Systematic Theology

Systematic theology is a discipline of Christian theology that formulates an orderly, rational, and coherent account of the doctrines of the Christian faith. It addresses issues such as what the Bible teaches about certain topics or what is true about God and his universe. It also builds on biblical disciplines, such as Church history, as well as biblical and historical theology. Systematic theology shares its systematic tasks with other disciplines such as constructive theology, dogmatics, ethics, apologetics, and philosophy of religion.

With methodological tradition that differs somewhat from biblical theology, systematic theology draws on the sacred texts of Christianity, while simultaneously investigating the development of Christian doctrine over the course of history, particularly through philosophy, ethics, social sciences, and natural sciences. Using biblical texts, it attempts to compare and relate all of scripture which led to the creation of systematized statement on what the whole Bible says about particular issues.

Within Christianity, different traditions (both intellectual and ecclesial) approach systematic theology in different ways impacting (a) the method employed to develop the system, (b) the understanding of theology's task, (c) the doctrines included in the system, and (d) the order those doctrines appear. Even with such diversity, it is generally the case that works that one can describe as systematic theologies to begin with revelation and conclude with eschatology.

Since it is focused on truth, systematic theology is also framed to interact with and address the contemporary world. There are numerous authors who explored this area such as the case of Charles Gore, John Walvoord, Lindsay Dewar, and Charles Moule, among others. The framework developed by these theologians involved a review of postbiblical history of a doctrine after first treating the biblical marerials. This process concludes with applications to contemporary issues.

Since it is a sysrematic approach, systematic theology organize truth under different headings and there are ten basic areas (or categories), although the exact list may vary slightly. These are:

• Theology proper - the study of the character of God
• Angelology - the study of angels
• Biblical theology - the study of the Bible
• Christology - the study of Christ
• Ecclesiology - the study of the Church
• Eschatology - the study of end times
• Hamartiology - the study of sin
• Pneumatology - the study of the Holy Spirit
• Soteriology - the study of salvation
• Theological anthropology - the study of the nature of humanity

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