Biblical Theology

Definition and Meaning

Biblical theology is the discipline that elucidates the theological content of Scripture by following the historical course in which the Bible was written and the context of each of its books. Systematic theology (dogmatic theology) organizes the teaching of Scripture by topics such as God, humanity, and salvation. Biblical theology, by contrast, asks in what period and in what manner that teaching was revealed and how it developed. In the broad sense, the term covers the theology of the Old Testament (Old Testament theology), the theology of the New Testament (New Testament theology), and the theology that unites both Testaments as a single whole.

Historical Background

After the Reformation, Protestantism took Scripture as the foundation of doctrine. Biblical theology, however, became established as an independent discipline only in the late eighteenth century. Its starting point is commonly identified with the inaugural address that the German scholar Johann Philipp Gabler delivered at the University of Altdorf in 1787, in which he argued for distinguishing biblical theology from dogmatic theology. The discipline subsequently developed in Germany in conjunction with historical criticism, a method of study that analyzes the historical processes through which the biblical texts were formed.

In the Reformed tradition, Geerhardus Vos of Princeton Theological Seminary in the United States defined biblical theology as the discipline that deals with "the history of special revelation." He established the redemptive-historical perspective, which holds that God's saving acts are progressively revealed in history. This perspective became closely joined with covenant theology, which reads the whole of Scripture as the unfolding of the covenants. Dispensationalism, by contrast, offers a different framework that reads biblical history by dividing it into several eras (dispensations).

Practice in the Korean Church

Most Korean graduate schools of theology offer courses in Old Testament theology and New Testament theology, although their approaches differ according to the traditions of each school and denomination.

• Reformed Presbyterian seminaries: At institutions such as Chongshin University, Kosin University, and Hapdong Theological Seminary, Vos's redemptive-historical biblical theology has exerted a strong influence, and his works have been translated into Korean and widely read. This tradition has also carried over into preaching in the form of "redemptive-historical preaching," which reads a given text christocentrically within the whole history of salvation.
• Seminaries that accept historical criticism: Institutions such as Hanshin University and Methodist Theological University have adopted historical-critical methods. These schools are generally understood to address both the distinctive theological emphases of each book and author and the diversity among them.
• Debate over preaching methods: Redemptive-historical preaching has also drawn criticism for excessively excluding so-called exemplary preaching, which encourages listeners to imitate the faith and lives of biblical figures. In pastoral practice, the two approaches are often used together.