Sermon Tone Analysis

Who Needs Theology?

Concepts and Definitions:

The•ol•o•gy \thē-ˈä-lə-jē\ noun

Origin of Word:

The word “theology,” from theos meaning God and logos meaning rational expression, means the rational interpretation of religious faith in God.

Theology thus means the rational interpretation of faith in God.

At least three elements are included in that general concept of theology.

Theology is intelligible.

It can be comprehended by the human mind in an orderly, rational manner.

Theology requires explanation.

This, in turn, involves exegesis and systematization (see above).

Theology finds its source in the Bible, so theology will be a Bible-based study.

Theology, then, is the discovery, systematizing, and presentation of the truths about God.

Theologies can be cataloged in various ways.

By era:

Patristic theology

From the Greek patēr, a term pertaining to the first few centuries of the church after the writing of the NT or to the early church fathers or writers of that period (generally A.D. 100–750).

The patristic era began after the death of the apostles and was followed by the Middle Ages.

Important patristic authors include such luminaries as Irenaeus, Origen, Tertullian, the Cappadocian fathers and Augustine.

Medieval theology

Pertaining to the period generally described as the Middle Ages, which some date beginning as early as the seventh century and ending as late as the sixteenth.

Medieval theology was chiefly concerned with systematizing and organizing Christian truth as it had been developed by the leading thinkers of the patristic era.

This led eventually to the writing of the great theological treatises that encompassed the entire body of Christian teaching.

The flowering of medieval theology came in the so-called high Middle Ages (the twelfth and thirteenth centuries), especially in the work of Thomas Aquinas, such as in his Summa Theologica (summary of theology).

Reformation theology

The tradition and theological framework that grew out of the teachings of John Calvin and Ulrich Zwingli, as distinct from the Lutheran and Anabaptist traditions.

Reformed theology focuses foundationally on God’s glory and often emphasizes divine sovereignty as a crucial beginning point for theological reflection

Modern theology

By viewpoint:

Arminian theology

Calvinistic theology

Catholic theology

Messianic theology

Barthian theology

Liberation theology

Feminist theology

By focus:

Historical theology - focuses on what those who studied the Bible thought about its teachings either individually or collectively as in the pronouncements of church councils.

It shows how the church has formulated both truth and error and serves to guide the theologian in his own understanding and statement of doctrine.

A student can be more efficient in coming to his own understanding of truth by knowing the contributions and mistakes of church history.

Biblical theology - deals systematically with the historically conditioned progress of the self-revelation of God in the Bible.

The results of the study of biblical theology must be presented in a systematic form.

In this it is like other areas of biblical and theological studies.

Biblical theology pays attention to the soil of history in which God’s revelation came.

It investigates the lives of the writers of the Bible, the circumstances that compelled them to write, and the historic situation of the recipients of their writings.

Biblical theology studies revelation in the progressive sequence in which it was given.

It recognizes that revelation was not completed in a single act on God’s part but unfolded in a series of successive stages using a variety of people.

The Bible is a record of the progress of revelation, and biblical theology focuses on that.

By contrast, systematic theology views revelation as a completed whole.

Biblical theology finds its source material in the Bible.

Systematic theology - Systematic theology correlates the data of biblical revelation as a whole in order to exhibit systematically the total picture of God’s self-revelation.

To summarize: Theology is the discovery, systematizing, and presentation of the truths about God.

Historical theology accomplishes this by focusing on what others throughout history have said about these truths.

Biblical theology does this by surveying the progressive revelation of God’s truth.

Systematic theology presents the total structure

Some Presuppositions

The Basic Presupposition - consciously or unconsciously everyone operates on the basis of some presuppositions.

Beth El Shalom’s Two Basic Presuppositions

The Bible is True

The Resurrection of Yeshua is Historical Fact

Beth El Shalom’s Interpretative Presuppositions

Accurate theology rests on sound biblical exegesis.

The Peshat method represents the best exegetical method for understanding the bible.

Normal

Historical

Grammatical

Literary

The Unity of Scripture and Priority of the Brit Chadashah - The new is in the old concealed; the old is in the new revealed.

The Legitimacy of Proof Texts

proof texts must be used properly, just as footnotes must be.

They must actually be used to mean what they say; they must not be used out of context; they must not be used in part when the whole might change the meaning; and Old Testament proof texts particularly must not be forced to include truth that was only revealed later in the New Testament

The Limitations of a Theological System

The Student of Theology

She Must be a Believer - 1 Cor 2:10-16

She must prioritize faith - 2 Cor 4:13-15

She must use all rational process available - Romans 12:1-2

She must depend on the Holy Spirit - John 16:12-15

Come Holy Spirit and light a fire in our heart.

For if you are with us nothing else matters, if you are not with us nothing else matters.

- Barbara Brown Taylor

She must be open minded - 1 Thess 5:12-13

What Kind of Questions Does Theology Answer?

What is ultimate reality?

What is the nature of the world around me?

What is it to be human?

What happens to a person at death?

Why is it possible to know anything at all?

What is the meaning of human history?

Why does pain and evil exist?

What is the purpose of my life and core commitments I must make?

What is family?

And a thousand, thousand other questions!!!!

Who Needs Theology?

Anyone who wants to think clearly about God, believe sincerely, and live differently.