Systematic Theology

Definition and Meaning

Systematic theology is a field of theology that gathers the teachings of Scripture by topic, clarifies the relationships among those topics, and presents them as a unified system. It is also called dogmatics (the discipline concerned with "dogma," the teachings the church publicly confesses). In seminaries it usually forms one of the principal divisions of study, alongside biblical theology, historical theology, and practical theology. Biblical theology reads the text by following the development of individual books and periods. Systematic theology, by contrast, first poses questions such as "Who is God?" or "How are people saved?" and then gathers and arranges the testimony of the whole of Scripture on those questions.

Traditionally, the discipline is presented according to the following structure, although the order and names vary somewhat among scholars and denominations.

• Prolegomena: revelation and the authority of Scripture
• Doctrine of God: the existence and attributes of God, the Trinity, creation and providence
• Anthropology: the image of God, the Fall and sin
• Christology: the person and work of Jesus Christ
• Soteriology: the process of salvation, including calling, justification, and sanctification. Pneumatology is sometimes treated here and sometimes treated separately.
• Ecclesiology: the nature of the church, its offices, and the sacraments
• Eschatology: death, the Second Coming, the Last Judgment, and the new heaven and new earth

Biblical and Historical Background

Scripture was not written in the form of a topical doctrinal handbook. Systematic theologians nevertheless point to passages such as 2 Timothy 1:13, which exhorts believers to "hold fast the form of sound words," and Acts 20:27, where Paul says he has declared "all the counsel of God," as grounds for the legitimacy of organizing its teaching.

In the early church, creeds such as the Nicene Creed and the writings of Augustine laid the foundation for the ordering of doctrine. From the Middle Ages, the Summa Theologiae of Thomas Aquinas, a figure of the Scholastic tradition, is regarded as the leading example of systematic exposition. From the Reformation era, Philip Melanchthon's Loci Communes (1521) and John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion are considered the starting points of Protestant systematic theology. Widely read works from the modern period include Friedrich Schleiermacher's The Christian Faith, Karl Barth's Church Dogmatics, Herman Bavinck's Reformed Dogmatics, and Louis Berkhof's Systematic Theology.

Practice in the Korean Church

Systematic theology is a core required course in graduate schools of theology. Many denominations also include it as a subject in the ordination examination for pastors or in the licentiate (kangdosa) examination. In local churches, it is introduced to laypeople through new-member classes and doctrinal study.

How systematic theology is understood and presented differs according to each denomination's theological tradition.

• Conservative Presbyterians: The Dogmatic Theology compiled by Park Hyung-nong and Berkhof's textbook are reported to have been used for many years. This tradition follows the Reformed system grounded in the Westminster Confession of Faith.
• Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea: Beginning with Kim Chai-choon, this denomination is regarded as a stream that has been relatively receptive to neo-orthodoxy, represented by figures such as Barth, and to modern theology.
• Methodists and Holiness churches: Under the influence of Wesleyan theology, they emphasize sanctification and holiness in soteriology.
• Pentecostal churches: They give considerable weight to pneumatology and baptism in the Holy Spirit within systematic theology.
• Baptists: In ecclesiology, they emphasize believer's baptism and congregational church government.