We are building from a piecemeal biblical theology toward a more comprehensive statement of theology. In a perfect world, the resultant picture is exactly what the systematic theologians are saying. But of course theology is never so tidy. Modern theologians are dealing with questions that the biblical writers never thought to ask, so the systematicians are always trying to say more than the Bible does.
There will always be holes in the biblical theology edifice, because the Bible does not directly answer all the questions we bring to it. The biblical writers were not even trying to say everything. His letters were written in response to problems in various churches, and he never saw the need to address certain questions, such as the proper way to baptize people.
If he is silent or unclear on an issue, then we have to let him be the way he is. Bringing theology back into biblical studies What is the role of theology in our exegesis? Eventually we take our historical background information, and our analysis of key words and grammar, and ask, So what? Most of us study the Bible not merely for literary or historical curiosity.
The vast majority of biblical scholarship is done by people who are convinced that the Bible speaks to our lives today. Most biblical scholarship is done by people who have some faith in what it says, and a conviction that Scripture is designed to be used in the faith community.
Historically it has been the foundation of church teachings and practices. Scripture is said to be inspired by God. Scholars may debate the manner and extent of inspiration, but the point is that these writings carry some authority for what we believe and do. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. Or in other words, things to believe and things to do, or theology and ethics.
Theological truths should affect our behavior, and our actions should be rooted in theological truths, not just rules. Our response is to believe it, rejoice in it, and worship God. Sometimes a passage has both theological and ethical applications — we are to love God, and to love our neighbors in response to the way that God loves us. So we are studying the Bible from an expectation that God uses Scripture to inspire, inform, and transform us.
Indeed, it is academically dishonest to pretend that we do not have such beliefs, even at the same time as we do not want our beliefs to cause us to misrepresent what the Bible says. We believe in the Trinity, for example, without trying to assert that Leviticus 11 teaches the doctrine of the Trinity. We do not want to speak falsehood about a doctrine that is true.
We do not bring all our beliefs to the text and claim that it supports them all — that is, we have some humility about the passage itself. We can also ask how this passage fits into what we know about this topic a from other scriptures, and b from tradition, reason, and experience.
We can state what the passage does teach, and acknowledge the areas in which it does not teach. Theology and Bible study are mutually informing We admit that we have beliefs. Everyone has beliefs, either good or bad, true or false. Beliefs can help us see new meaning in a text; but sometimes beliefs can lead us to see a meaning that really isn't there.
Your belief may well be true, but it is not proven in this passage. You need to focus on the passages that provide better evidence. In this way, careful biblical study can correct theology that has overextended the evidence, or has gone astray.
But theology can also help biblical studies. As noted above, it provides some motivation. Second, it provides guidance. Biblical studies tends to fragment the text into small pieces; theology tends to take a larger view, putting all things together. Even in a literary analysis, it is good practice to have a comprehensive view of the document before we study any particular part of it in depth. When we come to the Bible, it is helpful to keep its overall purpose in mind before we study smaller parts.
We can therefore take that larger view as an informative tool whenever we examine any particular part of Scripture. For example, how does Matthew 6 support the goals of Scripture? Theology can guide us to ask useful questions about the passage. We can let the passage have a voice, and we can use categories from systematic theology to see IF the passage speaks to those topics.
We can let other verses ask questions about the topic, and allow questions from modern culture. But we cannot insist on answers from texts that were not designed to give us answers. Most theologians agree that some biblical passages appear to support predestination, and others at first glance seem to support free will. Theologians on one side have ways of neutralizing one set of passages; theologians on the other side have ways of neutralizing the others.
Okay, thanks. Request Info Apply Call Us. Theological and Biblical Studies Comparison. Menu for this section. Student Resources Transfer. Theological vs. Biblical Studies. Thanks for taking the time to read the blog and give some responses. What I hope they meant was that they are grateful for their spouse for allowing the time to study.
People tend to think that they have exclusive truth. First and foremost, that is wrong. No matter how strong our delusions are. Secondly, nobody likes a Know it All. Usually, know-it-alls are wrong more times than not. And worse: we lose credibility in our witness, and our God. Third, since I do not know everything, it is stupid for me to act stupid when someone else is wrong on a particular issue. God knows everything. God accepts me, even though I am wrong probably more than I care to admit, or know.
Now, if God knows all truth, and he accepts me, when I am wrong, how can I not be just as gracious as God is to me? My theology professor is very humble; teaches his students to be very humble, in particular, when approaching Scripture.
He pictures Scripture as us going on a journey, but rather than just travelling across the planet, we are also travelling through time, meeting a people who do not speak 21st century English, who do not know the things we know, they understand the world completely different than we do.
They do not understand the world as a ball hanging space, for example. They did not have the Bible, or those who had some, did not have it all, as we do, and they certainly did not have it bound in several hundred to thousand pages, and certainly did not have Logos.
For most situations, people tend to not believe something they know to be wrong backlash from family, friends, would be one good example as to why people might say they believe something they know to be untrue. So, being open to listen to other points of view is wise. And I do believe that your article is wisely written, and hits the core issues.
And, for the record, you are correct. I do believe, in what you say about scholarly duties vs. And a lot more gracious to John, than I would be. I think you are being a bit critical. Isaac made a very valid point. The fact Isaac was demonstrating the humility in which he spoke, I found to give him credibility. Rather than criticize the author, he expressed his disagreement, but, acknowledged his understanding of the statement.
What I meant to say is this post was well-written and really touched on something that the church needs to hear today. Family is important. And it never comes second to our studies. Isaac, kudos to you. Thanks for this helpful reminder. I wish you the best in your academic pursuits.
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