By Brice Livingston
There are more
than a handful of ways that we approach God and our belief in Christ. Here's a
brief outline of some of the most common ways we arrange our beliefs:1
Natural
Theology
Knowledge about God which is derived
primarily from nature. Natural theology usually places a heavy emphasis on
reason and philosophy.
Biblical
Theology
Knowledge about God which is derived primarily from the Bible. The structure will often be arranged around major events of people of Scripture (e.g., Theology of Early Israel, Theology of the Prophets, Theology in Psalms, Theology of Paul, etc.).
Knowledge about God which is derived primarily from the Bible. The structure will often be arranged around major events of people of Scripture (e.g., Theology of Early Israel, Theology of the Prophets, Theology in Psalms, Theology of Paul, etc.).
Historical
Theology
Knowledge about God which is derived from studying the development of ideas over time. The structure will often be arranged around the major periods of history which brought changes to theology (e.g., Theology of the Early Church, Theology of the Imperial Church, Theology of the Middle Ages, Theology of the Enlightenment and Reformation, etc.).
Knowledge about God which is derived from studying the development of ideas over time. The structure will often be arranged around the major periods of history which brought changes to theology (e.g., Theology of the Early Church, Theology of the Imperial Church, Theology of the Middle Ages, Theology of the Enlightenment and Reformation, etc.).
Systematic
Theology
Knowledge about God which attempts to incorporate and combine all of the theological sources above. The structures are often arranged around major topics or categories of ideas which theologians have agreed upon over the centuries (e.g., Bibliology, Christology, Pneumatology, Ecclesiology, Soteriology, etc.).
Knowledge about God which attempts to incorporate and combine all of the theological sources above. The structures are often arranged around major topics or categories of ideas which theologians have agreed upon over the centuries (e.g., Bibliology, Christology, Pneumatology, Ecclesiology, Soteriology, etc.).
Dogmatic
Theology
Knowledge about God which includes everything above, but with an emphasis on those teachings and ideas which have the authoritative stamp of approval from the church.
Knowledge about God which includes everything above, but with an emphasis on those teachings and ideas which have the authoritative stamp of approval from the church.
Practical
Theology
Theology which is built upon any of the previous types of theology, but which emphasizes the practical ways of living out these ideas in our own lives today.
Theology which is built upon any of the previous types of theology, but which emphasizes the practical ways of living out these ideas in our own lives today.
----------
Most Christians agree that we should base our beliefs
in the Bible and that scripture is authoritative on all matters of Christianity
-- or at least we should agree.
What is Reformed Theology?
"Simply put, it is the theology of the Protestant Reformers and the heart of historical evangelicalism. As C.H. Spurgeon once said, Reformed theology is nothing other than biblical Christianity."2 Reformed Theology is closely associated with Calvinism which is based on the teachings of John Calvin, the second giant of the Protestant reformation next to Martin Luther. In this way, Reformed theology is a type of Historical Theology. But of course, John Calvin, as well as Martin Luther, based his beliefs on the Bible, so we can also say that Reformed Theology is Biblical theology. Great!
"Simply put, it is the theology of the Protestant Reformers and the heart of historical evangelicalism. As C.H. Spurgeon once said, Reformed theology is nothing other than biblical Christianity."2 Reformed Theology is closely associated with Calvinism which is based on the teachings of John Calvin, the second giant of the Protestant reformation next to Martin Luther. In this way, Reformed theology is a type of Historical Theology. But of course, John Calvin, as well as Martin Luther, based his beliefs on the Bible, so we can also say that Reformed Theology is Biblical theology. Great!
My Case against Reformed Theology
Point Number 1.
The Bible is God's word, inspired by the Holy
Spirit and is authoritative. John Calvin's teachings as well as Luther's as
well as St. Augustine's as well as mine, might be inspired by the Holy Spirit, but
are not authoritative in the way that the Bible is. The Bible is a truism.
Whereas my interpretation of the Bible (as well as Luther's, Calvin's and
Augustine's) is an opinion.
To put it a
different way, a thermometer might read sixty-eight
degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature in the room is sixty-eight degrees. That
is a truism. However, when you ask three people what that means, you might get
three different answers. One might say it's cold, another comfortable, another
warm, and then a Canadian might wander in on his moose and scold us for using
Fahrenheit.
The point is
this: Reformed theology is based on the opinions of extremely anointed,
brilliant and dedicated men of God, but based on opinions nonetheless.
Point Number 2.
Every interpretation of the Bible is an opinion. But obviously some opinions are better than others and just because we all have opinions, doesn't mean we can escape the fact that some of us are right and some of us are wrong. So how do we make sure that we're right or at least not totally wrong? The key is in how we read the Bible. Let's go back to the thermometer.
Point Number 2.
Every interpretation of the Bible is an opinion. But obviously some opinions are better than others and just because we all have opinions, doesn't mean we can escape the fact that some of us are right and some of us are wrong. So how do we make sure that we're right or at least not totally wrong? The key is in how we read the Bible. Let's go back to the thermometer.
To determine what
sixty-eight degrees means, it's important to ask questions. What is the temperature outside? Is the thermometer
also a thermostat? What time of day is it? Whose house are we in and how did
the Canadian get here?
When we're
studying historical documents the questions change. Who was the author? Who was
the original reader? What was the reason it was written? What was going on in
history? What was the culture like? What language was it written in? In
order to extract the proper meaning from the Bible, it's important to study it within its historical context. And this is why
Biblical theology is superior to any kind of Historical Theology.
Every
year, we're making archaeological discoveries that help us better understand
the historical context of the Bible and in turn help us to better interpret
the meaning of scripture. Scholars have at their disposal such an abundance of
archaeological discoveries pertaining to nations and laws and every aspect
of ancient life that neither Luther nor Calvin had during their
life-times.
For a long time,
scholars thought the Hittite nation was small and insignificant. Recent
findings from the early 2000's indicate that they were in fact a very large and
powerful nation. This is pertinent because in Exodus, Deuteronomy, and Joshua
twenty-four, we find that the covenants between God and humanity follow a
similar format to those of the suzerain/vassal treaties between the Hittites
and their adversaries.3
If we once
thought the Hittites were insignificant, as perhaps John Calvin may have
thought in the early 16th century, but we now know they were powerful, it could
be said that we now have a more accurate understanding on which to base our
interpretation of scriptures in Exodus, Deuteronomy, and Joshua twenty-four
than Martin Luther and John Calvin.
To reiterate,
truism trumps opinion, historical context is a vital tool in the process of
extracting proper meaning from scripture, and Reformed Theology is based on the
16th century opinions of an ill-equipped scholar.
Okay, so I've done a lot of generalizing. Not all reformed believers (many of whom are far smarter and better informed than I; and many of whom also hold such a reverence for God Almighty that I've been inspired to truly test my own beliefs) hold Calvinism as sacrosanct. Those who do, are still among the most God-focused Christians I've ever met. The Fathers of the Protestant Reformation are at least indirectly responsible for the Bible we all read in our own languages and I'm indebted to them in a way that I might never understand. Canadians are lovely people with manners that would put most Americans to shame.
Okay, so I've done a lot of generalizing. Not all reformed believers (many of whom are far smarter and better informed than I; and many of whom also hold such a reverence for God Almighty that I've been inspired to truly test my own beliefs) hold Calvinism as sacrosanct. Those who do, are still among the most God-focused Christians I've ever met. The Fathers of the Protestant Reformation are at least indirectly responsible for the Bible we all read in our own languages and I'm indebted to them in a way that I might never understand. Canadians are lovely people with manners that would put most Americans to shame.
I love our Church
and I love our Christians, it's never my intention to "bash" another
and it's certainly not my intent to scare non-believers away. I hope I was in
no way disrespectful and if my ignorance was so flagrant that you feel the need
to contact me, my email address is at the end of this post. The following
"tips" for studying the Bible might help a displeased reader to
better understand where I'm coming from and so I ask that he or she first read
them before they contact me with any kind of grievance. When it comes down to
it, I'm still learning. And in an effort to seek the whole Truth and
nothing but the Truth I welcome differing opinions and hope that I hold my
beliefs loosely enough so that they can be changed by the Truth found in the
Bible.
Some other helpful tips for studying the
Bible:
We've already mentioned reading the different
books of the Bible within their historical context.
A second principle might be to first
understand the big-picture or the whole story and then go back and look at the
details. Once we understand main themes in the Bible it's a lot easier to
tackle the more difficult passages. "Go wide, before you go deep."
A third principle is a lot like the first, in
that we understand the Bible was written for us, but not to us.
In order to extract the meaning or the "timeless truth" from a
particular passage or book, we have to approach it through the eyes of the original
reader. Part of that comes from studying the historical context, but an equally
important part of it has to do with setting down our own pre-conceived notions,
biases and understandings, whether they're based in today's modern culture, an
experience, what our parents taught us, or even what our church believes. In
order to look through a proper lens, we have to first take off our glasses. If
we don't first take off our "glasses", we end up projecting our
beliefs, doctrines, political views, morals etc. onto scripture. And so, in
essence, we're approaching the Bible with an idea and looking for support for
that idea. And this is dangerous.
As an example, I recently read a short series
of essays called, "God is an anarchist". The author freely admits that
he was unhappy with the Church's teachings on God-ordained institutions and
that he views "statism" as evil. What he decided to do, instead of
taking the Bible for what it is and studying it properly, he approached the
Bible with one idea in mind, (God is an anarchist) and guess what he found?
Evidence to support his theory. The Bible doesn’t exist to support the beliefs
we already have; to be used as ammunition in a weapon of our own design. The
Bible exists to confront us with the Truth that transforms us into
the image of Christ.
Our fourth principle to studying the Bible correctly is getting help from The Holy Spirit. This is probably the most important but least followed principle. I have personally met giants of faith who have studied the Bible for years, who have written commentaries, who have gone on archaeological digs, who speak multiple dead languages, and have lectured as experts on both the Old and New Testaments, but still choose to approach the Bible with a simple prayer, "Lord, what do You want to teach me?"
It's great to study the Bible and form doctrine and theology that's logical and coherent; it can be beautiful and helpful. But the danger to studying scripture with our natural minds alone, and without the aid of the Holy Spirit, is that we might miss the point. Natural leaves no room for Supernatural. What I mean by this is that God, the Author of the Bible, is supernatural and if we painstakingly form a set of ideas that fits neatly inside our natural minds, then we've effectively created a natural box inside of which the Holy Spirit will never fit or inhabit. If we study the Author's book in a way that puts barriers between us and Him, we might never actually meet the Author. And another name for a barrier between us and God, is sin.
So, to once again reiterate our four principles for studying the Bible properly:
1. Read it within its historical context
2. Go wide before you go deep
3. Let the Truth form your ideas
4. Ask the Holy Spirit for help
-----
As always, I've chosen to write about things
that I don't fully understand. So, in the spirit of C.S. Lewis, if this isn't
helpful, throw it out. My basic plea is that as Christians, we Honor God, we
honor one another, we humbly seek the Truth, and we apply it in our own lives,
families, churches, and jobs. I've provided a few links below to the sources
I've used; feel free to check them out. If you want to tell me about your day
or point out my ignorance, you can use my email address,
bricelivingston@gmail.com. I'd honestly love to hear from you.
Thanks for reading, I'll be posting about some of my upcoming plans soon.
1 https://redeeminggod.com/types-of-theology/
2 http://www.ligonier.org/learn/series/what_is_reformed_theology/
3 http://chafer.nextmeta.com/files/v10n1_5lopez_covenants2israelite_covenants.pdf
