Tammy’s Reviews > Historical Theology: An Introduction to the History of Christian Thought > Status Update

It helps us identify what’s already been discussed, the strenghts and weaknesses of how it was approached, and know the landmarks of Christian thought. It also serves to correct our thinking. We can learn why certain doctrines became important when they did and understand how theology adapted to a particular time. He illustrates the idea of God not suffering came from Greek ideas about perfection and God.

Another question is whether God can suffer and that is an interesting question in light of Jesus suffering on the cross. The issue is the spirit of the study: if the sole purpose is looking for error, then that is not a posture of humility. Looking for ideas (spirit of the age) is very helpful because they yield fruit. Nothing is new under the season and the minds of the past wrestle with the questions we ask.

They examined the work of early patristic writers as well as scholars in the Middle Ages. The Enlightenment triggered another examination because they believed dogma that developed because of the culture of those eras may be incorrect (which is why we have chaos today). They reject essentials of Christian belief as dogma--the incarnation for example--because they believe it came from Greek philosophy.

Historical theology also informs systematic theology because it addresses when and why theological doctrine settled. When these issues crop up now, it is because we do not realize the issue has already been decided. It also reveals how God’s saving work appeared in each age which is encouraging. The Reformation triggered the emergence of historical theology because people were trying to support their ideas.

The Spanish intermarried with the natives a lot which led to mixing of relgious and cultural practices. Finally, the efforts of the USSR and Cuba to foment a color revolution and import Marxism into Latin American influenced liberation theology. In the US, secular culture has an influence: liberalism and conservatism affecting denominations differently, depending upon which political movement aligns the most.

Historical theology draws from church history and systematic theology. It focuses on the historical situation that lead to theology and links context to the topic. For example, the social-economic situation in Latin America drove liberation theology. I could go on: the Spanish Catholic practices (not understanding the mass) and the culture of getting away with what you can in the justice system added to the pressure.

Historical theology covers the development of Christian theology based on the spirit of the age and the historical context. Something totally new for me is that one key factor in the Reformation may be when Erasmus (15th century) published the first Greek copy of the New Testament. Some flaws in understanding came from St. Jerome’s Latin translation. The west lacked access to the original Greek.

Events that are vital to understanding church history don’t always translate to theology and vice versa. It is interested in how the church developed throughout the ages: its institutional elements and the movements. It also looks at the interplay between Christianity and the culture.

Pastoral theology came out of a desire for pastoral care but has been co-opted by liberation theology (Marxism in a collar). Purtianism was a time with heady theology plus decent pastoral care: no bueno. Theology is best when it supports preaching, praying, worship, and pastoral care. Church history is a discipline of its own but had an overlap with theology because of the need to understand institutional elements.

Aquinas did this in his Five Ways to affirm God's existence. Philosophical theology seeks common ground between Christian faith and intellectual activity. It helps us interact with our cultural environment. Philosophy is the handmaid of theology. The medieval harmonized Platonism or Aristotelianism but Tertullian rejected this in the 2nd century. Bernhard (9th) wanted to let the real presence be a mystery.