Types Of Theology
TYPES OF THEOLOGY
Natural Theology: This is the study that examines those facts concerning God and His universe that are revealed in nature. This is considered theology by our earlier definition because we are examining how God has revealed Himself in nature.
Exegetical Theology: This is a study of each of the individual books of the Bible, taking into account the context of each of those books, the meanings of the original Greek and Hebrew texts, and the interplay of historical, cultural and archaeological backgrounds as we seek to understand those texts. For example, we might do a study of the book of Genesis, noting the internal outline of the book and seeing how the author uses particular narratives, teachings and arguments in order to make his point.
Biblical Theology: This is the study that trace's God's truth about Himself and His relationship with men as that truth is developed historically in the individual books of the Bible. It was this kind of theology that Stephen presented when he preached his sermon before the Jewish Sanhedrin.
Thus we might do a study of the book of Genesis and ask how God is revealed in that particular book, understanding that the writer and the original readers did not have the rest of the Scriptures because they had not yet been written. We would read Genesis and we would ask what was the concept of God those original readers were derive from this book.
Systematic Theology: This is the study that follows an analytically devised scheme to organize into a single system all of the truth that we have about God and His universe. The Apostle Paul uses this kind of systematic approach in his study of the righteousness of God in the book of Romans.
Practical Theology: Taking all of the previous aspects of theology and putting them into practice so that my life is different than it previously was. This is the goal of all study of theology. It is so that my life will be changed so that I love God more and serve Him better.
Natural Theology|Exegetical Theology|Biblical Theology|Systematic Theology|Practical Theology|
Draws its truths from a study of the universe.|Draws its study from a verse by verse study of the Bible|Draws its study from Exegetical Theology|Draws its study from Biblical Theology.|Draws its study from Systematic Theology.|
Sees God revealed in nature|Sees God as He is revealed in the individual books of the Bible|Sees the revelation of God developed historically over the duration of the writing of the Bible.|Takes the revelation of God and organizes those truths into a doctrinal system.|Takes the truths from the doctrinal system and puts them into practice in our lives.|
It should be understood that when we approach the organizing of a systematic theology, we are not trying to “put God in a box.” This is reflected in a poem by Tennyson: Our little systems have their day,
They have their day and cease to be.
They are but broken lights of Thee,
And Thou, O Lord, are more than they.
We must recognize that God and the Scriptures rule over our theology and not the other way around. This means that if our theology conflicts with the Bible, we need to change our theology. As such, we are to follow the example of the Bereans.
10 And the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea; and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily, to see whether these things were so. 12 Many of them therefore believed, along with a number of prominent Greek women and men. (Acts 17:10-12).
Here were a group of noble-minded followers of the Lord. They heard the message being preached by Paul and Silas and it was different from that with which they were familiar. Their reaction was to become diligent students of the Scriptures, examining them daily to see whether that new message was true. It is the Scriptures that drive our understanding of theology and not the other way around.