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Introduction to Systematic Theology

Introduction to Systematic Theology. REFORMATION THEOLOGY. The three Key Principles of Reformation Theology Sola Scriptura: Scripture Alone Sola Fide: By faith alone Sola Gratia: By grace alone. REFORMATION THEOLOGY: Luther.

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Introduction to Systematic Theology

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  1. Introduction to Systematic Theology

  2. REFORMATION THEOLOGY • The three Key Principles of Reformation Theology • Sola Scriptura: Scripture Alone • Sola Fide: By faith alone • Sola Gratia: By grace alone Intro to Systematic Theology 5

  3. REFORMATION THEOLOGY: Luther • Upheld right of the individual conscience under the authority of Scripture • Maintained a strict antithesis between the Law and Gospel: • the message of condemnation and • the message of forgiveness • Championed Justification by Grace through Faith alone against Roman Catholic notions of human merit • Upheld a firm Augustinian notion of double Predestination • Cf. his The Bondage of the Will • Later modifications during the period of Lutheran Orthodoxy weakened the official Lutheran position • Affirmed the enslavement of will even more vigorously than did Calvin Intro to Systematic Theology 5

  4. REFORMATION THEOLOGY: Luther • Luther had a strict view on the inspiration of Scripture; however • he also maintained a loose view on the Canon • he did not like the book of James • He taught the physical presence of the body of Christ during Holy Communion • This is often described by non-Lutherans as “Consubstantiation” • Taught a view of the Communicatio Idiomatum in which the human body of Christ was granted ubiquity as part of its exaltation • A necessary implication of his view of the Eucharist Intro to Systematic Theology 5

  5. REFORMATION THEOLOGY: Luther • Offered a poorly developed ecclesiology, largely due to the uncertain and fluid political circumstances in which he lived • Melanchthon, Luther’s companion, produced several helpful editions of the Loci Communes, the first Protestant (evangelische) systematic theology text • Lutheranism, to many, • a conservative, even incomplete reformation • “whatever is not forbidden is allowed” Intro to Systematic Theology 5

  6. REFORMATION THEOLOGY: Luther • Lutheran accomplishments • Appeal to Scripture is highly commendable, • As is the emphasis on justification by grace through faith • Finally, Luther’s theology was colored by his own experiences, • His struggles and temptations • Defined his experience of grace and the way in which he framed his theology Intro to Systematic Theology 5

  7. REFORMATION THEOLOGY: Luther • Methodological considerations • System of dualisms- but no real use of covenant • Law and Gospel • Two Kingdoms • Just and yet a sinner (simul iustus et peccator) • A theology of the cross- “the cross is all” • No obvious use of philosophy • Underlying reliance on late medieval nominalism • Not systematic- “reason the devil’s whore” • Biblicist and Augustinian Intro to Systematic Theology 5

  8. REFORMATION THEOLOGY: Calvin • Doctrinal developments that went beyond Luther • Made much use of the Threefold Office of Christ • Prophet/Priest/King • The notion of munus triplex existed before Calvin, but was only developed thoroughly at the time of the Reformation by Calvin. See G.C. Berkouwer, Work of Christ, 61; Calvin, ICR, 2.15 • The Doctrine of Holy Spirit • Calvin emphasized that the Spirit always leads in accordance with the Word. ICR, 1.9 • Called the “theologian of the Holy Spirit” because of the role of the Spirit in all his theology • Calvin provided extensive discussion of the doctrines of Election and Reprobation. ICR, 3.21-24 Intro to Systematic Theology 5

  9. REFORMATION THEOLOGY: Calvin • Linked Sanctification most closely to Justification • Spoke of them as twin “graces.” ICR, 3.1ff; especially 3.16.1 • Maintained the Normative use of the Law for the regenerate, ICR, 2.7.12 • He calls it the “principal use” • Taught that every believer is a recipient of God’s call, (Doctrine of Vocation) on his life, ICR, 3.10.6 • Developed a thorough Doctrine of Church, with a well-thought out system of Church Government, ICR, 4.1.7-10; 4.3 • Argued for the election of God • Working itself out in terms of covenant, ICR, 3.21 • Maintaining the unity of the covenant through Old and New Testaments, ICR, 2.11.1ff Intro to Systematic Theology 5

  10. REFORMATION THEOLOGY: Calvin • Methodological Considerations • He listened attentively to Scripture, • Rejected the “meteoric speculation of the schoolmen,” • Asserted that God is to be adored, not investigated, • Abandoned the use of the Church Fathers as a final source of appeal • For Calvin, theology was to be practical- not to be divorced from application • Perhaps the Key Thought was this- Confirming people in Christ, ICR, 3.6.1 • Covenantal relationship a central theme, ICR, 3.22 Intro to Systematic Theology 5

  11. POST-REFORMATION THEOLOGY • Protestant Scholasticism • Continuity with the Reformation • Orientation to the Reformation principle of Sola Scriptura • Not a new period; Reformed doctrines were believed and taught- a vital and productive period of evangelical theology • Above all, a period of Confessional development • Scots Confession 1560 • Belgic Confession 1561 • Heidelburg Catechism 1563 • II Helvetic Confession 1566 • Irish Articles 1615 • Canons of Dordt 1619 • Westminster Confession and Catechisms 1643-7 Intro to Systematic Theology 5

  12. POST-REFORMATION THEOLOGY • Protestant Orthodoxy • Discontinuity with the Reformation • Note the differences in tone and style of Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion and Turretin’s Institutes of Elenctic Theology • While Calvin’s work betrays its catechetical origins • Turrettin’s betrays its technical character and polemical stance • This is true in general, with earlier Reformation writings being more catechetical, while later writings were more scientific in structure and apologetic (i.e., contra Roman Catholicism, Lutheranism, etc.) • The use of Aristotle was reintroduced by some theologians • This is often described as a period of Protestant Scholasticism Intro to Systematic Theology 5

  13. POST-REFORMATION THEOLOGY • Protestant Orthodoxy • There was an impressive amount of work • Characterized by a desire to define truth more distinctly • An extensive and scientific theological vocabulary was further developed (e.g., the term “Regeneration”; See Turretin, Institutes, 15.5). • There was an “Intellectualizing of the Faith” • A. Schweitzer: “The Reformers confessed their beliefs, but the later theologians believed their confessions.” • There was extensive reliance on prooftexting, with Cocceius being a notable exception! • Reason prior to revelation • High Federalism; extensive use of covenant structure, but not uniformly Intro to Systematic Theology 5

  14. POST-REFORMATION REACTIONS • Rationalism • Sufficiency of Reason: “I will believe nothing I cannot understand” • Reason supersedes Revelation: All is interpreted by the criterion of reason. “Man is the measure of all things.” • Emphasis on Nature: The universe is an orderly realm which adheres to the law of nature • Nature the arbiter of what is true, the final court of appeals • What is real is discernible in nature, hence rise of Deism • Deism is the religion discernible in nature’s laws and reason • Contrasted to revealed religion as taught in Scripture and by the Church • All dogma was to be judged by its “reasonableness” • Autonomy: The individual became the final determiner of truth (Not revelation, not the Church) Intro to Systematic Theology 5

  15. POST-REFORMATION REACTIONS • Pietism • Made extensive use of Collegia Pietatis, small groups • Does not introduce a new type of theology • Although it has within its principles the seeds of a new emphasis in theology (a-historical) • Philipp Jacob Spener was the Father of Pietism (along with his colleague, August Herman Francke) • Emerged in the context of Lutheran orthodoxy • Spener’s groundbreaking work Pia Desideria, “Pious Desires” •  Pietist principles included: • Inward feelings of faith vs. intellectualizing of faith • Personal experience of “Regeneration” was emphasized rather than an objective notion of “Justification” • Focus was new life as “process” rather than “act” of justification Intro to Systematic Theology 5

  16. POST-REFORMATION REACTIONS • Pietism • Recaptured elements of Medieval mysticism; e.g., Paul Gerhardt, 17th century, translated Bernard of Clairveaux, “O Sacred Head Now Wounded.” • Pietism influenced Wesley’s Methodism (Zinzendorf, Bohler, Moravians) • Pietism often embraced an existential interpretation of Scripture • Christian experience turns back on revelation and controls interpretation of that revelation • Evaluating Scripture in term’s of experience makes experience the point of reference: “How can I duplicate that experience?” • Thus, the outcome: “What does passage mean to me?” Intro to Systematic Theology 5

  17. CONSCIOUSNESS THEOLOGY: Roots • Historicism • Established canons of scientific history and standards of historical accuracy that brought into question the historical integrity and believability of Scripture • Scientism • Wherever the Bible presents a picture that is at odds with modern science, the Bible is not to be believed; Science over Scripture • Criticism • Many documents from classical and medieval periods were proved to be fraudulent; documents of Scripture scrutinized with same skeptical perspective. Thus, the rise of Higher Criticism as a given in biblical studies Intro to Systematic Theology 5

  18. CONSCIOUSNESS THEOLOGY: Roots • Rationalism • Per Kant, reason is paramount in science (knowledge), ethics and religion, and in beauty or aesthetics • Theologians are expected to subject any mysterious elements in Christianity to the canon of reason • Tolerationism • There was no longer a belief in inherent sinfulness, but an expectation of progress through “advances in all the sciences” • Kantianism • Religion receives an ethical interpretation and is divorced from revelation and reason Intro to Systematic Theology 5

  19. CONSCIOUSNESS THEOLOGY • Kant: The Dialectic • God exceeds our experience; one cannot have a theoretical (or, scientific) knowledge of God • Only a practical knowledge • The Noumenal/Phenomenal distinction: • Noumenal • Ding-an-sich, “the thing in itself” • Objective, Unknowable • Phenomenal • The thing as experienced, • As known subject to our categories (Scientific Reason) • It is impossible to know anything in itself, but only as it is perceived by the subject mind Intro to Systematic Theology 5

  20. CONSCIOUSNESS THEOLOGY • Kant arrived at a Nature/Freedom dialectic • Practical Reason • God a postulate of human consciousness, since we cannot have direct knowledge of God in himself through “scientific” (pure reason) means • Nevertheless, there is practical reason- we have a sense of what “ought” to be • Kant: three postulates • Can not be established by theoretical reason • Must be assumed because required by the moral nature of the world- not because of Bible • God • Immortality • Human Freedom Intro to Systematic Theology 5

  21. CONSCIOUSNESS THEOLOGIANS: • Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768-1834) • Background: Reformed pietism, the philosophy of Immanuel Kant • Theology was a study of individual faith, religious experience • Faith is a matter of feeling, the consciousness of absolute dependence upon God • Theology comes from the human consciousness • God is known only in the light of human experience • The Bible was viewed as a book of religious experiences, not as an authoritative revelation • All religions are valid; Christianity was viewed simply as the most advanced, the highest in principle and religious evolution Intro to Systematic Theology 5

  22. CONSCIOUSNESS THEOLOGIANS: • Albrecht Ritschl (A.D. 1822-89) • Two key writings: • Critical History of Justification and Reconciliation • Christian Doctrine of Justification and Reconciliation • These volumes were a reaction to the subjectivism of Schleiermacher and the individualism of Pietism • The foundation of faith was sought in historical Jesus, not in the transcendent Christ • The focus was on Kingdom of God, ethical behavior Intro to Systematic Theology 5

  23. CONSCIOUSNESS THEOLOGIANS: • Albrecht Ritschl, cont. • Theological characteristics: • Ritschl attempted to remove dogma from religion and substitute ethical behavior instead • Doctrines were viewed merely as judgments of value based on experience. • Jesus was considered divine because “he has value of God for me” • The emphasis on the Kingdom of God, i.e., “Live morally” led naturally to development of the “Social Gospel” Intro to Systematic Theology 5

  24. Introduction to Systematic Theology

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