A History of Christian Theology

Class notes - #1, September 13, 2006

1. O Lord Jesus Christ, who art the Eternal Wisdom of the Father; We beseech thee to assist us with they heavenly grace, that we may be blessed in our studies this day, and above all things may attain the knowledge of thee, who to know is life eternal; and that, according to the example of thy most holy childhood, as we grow in years we may grown in wisdom and favor with God and man. Amen
   
2. Theology – literally “the science of God”.
1. For the Greek Fathers ‘theology meant either:

i. the doctrine of the Trinity (ie., of God’s being as opposed to his dealings with the created order – ontological vs economic);

ii. or prayer (since it is only in prayer that God can truly be known) –

2. Later – especially in the west – it became to mean the science of divinely revealed religious truths.
   
3. The theme of theology is the Being and Nature of God and His creatures
4. Theology’s purpose is the investigation of the contents of belief by means of reason enlightened by faith.
5. Read Vos (pp 1 – 1^st para.) on the definition of Theology – note the distinction Vos draws between the study of religion (and therefore focused upon man) and that which is “normal and of obligation for man because prescribed by God” (and is therefore focused upon God).
   
6. Dogma

i. Originally meant “that which seems good”.

ii. Modern Christian sense: “dogma signifies a religious truth established by Divine Revelation and defined by the Church”.

The reality is that there is no neutrality in worship – we are either worshipping truth or we are guilty of idolatry. The Old and New Testaments are full of stories of God’s people who have fallen away to worship false gods. Sometimes our idolatry is obvious (say, a Golden Calf) and sometimes subtle (Paul points a finder a covetousness as idolatry in Col 3:5 and at some “whose god is their belly in Phil 3:19 ; Jesus spoke of the worship of Mammon in Matt 6:24 )
Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church

3. Where does theology come from?
1. Revelation

i. Old and New Testaments

ii. Person of Jesus Christ

iii. Natural Theology – the body of knowledge about God which may be obtained by human reason alone without the aid of revelation, and hence, to be contrasted with ‘Revealed Theology’
Reformation Theology – especially as opposed to Roman Theology – generally discounted the ability of fallen human reason to engage Natural Theology in any useful way

4. Different types of theology

1. Biblical Theology – Study of God, His revelation and plan as revealed in and through the bible
2. Systematic Theology – A theological study and framework that attempts to provide a consistent and coherent philosophy (Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin
3. Dogmatic Theology – is that part of theology which treats of the theoretical truths of faith concerning God and His works. Basically dogmatic theology refers to the official or "dogmatic" theology as recognized by an organized Church body, such as the Anglican, Roman Catholic Church, Reformed, Lutheran etc.
4. Sacramental Theology
5. Moral Theology – the study of practical truths of morality (and how God has created us with those truths)
6. Pastoral Theology – The study of applying God’s moral truth to the human condition
7. Historical Theology - Historical theology is a branch of theological studies that investigates the socio-historical and cultural mechanisms that give rise to theological ideas, systems and statements
   

5. What this class is (and what it is not!)

1. With Placher’s book as a backbone we will see a wide-ranging review of the development of Christian theological though.
2. We will look at key times and themes over two thousand (or more!) years – stretching from the Jewish Old Testament through modern day developments.
3. We will see some of the impact of different schools and ways of thought.
4. We will read about some of the divisions that have separated Christians over the years.
   
5. We will not study specifically Anglican theological thought (although we will try to bring it in to our discussions when appropriate)
6. We will not look at just ‘orthodoxy’ – by seeing ideas that the church has rejected (or that has caused Christian splits) we will have some context in which to put our own beliefs.
7. As Placher says (pp 12):

i. It is not a “History of Christianity” Placher specifically tries to avoid “church politics”, liturgical questions and specific denominational questions (other than how they might come in to play in the development of theology)

6. Key Themes (pp 14)

1. The Humanity & Divinity of Christ

i. In what way is Jesus God?

ii. In what way is Christ man?

iii. How do we make sense of the first two questions? How do they relate? What does our answer mean for our faith (and salvation!)?

iv. How are the questions scholars ask today different from the ones asked by the early church (or, indeed, are they different?)

2. Reason & Revelation

i. What can we know about God and how can we know it?

ii. What does the Revelation of Christ mean to Christians?

3. Works vs. Grace

i. Why is this important? What does it mean? Why did this question lead to one of the biggest ruptures in the fabric of the Church?

4. Spirit & Structure

i. How do we obtain God’s grace? What (if anything) can we do? What does God do?

5. Church and State

i. What does it mean to be a Christian living in a particular state with a particular political structure?

ii. W hat does “Separation of Church and State” mean to a Christian? How does Christian theology and this question apply in our own context?

7. Class Structure

1. Generally meeting on Wednesday nights through early December – about 13 weeks - @ 25 pages/week
2. Interactive, conversational
   

8. Next time – read Chapters 2, 3 & 4