Biblical theology

Because scholars have tended to use the term in different ways, biblical theology has been notoriously difficult to define.<ref>Carson, D. A. "Systematic Theology and Biblical Theology". In New Dictionary of Biblical Theology. Edited by T. Desmond Alexander and Brian S. Rosner. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2000, 89.</ref> The academic field of biblical theology is sub-divided into Old Testament theology and New Testament theology.

Academic field

Mark Bowald, writing for Grace Theological Seminary, stated that "four areas of focus" of theology "include biblical theology, historical theology, systematic (or dogmatic) theology, and practical theology".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Biblical theology is the study of the Bible's teachings as organic developments through biblical history, as an unfolding and gradual revelation, with increasing clarity and definition in the latter books, and embryonic and inchoate in form in the earlier books of the Bible.<ref>Vos, Geerhardus. "Biblical Theology: Old and New Testaments". Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1948, 3-18.</ref> Although most speak of biblical theology as a particular method or emphasis within biblical studies, some scholars have also used the term in reference to its distinctive content. In this understanding, biblical theology is limited to a collation and restatement of biblical data, without the logical analysis and dialectical correlation between texts that systematic theology emphasizes.<ref>Carson, D. A. "Systematic Theology and Biblical Theology". In New Dictionary of Biblical Theology. Edited by T. Desmond Alexander and Brian S. Rosner. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2000, 102.</ref>

Some scholars focus on the Old Testament (OT) or Hebrew Bible and falls in the field of Old Testament theology. The field started out as a Christian endeavor and aimed to provide an objective knowledge of early revelation, working as much as possible only with these biblical texts and their historical contexts, in the twentieth century it became informed by other voices and views, including those of feminist and Jewish scholars, which provided new insights and showed ways that the early work was bound by the perspectives of their authors. Key scholars have included Walther Eichrodt, Gerhard von Rad, Phyllis Trible, Geerhardus Vos, and Jon Levenson.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp

Others focus on the New Testament (NT); the field of New Testament theology likewise seeks understanding from within the bounds of these documents and their historical contexts. Key scholars have included Rudolf Bultmann, Hendrikus Boers, and N. T. Wright.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Evangelicalism

In Evangelicalism, biblical theology is a discipline of theology which emphasises the progressive nature of biblical revelation. Graeme Goldsworthy explains the relationship between biblical theology and systematic theology as follows:

The work of Gregory Beale, Kevin Vanhoozer, Geerhardus Vos (Biblical Theology: Old and New Testaments), Herman Nicolaas Ridderbos (The Coming of the Kingdom), Meredith Kline (Kingdom Prologue), Graeme Goldsworthy (According to Plan, Gospel and Kingdom), Vaughan Roberts (God's Big Picture), James Hamilton (God's Glory in Salvation through Judgment), and Peter Gentry and Stephen Wellum (Kingdom through Covenant: A Biblical-Theological Understanding of the Covenants)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> have helped popularize this approach to the Bible.<ref>Gaffin, Richard B. J. "Introduction". In Redemptive history and biblical interpretation: The shorter writings of Geerhardus Vos. Edited by Gaffin, Richard B. J. Presbyterian and Reformed Pub. Co, 1980, p. xiii.</ref> Especially important for bringing this field of study into the confessional tradition was Old Princeton theologian, Geerhardus Vos (Biblical Theology: Old and New Testaments).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> They summarize the message of the Bible as being about "God's people in God's place under God's rule and blessing" (in Graeme Goldsworthy, Gospel and Kingdom, Paternoster, 1981).

History

In the 17th century, attempts to prove that Protestant dogmatic theology was based in the Bible were described as biblical theology. These early works explained biblical texts according to standard outlines used in systematic theology. In the 1770s, Johann Salomo Semler argued that biblical theology needed to be separated from dogmatic theology.Template:Sfn

Johann Philipp Gabler's 1787 lecture "On the Proper Distinction Between Biblical and Dogmatic Theology" is considered the beginning of modern biblical theology. Gabler believed the Bible was "the one clear source from which all true knowledge of the Christian religion is drawn". For Gabler, dogmatic theology must be based on a biblical theology that is "pure and unmixed with foreign elements". Gabler identified two tasks for biblical theology. The first task was to provide an accurate historical description of the ideas found in the Bible.Template:Sfn He argued that the interpretation of biblical texts needed to be informed by the language and customs of the relevant historical period. Significantly, Gabler did not assume that the Old Testament and New Testament possessed a uniformity in beliefs.Template:Sfn Gabler's second task was to compare biblical ideas with each other to discover universal scriptural truths on which dogmatic theology could be based.Template:Sfn

Taking up Gabler's first task, George Lorenz Bauer wrote separate biblical theologies for the OT (1796) and the NT (1800–1802).Template:Sfn This marked the beginning of OT theology and NT theology as independent disciplines. However, Gabler's second task was forgotten. According to biblical scholar Frank Matera, "Instead of becoming a servant of dogmatic theology, biblical theology soon became its rival."Template:Sfn

Biblical theology movement (1940s–1960s)

The biblical theology movement was an approach to Protestant biblical studies that was popular in the United States, particularly among Presbyterians, between the 1940s and early 1960s. Heavily influenced by Neo-orthodoxy, the movement sought to escape the polarization of liberal theology and Christian fundamentalism. Important themes included: "1) The Bible as a theological resource; 2) The unity of the Bible; 3) The revelation of God in history; 4) The Bible’s distinctly Hebraic mentality; and 5) The uniqueness of biblical revelation."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Scholars included G. Ernest Wright, Floyd V. Filson, Otto Piper and James D. Smart.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

See also

• Christian views on the Old Covenant
• Covenant theology

References

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Further reading

• Template:Cite book 4 volumes.
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• Template:Cite book Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3, Volume 4.

External links

• 101 Books on Biblical Theology: An Annotated Bibliography - Compiled by: Brittany D. Kim, Darian R. Lockett, and Charlie Trimm
• 5 Things Biblical Scholars Mean When They Use the Term "Biblical Theology" - from Edward Klink and Darian Lockett's Understanding Biblical Theology
• The Idea of Biblical Theology as a Science and as a Theological Discipline - classic definition of Biblical theology by Geerhardus Vos (1894)
• BiblicalTheology.org - writings of Geerhardus Vos, who is sometimes called "the father of Reformed Biblical Theology"
• Kerux: The Journal of Northwest Theological Seminary - has been printing biblical-theological material in the Calvinistic tradition since 1986
• The Reemergence of Biblical Theology: What is Going On? from Catalyst (United Methodist perspective)
• WWW Biblical Theology Index
• Biblical and Systematic Theology: A Digest of Reformed Opinion on Their Proper Relationship
• What is Biblical Theology? - an article by Rich Lusk on Biblical Theology
• Biblical Theology? - a scholarly article by T.D. Alexander dealing with some of the current technical issues
• What is Biblical Theology? - an introductory level explanation of Biblical Theology