Doctrine, George Lindbeck described two typical approaches to doctrine. One he called “cognitive-propositional.” It has been the approach taken by most in the history of theology, and still taken by most evangelical theologians today. Doctrines are seen as propositional statements, seeking to expound the meaning and implications of God’s revelation, which communicates transcendent truth. But Lindbeck sees this approach as premodern, ignoring the effect of Kant’s work which denied access to such metaphysical, transcendent truth. The second approach, pioneered by Friedrich Schleiermacher and followed by liberal theology, Lindbeck calls “experiential-expressive.” Doctrines are statements expressing how humans have experienced God, reflecting the replacement of Scripture by experience as the normative criterion of theology. But Lindbeck, along with Hans Frei and others in the Yale School or postliberalism have argued that this approach cuts one off from the Christian tradition, makes any type of normative doctrine impossible, and leaves one isolated in her or his own experience. As well, postliberalism has seen both the other two approaches as assuming that truth is universal and the same for all, while this school argues that truth is limited by the mediating factor of language, and understood only within a particular community. Thus, Lindbeck offers a “cultural-linguistic” view of doctrine, in which doctrine is compared to the rules of grammar which dictate how Christians ought to speak about God. It seeks to be faithful to the Christian tradition, which is mediated primarily through the narrative of Jesus Christ. The major criticism of Lindbeck and postliberalism has been that it seems to make no claim to be universally true for all. Rather, it claims that the validity of Christian theology, like all other thought, can only be judged from within, by its own internal standards.
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