Introduction to Historical Theology
1. What is Historical Theology?
a. The study of the interpretation of Scripture and the formulation of doctrine by the church of the past. Christian Doctrine is what the Church believes, teaches, and confesses as it prays and suffers, serves and obeys, celebrates and awaits the coming kingdom of God.[1]
b. While it [historical theology or church tradition] is not infallible, it must be acknowledged as God’s guidance of his people in accordance with his promise to the church of all ages.[2]
c. It must be remembered that Scripture must be the last word in any attempt at interpreting its meaning and tradition. Scripture interprets Scripture.
2. Focus on the Development of Evangelical Doctrine.[3]
a. Lutheran Church that emerged from the Reformation. On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Thesis on the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church.
b. Eighteenth Century revival movements in Great Britain (Jonathon Edwards), North America (George Whitfield), and German Pietists. These emphasized conversion, piety, evangelism, and social reformation.
c. Shared set of commitments.
i. High view of the Bible (its inspiration, inerrancy, clarity, sufficiency, necessity, authority).
ii. Salvation by grace alone through faith in Christ alone as that salvation is communicated through the gospel and empowered by the Holy Spirit.
iii. Holiness of life.
iv. Social engagement of some kind, whether that is championing the culture of life over the culture of death (abortion, euthanasia, infanticide) or involvement in political matters.
d. A common doctrinal statement: cf. National Association of Evangelicals Statement of Faith -- http://www.nae.net/about-us/statement-of-faith
3. What are the benefits of such a study?
a. Helps distinguish orthodoxy (sound doctrine[4]) from heresy.
b. It lays the foundation for sound theological study today. The majority of the groundwork for study today has been laid in the past. We don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Consider the Doctrine of the Trinity.
c. It presents outstanding examples of faith, love, courage, hope, obedience, and mercy.
i. Early Christians such as Polycarp, Perpetua, and Felicitas were threatened with death if they would not renounce their faith in Jesus Christ—and they died as martyrs rather than deny the lord who saved them.
ii. Athanasius was the secretary of the first ecumenical council that convened in Nicea in 325 AD. He was twenty-nine years old and suffered five exiles fighting for the doctrine of the deity of Jesus.
d. It helps protect against the individualism that is rampant today.
i. Many Christians today accept doctrine like they are at a smorgasbord. They look at what’s available and then pick and choose what they feel is best and leave the rest.
ii. If they find themselves conflicted in their doctrinal belief and their lifestyle, they just refute the doctrine and justify their lifestyle.
iii. A historical/systematic study forces one to look at doctrine delivered to the church in the 1st century, review how it was debated and interpreted by different groups of people over the last 2000 years and see why it is accepted doctrine today.
iv. There is a tendency to follow strong leaders who are biblically and theologically shallow.
v. Tradition is like a filter, which allows us to identify suspect teachings immediately.[5]
e. It helps the church to focus on the essentials.
i. We spend an inordinate amount of time majoring in minors.
ii. The church through the ages has focused on issues such as the person and work of Christ, the Trinity, human dignity, sin, salvation, and sanctification. Issues such as these truly define the body of Christ.
iii. Focusing on the use of instruments in worship or whether Jesus would support the GLBT movement of our day is to misunderstand who we are, who God is, and the relationship between us. If we understand the church’s doctrines both historically and systematically other arguments become mute.
f. Finally, as we study the doctrinal development as overseen by Jesus himself, we can enjoy the sense of belonging to the church of the past.
i. John Stoughton says this concerning historical theology, “It attaches us to former generations, and inspires us with satisfaction and joy to find, that in the abundance of evangelical faith and sentiment we are one with the Church of all ages.”[6]
4. Our approach to this study.
a. Relativist vs Essentialist Perspectives.
i. Relativists claim that due to the vast diversity of Christian doctrine over the centuries, it is impossible to identify a “core” doctrine or essential center for the Christian faith. Accordingly all doctrines are equally acceptable. No one doctrine trumps the others.
ii. Essentials, on the other hand, argue that, “in truth, only one ‘correct’ Christianity has been handed down, and that all others are erroneous and deviant.”[7]
1. The problem with this is that it ignores historical theology and fails to accept the fact that doctrines have developed over time.
iii. We will follow a modified “essentialist” view, in that, an essential center. A core, of Christine doctrine does exist, only that it is not manifested in a given theological movement or a given Church.
1. Negatives
a. No pure church exists.
b. Paul affirms that fact that we have no complete theology in this church age (cf. 1 Cor 1312)
c. Culture has and does affect one’s doctrinal understanding.
2. Positives
a. The Holy Spirit illumines the Word of God (1 Cor 26-16). When Christians pray for understanding there is no reason to not believe we will receive it.
b. Jesus has promised to build his church (Matt 1613-20) so we can take heart that he is working to bring about a correct theological understanding. Even today we have more information, better tools, and a greater understanding of Scripture than any time since the 1st Century.
5. The Relationship of Historical Theology to other important biblical and theological disciplines.
Figure 1 Allison, Historical Theology, 32
a. Exegetical theology is the study to determine the meaning of biblical texts.
b. Biblical theology reveals the progressive revelation of Scripture and its doctrines by examining its various groupings, e.g., the Pentateuch, the Synoptic Gospels, the epistles of Paul.
c. Systematic theology determines what Christians and churches are to believe and do today in accordance with the teachings of all the Scriptures.
d. Historical theology uses the wisdom of the past to help organize and understand the various other theologies.
e. Practical
theology is the communication of the Word of God in the Church today through
preaching, teaching, small group Bible studies, one-on-one mentoring, etc. and
it reflects all the teaching of the past—historical theology.