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62-416: With a methodological tradition that differs somewhat from biblical theology , systematic theology draws on the core sacred texts of Christianity, while simultaneously investigating the development of Christian doctrine over the course of history, particularly through philosophy, ethics, social sciences, and natural sciences. Using biblical texts, it attempts to compare and relate all of scripture which led to

124-628: A Christian Prince . The form of the short title of the first edition of Calvin's work, published in 1536 is Christianae religionis institutio . The full title of this edition may be translated The Institute of the Christian Religion, Containing almost the Whole Sum of Piety and Whatever It is Necessary to Know in the Doctrine of Salvation. A Work Very Well Worth Reading by All Persons Zealous for Piety, and Lately Published. A Preface to

186-442: A feeling or awareness of 'absolute dependence,' and this became a focal point of either acceptation, integration, or rejection among theologians. As such, systematic theology in the 19th century became a sophisticated endeavor of developing and articulating theology from certain assumed first principles, often on the back of the philosophical conversations inherited from Hegel, Kant, and Schleiermacher. Systematic theology likewise saw

248-463: A final installment of 20th century systematic theology, looking to questions of postmodernity from a Barthian perspective. Several popular-level textbook-style works emerged during this period within Evangelical theology, from Lewis Sperry Chafer 's eight-volume Systematic Theology to Wayne Grudem 's stand-alone title Systematic Theology, a particularly sophisticated non-textbook example being

310-523: A great variety of development into the 20th century, most notably with the advancement of Neo-Orthodoxy and the multivolume Church Dogmatics of Karl Barth . Helmuth Thielicke wrote his three-volume work, The Evangelical Faith, as a confessionally-Lutheran theology with existentialist emphases, and Wolfhart Pannenberg 's three-volume Systematic Theology is an eclectic example of modernist systematics that attempts to integrate faith and science. Robert Jenson 's two-volume Systematic Theology, stands as

372-557: A popular text in conjunction with his work at Princeton Theological Seminary. Significant for this period, Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher 's Der christliche Glaube nach den Grundsätzen der evangelischen Kirche ( The Christian Faith According to the Principles of the Protestant Church [1821-1822]) espoused the fundamental idea of a universal presence among humanity, sometimes more hidden, sometimes more explicit, of

434-480: A revised edition. In 1539, Calvin published a much larger work, with seventeen chapters of about the same length as the six chapters of the first edition. It includes many references to classical authors and Church fathers , as well as many additional references to the Bible. Calvin's epistle to the reader indicates that the new work is intended for theological students preparing for ministry. Four chapters were added in

496-624: A summary of theology which would become the Institutes . His Catholic opponents sought to tie him and his associates (known as Huguenots in France) to groups of radical Anabaptists , some of which had been put down by persecution. He decided to adapt the work he had been writing to the purpose of defending Protestants suffering from persecution from false accusations that they were espousing radical and heretical doctrines. The work, written in Latin,

558-546: A third edition in 1543, and a 1550 edition was published with only minor changes. The fifth and final edition with which Calvin was involved, and which is used by scholars as the authoritative text, is 80% larger than the previous edition and was published in Geneva in 1559. Calvin's theology did not change substantially throughout his life, and so while he expanded and added to the Institutes , he did not change their main ideas. The Latin word " institutio ", translated in

620-739: Is a core reference for the system of doctrine adopted by the Reformed churches , usually called Calvinism . John Calvin was a student of law and then classics at the University of Paris . Around 1533 he became involved in religious controversies and converted to Protestantism , a new Christian reform movement which was persecuted by the Catholic Church in France, forcing him to go into hiding. He moved to Basel , Switzerland for safety in 1535, and around this time he must have begun writing

682-647: Is by Tony Lane and Hilary Osborne; the text is their own alteration and abridgment of the Beveridge translation. The Institutes overshadowed the earlier Protestant theologies such as Melanchthon 's Loci Communes and Zwingli 's Commentary on the True and False Religion. According to historian Philip Schaff , it is a classic of theology at the level of Origen 's On First Principles , Augustine 's The City of God , Thomas Aquinas 's Summa Theologica , and Schleiermacher 's The Christian Faith . (Schaff himself

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744-536: Is connected with human knowledge. To pursue an explanation of the relationship between God and man, the edition of 1559, although Calvin claimed it to be "almost a new work", in fact completely recast the old Institutes into four sections and 80 chapters, on the basis of the Apostles' Creed , a traditional structure of Christian instruction used in Western Christianity. First, the knowledge of God

806-693: Is considered as knowledge of the Father, the creator, provider, and sustainer. Next, it is examined how the Son reveals the Father, since only God is able to reveal God. The third section of the Institutes describes the work of the Holy Spirit, who raised Christ from the dead, and who comes from the Father and the Son to affect a union in the Church through faith in Jesus Christ, with God, forever. And finally,

868-468: 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

930-426: Is dynamic not static. That is, it follows the movement and process of God's revelation in the Bible. It is closely related to systematic theology (the two are dependent upon one another), but there is a difference in emphasis. Biblical theology is not concerned to state the final doctrines which go to make up the content of Christian belief, but rather to describe the process by which revelation unfolds and moves toward

992-578: Is exemplified by John Calvin 's Institutes of the Christian Religion . The 17th century saw a boom in focused systematic theologies within a renaissance of the scholastic method . Francis Turretin's Institutes of Elenctic Theology (1696) and Petrus van Mastricht 's Theoretical-Practical Theology (1680) became touchstone works in the field, profoundly influencing later theologians like William Cunningham , Jonathan Edwards , Charles Hodge , and Herman Bavinck . Similarly, William Ames 's systematic treatise, The Marrow of Theology (1629) , would become

1054-424: Is expedient for us according to the flesh. We are not our own: in so far as we can, let us therefore forget ourselves and all that is ours. Conversely, we are God's: let us therefore live for him and die for him. Calvin's first French edition (1541) has been translated by Elsie Anne McKee (2009) and by Robert White (2014). Due to the length of the Institutes , several abridged versions have been made. The most recent

1116-554: Is limited to a collation and restatement of biblical data, without the logical analysis and dialectical correlation between texts that systematic theology emphasizes. 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

1178-845: Is on the basis of biblical theology that the systematic theologian draws upon the pre-Pentecost texts of the Bible as part of the material from which Christian doctrine may be formulated. 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

1240-484: 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. 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

1302-486: The Church Fathers , became the basis of a medieval scholastic tradition of thematic commentary and explanation. Thomas Aquinas 's Summa Theologiae best exemplifies this scholastic tradition. The Lutheran scholastic tradition of a thematic, ordered exposition of Christian theology emerged in the 16th century with Philipp Melanchthon 's Loci Communes , and was countered by a Calvinist scholasticism, which

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1364-610: The Liberation Theology of James Cone and Gustavo Gutiérrez , the Post-liberal Theology associated with Yale Divinity School , and Feminist Theology (e.g. Sarah Coakley ). As such, the variety and perspectives of systematic theology in the 20th century has tracked well with both the broadening of ethical concerns post-World War II, its expansive pluralism, and the advent of postmodernism. Biblical theology Because scholars have tended to use

1426-511: The 1536 Latin text was published in 1540, before Calvin even published his first French edition. An Italian translation of Calvin's French text was made in 1557. Later translations were of the final 1559 Latin text: Dutch (1560), German (1572), Spanish (1597), Czech (1617), Hungarian (1624), and Japanese (1934). Scholars speculate that the seventeenth-century orientalist Johann Heinrich Hottinger translated it into Arabic, but this has not been confirmed. A complete translation by H. W. Simpson of

1488-608: The 1559 Latin text into Afrikaans was published in four volumes between 1984 and 1992, following an earlier abridged translation by A. Duvenhage in 1951. In English, five complete translations have been published – four from the Latin and one from the French. The first was made in Calvin's lifetime (1561) by Thomas Norton , the son-in-law of the English Reformer Thomas Cranmer . The Norton translation of

1550-604: 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. Johann Philipp Gabler 's 1787 lecture "On the Proper Distinction Between Biblical and Dogmatic Theology"

1612-743: The Christian Religion Institutes of the Christian Religion ( Latin : Institutio Christianae Religionis ) is John Calvin 's seminal work of systematic theology . Regarded as one of the most influential works of Protestant theology, it was published in Latin in 1536 at the same time as Henry VIII of England 's Dissolution of the Monasteries and in his native French language in 1541. The definitive editions appeared in 1559 in Latin and in 1560 in French . The book

1674-608: The Covenants ) have helped popularize this approach to the Bible. Especially important for bringing this field of study into the confessional tradition was Old Princeton theologian, Geerhardus Vos ( Biblical Theology: Old and New Testaments ). 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). In

1736-549: The Most Christian King of France, in Which this Book is Presented to Him as a Confession of Faith. Author, John Calvin, Of Noyon. Basel, MDXXXVI. In the 1539 edition, the title is Institutio Christianae Religionis , possibly to emphasize the fact that this is a new, considerably expanded work. This is followed by "at length truly corresponding to its title", a play on the grandiosity of the title and an indication that

1798-504: The OT (1796) and the NT (1800–1802). 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." The biblical theology movement was an approach to Protestant biblical studies that was popular in

1860-634: 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." Scholars included G. Ernest Wright , Floyd V. Filson, Otto Piper and James D. Smart. Institutes of

1922-456: The axiom or axioms, and continental theology divided between various schools of dogmatic theology , e.g. Erlangen Theology ( e.g. F.C.K. Hoffman , Thomasius , and Gisle Johnson ), Mediating Theology (e.g. Isaak Dorner ), classical confessionalism (e.g. Hans Lassen Martensen and Herman Bavinck ), and liberal theology (e.g. Friedrich Schleiermacher and Albrecht Ritschle ). In the United States, Charles Hodge 's Systematic Theology became

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1984-428: The bounds of these documents and their historical contexts. Key scholars have included Rudolf Bultmann , Hendrikus Boers , and N. T. Wright . 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: Biblical theology, as defined here,

2046-510: The contemporary world. Many authors have explored this area, including Charles Gore , John Walvoord , Lindsay Dewar, and Charles Moule . The framework developed by these theologians reviews the postbiblical history of a doctrine, following a treatment of the biblical materials. This process concludes with applications to contemporary issues. Since it is a systemic approach, systematic theology organizes truth under different headings and there are certain basic areas (or categories), although

2108-507: The creation of a systematized statement on what the whole Bible says about particular issues. In other words, "In reconstructing Christian teaching, systematic theology proceeds by a process of conceptual abstraction and schematization." In a seminal article, "Principles of Systematic Theology," Anglican theologian John Webster describes systematic theology as proceeding along a series of principles, which he draws from various theologians including Thomas Aquinas : Webster has also considered

2170-603: The creator and his creatures. Above all, the book concerns the knowledge of God the Creator, but "as it is in the creation of man that the divine perfections are best displayed", there is also an examination of what can be known about mankind. After all, it is mankind's knowledge of God and of what He requires of his creatures that is the primary issue of concern for a book of theology. In the first chapter, these two issues are considered together to show what God has to do with mankind (and other creatures) and, especially, how knowing God

2232-555: The epistemological worldview theology of Carl F.H. Henry , contained in his six-volume God, Revelation and Authority. Reformed theology also saw considerable contributions in the twentieth century, including Louis Berkhof 's popular Systematic Theology and G.C. Berkouwer 's multivolume Studies in Dogmatics. The latter half of the twentieth century also saw the emergence of systematic theologies dealing with critical themes from social, political, and economic perspective, including

2294-409: The exact list may vary slightly. These are: The establishment and integration of varied Christian ideas and Christianity-related notions, including diverse topics and themes of the Bible, in a single, coherent and well-ordered presentation is a relatively late development. The first known church father who referred to the notion of devising a comprehensive understanding of the principles of Christianity

2356-534: The expansion and development of the Latin editions, but they are not strictly translations, instead being adapted for use by a lay readership, though retaining the same doctrine. The French translations of Calvin's Institutes helped to shape the French language for generations, not unlike the influence of the King James Version for the English language. There are differences in translations of one of

2418-451: The first edition (1536) into French soon after its publication, but the earliest edition which has survived is Calvin's 1541 translation. It was primarily intended for French-speaking Swiss , since very few copies were able to be smuggled into France. Some of these were publicly burned in front of Notre-Dame Cathedral soon after their publication. Calvin published French editions of the Institutes in 1541, 1545, 1551, and 1560. They follow

2480-639: The flesh. We are not our own; therefore, let us, as far as possible, forget ourselves and all things that are ours. On the contrary, we are God's; to him, therefore, let us live and die. Also from the nineteenth century, the Henry Beveridge (1845) translation, Institutes , III, 7: We are not our own; therefore, neither is our own reason or will to rule our acts and counsels. We are not our own; therefore, let us not make it our end to seek what may be agreeable to our carnal nature. We are not our own; therefore, as far as possible, let us forget ourselves and

2542-399: The fourth section speaks of the Christian church, and how it is to live out the truths of God and Scriptures, particularly through the sacraments. This section also describes the functions and ministries of the church, how civil government relates to religious matters, and includes a lengthy discussion of the deficiencies of the papacy. There is some speculation that Calvin may have translated

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2604-421: The goal which is God's final revelation of his purposes in Jesus Christ. Biblical theology seeks to understand the relationships between the various eras in God's revealing activity recorded in the Bible. The systematic theologian is mainly interested in the finished article - the statement of Christian doctrine. The biblical theologian on the other hand is concerned rather with the progressive unfolding of truth. It

2666-590: The ideas found in the Bible. 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. Gabler's second task was to compare biblical ideas with each other to discover universal scriptural truths on which dogmatic theology could be based. Taking up Gabler's first task, George Lorenz Bauer wrote separate biblical theologies for

2728-470: The later scholastics for teaching involving unsuspected implications of freedom in the relation of church and state. The book is prefaced by a letter to Francis I. As this letter shows, Institutes was composed, or at least completed, to meet a present necessity, to correct an aspersion on Calvin's fellow reformers. The French king, wishing to suppress the Reformation at home, yet unwilling to alienate

2790-423: The method employed to develop the system, b) the understanding of theology's task, c) the doctrines included in the system, and d) the order those doctrines appear. Even with such diversity, it is generally the case that works that one can describe as systematic theologies begin with revelation and conclude with eschatology. Since it is focused on truth, systematic theology is also framed to interact with and address

2852-802: The more famous passages. First, from Calvin's 1560 French edition, Institution , III, 7: Nous ne sommes point nôtres: que donc notre raison et volonté ne dominent point en nos conseils et en ce que nous avons à faire. Nous ne sommes point nôtres: ne nous établissons donc point cette fin, de chercher ce qui nous est expédient selon la chair. Nous ne sommes point nôtres; oublions-nous donc nous-mêmes tant qu'il sera possible, et tout ce qui est à l'entour de nous. Au contraire, nous sommes au Seigneur: que sa volonté et sa sagresse président en toutes nos actions. Nous sommes au Seigneur: que toutes les parties de notre vie soient référées à lui comme à leur fin unique. The Institutes were translated into many other European languages. A Spanish translation by Francisco de Enzinas of

2914-520: The new work better lives up to the expectation created by such a title. Christianity • Protestantism Institutes in its first form was not merely an exposition of Reformation doctrine; it proved the inspiration to a new form of Christian life for many. It is indebted to Martin Luther in the treatment of faith and sacraments, to Martin Bucer in what is said of divine will and predestination, and to

2976-500: The other side, we are God's: therefore let us live and dye to him. In the nineteenth century there were two translations, one by John Allen (1813). The same passage in the Allen translation, Institutes , III, 7: We are not our own; therefore neither our reason nor our will should predominate in our deliberations and actions. We are not our own; therefore let us not propose it as our end, to seek what may be expedient for us according to

3038-422: The passage above, Institutes , III, 7: We are not our owne: therefore let neither our owne reason nor our owne will beare rule in our counselles and doinges. We are not our owne: therefore let us not make this the ende for us to tend unto, to seke that which may be expediét for us according to the flesh. We are not our owne: therefore so much as we may, let us foreget our selves and all things that our our owne. On

3100-514: The reforming princes of Germany, had sought to confound the teachings of the French reformers with the attacks of Anabaptists on civil authority. "My reasons for publishing the Institutes," Calvin wrote in 1557, "were first that I might vindicate from unjust affront my brethren whose death was precious in the sight of the Lord, and next that some sorrow and anxiety should move foreign people, since

3162-401: The same sufferings threaten many." "The hinges on which our controversy turns," says Calvin in his letter to the king, "are that the Church may exist without any apparent form" and that its marks are "pure preaching of the word of God and rightful administration of the sacraments." Despite the dependence on earlier writers, Institutes was felt by many to be a new voice, and within a year there

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3224-524: The standard textbook for Harvard and Yale in their nascent years. In the 19th century, primarily in Protestant groups, varieties of systematic theology arose that attempted to demonstrate that Christian doctrine formed a more coherent system premised on one or more fundamental axioms , often reasoned out as a form of dogmatic theology . Such theologies often involved a more drastic pruning and reinterpretation of traditional belief in order to cohere with

3286-865: The task of all systematic theology as articulating the Creator/creature distinction, known also as the Categorical Distinction or the Infinite Qualitative Distinction , a concept also explored from the perspective of compatiblistic metaphysics by Kathryn Tanner in God and Creation in Christian Theology (1988). Within Christianity, different traditions (both intellectual and ecclesial) approach systematic theology in different ways impacting a)

3348-447: The term in different ways, Biblical theology has been notoriously difficult to define. The academic field of biblical theology is sub-divided into Old Testament theology and New Testament theology . 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 ". Biblical theology

3410-513: The things that are ours. On the other hand, we are God's; let us, therefore, live and die to him. The most recent from Latin is the 1960 edition, translated by Ford Lewis Battles and edited by John T. McNeill , currently considered the most authoritative edition by scholars. The Battles translation of the same passage, Institutes , III, 7: We are not our own: let not our reason nor our will, therefore, sway our plans and deeds. We are not our own: let us therefore not set it as our goal to seek what

3472-402: The title as "institutes", may also be translated "instruction", as it was in titles of German translations of the work, and was commonly used in the titles of legal works as well as other summary works covering a large body of knowledge. The title of Desiderius Erasmus 's Institutio principis Christiani (1516), with which Calvin would have been familiar, is usually translated The Education of

3534-537: 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 . Others focus on the New Testament (NT); the field of New Testament theology likewise seeks understanding from within

3596-586: The western tradition. In Eastern Orthodoxy , an early example is provided by John of Damascus 's 8th-century Exposition of the Orthodox Faith , in which he attempts to set in order and demonstrate the coherence of the theology of the classic texts of the Eastern theological tradition. In the West, Peter Lombard 's 12th-century Sentences , wherein he thematically collected a great series of quotations of

3658-434: Was Clement of Alexandria in the 3rd century, who stated thus: "Faith is then, so to speak, a comprehensive knowledge of the essentials." Clement himself, along with his follower Origen , attempted to create some systematic theology in their numerous surviving writings. The first systematic theology in Latin was Lactantius's Divine Institutes, and the term Intitutio would set a precedence for works of systematic theology in

3720-502: Was demand for a second edition. This came in 1539, amplifying especially the treatment of the fall of man, of election, and of reprobation, as well as that of the authority of scripture. It showed also a more conciliatory temper toward Luther in the section on the Lord's Supper . The opening chapter of the Institutes is perhaps the best known, in which Calvin presents the basic plan of the book. There are two general subjects to be examined:

3782-880: Was published in Basel in March 1536 with a preface addressed to King Francis I of France , entreating him to give the Protestants a hearing rather than continue to persecute them. It is six chapters long, covering the basics of Christian creed using the familiar catechetical structure of the Ten Commandments , the Apostles' Creed , the Lord's Prayer , and the sacraments , as well as a chapter on Christian liberty and political theology . Soon after publishing it, Calvin began his ministry in Geneva , Switzerland. The Institutes proved instantly popular, with many asking for

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3844-493: Was written as an introductory textbook on the Protestant creed for those with some previous knowledge of theology and covered a broad range of theological topics from the doctrines of church and sacraments to justification by faith alone and Christian liberty . It vigorously attacked the teachings of those Calvin considered unorthodox , particularly Roman Catholicism , to which Calvin says he had been "strongly devoted" before his conversion to Protestantism. The Institutes

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