I have just set out on a long, probably difficult, journey. Sitting on my bookshelf for some time now has been Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology: An introduction to Bible Doctrine. My hope is to slowly make my way through Grudem on your behalf, summarizing highlights from the 1291 pages in a much smaller space.
The book is both a textbook and a devotional resource. Perhaps you're unlikely to read the chapter on election and reprobation to your five-year-old daughter as you're putting her to bed, but the book is devotional in the sense that every chapter written and every topic studied is intended to draw readers into a greater amazement at who God is, what he has done, and what he is doing now. This, I anticipate, will be a strength of Grudem's book. Each chapter includes a Bible verse for memorization and meditation, as well as a hymn pertaining to the doctrine being discussed. I hope that the readers of this blog will benefit from Grudem as I do.
What is Systematic Theology?
Chapter One begins by introducing what Systematic Theology is. Here is Grudem's definition (taken from John Frame): "Systematic theology is any study that answers the question, 'What does the whole Bible teach us today?' about any given topic" (21). For instance, what does the Bible say about Jesus? Or, does the Bible say anything about marriage? If so, what? At this point it may strike you that systematic theology is something you have done before if you have thought about what the Bible says about a subject. Systematic theology is the project of Christians and spiritual seekers everywhere.
Systematic theology is systematic because it attempts to organize the finds of the Bible on a particular topic (e.g. organize or summarize what the Bible says about God), but also to organize these topics in a way that best illustrates how they work together in a consistent manner. Again, this is something all Christians do when they make statements that summarize the teaching of the Bible on a particular subject. Anyone who has ever read the Apostles' Creed was reading systematic theology! Anyone who has tried to explain a subject by saying, "The Bible says that..." was doing systematic theology!
Lastly, for those questioning why anyone would want to slog through over a thousand pages of a theology textbook, I'll refer you to these party animals:
Hey Wayne,
ReplyDeleteLove you and love your project! One thought from me: when you say "the Apostle's Creed is systematic theology" I would say rather that it is contextual theology. That is addressing particular questions. In fact, I would argue that all theology, including Grudem, is contextual. Therefore, as you do this one question might be "what are the question(s) the author is wrestling with?" and maybe more important, "is this the right question(s)?" This observation comes from my 'in-ministry' program as well as reading the book Early Christian Doctrine by D.N.F. Kelly - terrific book! Again, love you and look forward to your blog!!