Pastor Steve Paulus

1. Introduction

1.1 What is historical theology?

Historical theology is the study of the development of doctrines regarding the primary beliefs and teachings of followers of Jesus Christ throughout the history of the church. Historical theology is rooted in the teachings of the Bible, but explores how the church has interpreted Scripture throughout its history. In addition to Scripture interpretation, historical theology takes into account the various controversies which have shaped the church’s beliefs and practices. Historical theology also includes an examination of the non-scriptural traditions of the church.

All theology is rooted in biblical theology, which is the discipline of taking the sum of the teachings of the Bible on a given subject and stating the teaching of scripture in that area. The study of biblical theology leads to systematic theology, which organizes biblical doctrine into a number of accepted categories which include, but are not limited to, the Doctrine of God, Revelation, Man (Anthropology), Salvation/Redemption (Soteriology), Spirit Beings/World (Pneumatology), the Nature and Government of the Church (Ecclesiology), and Last Things (Eschatology) among others. All good theology is rooted in the Scripture.

The first of the church fathers to establish systematic theology as a disciplined study were Clement (d. 215) and Origen (d.254) both of the catechetical school of Alexandria in Egypt. The Church at Alexandria was one of the leading churches of the patristic era. Alexandria (named for Alexander the Great) was a center of learning in the Hellenistic world, home to one of the world’s first and greatest libraries established under Ptolemy Philadelphus (2^nd century B.C.). The Egyptian church established a school there and both Clement and Origen were headmasters. Origen, in particular, established the science of theology whereby biblical knowledge was organized into specialized categories.

Biblical theology is the study of the general sweep of what the Bible says about a given category of belief. Biblical theology is sometimes divided into Old Testament or New Testament theology, focusing primarily on what each testament teaches about the various categories of theology. Historical theology on the other hand is the study of the development of doctrine within the life and history of the church. Doctrines such as the Trinity, the Atonement, schemes of the millenium and Second Coming, the sacraments, while based in scripture, were refined in the church’s thinking through crisis and controversy. Speaking of the church in the patristic era J.N.D. Kelly writes, “©onditions were favorable to a wide variety of opinions even on subjects of primary importance.” (J.N.D. Kelly, Early Christian Doctrines, p.4).

The purpose of our study is to engage in an exploration of historical theology. This exercise will automatically lead to a deeper understanding of both systematic and biblical theology. Think of the course as an excursion. We will have a “home port,” the Westminster Confession of Faith. This has been among the most influential confessions in church history affecting all churches and denominations, which call themselves Reformed. It was the result of the Westminster Assembly first appointed in 1643 by the Long Parliament in London. The Confession was approved in 1648 during the time of thoroughgoing Protestant reform in Britain after the death of Charles I and before the accession of Charles II. The Confession has become the standard of Reformed Presbyterianism in the English speaking world.

But the Westminster Confession is just our home base. We will use the categories addressed by the Confession as a launching place for exploring developments in theology. Like any excursion we’ll have to be satisfied with sampling the various stops along the way, as the developments in historical theology are far too numerous and involved to explore any of them thoroughly and do them justice in a course of this length.

Think of this course as if it were a Caribbean cruise. Even the most extensive trip just begins to uncover the treasures of the region. So it will be with our excursion into historical theology. Perhaps it will create a hunger to return to the area repeatedly to further explore the territory.

This will be an inductive study of theology and church history. That is, we will look at particular issues and events and arrive at general conclusions. We will allow our excursion to lead us where it will without regard to deductive methods. We’re going to ramble through the field of theology. In this context, I would describe the inductive method as follows. While the Westminster Confession of faith is itself an orderly statement of the Reformed Christian faith, it is at the same time influenced by multiple currents from centuries of theological disputation and controversy. These currents form a jumble of tangled threads. We will unravel each thread, one by one and follow it out where it leads until all the threads are untangled. By God’s grace, this will not be too ambitious a goal.

1.2 The Rule of Faith

One of the earliest developments defining the belief system of the church was provoked by sub-Christian and anti-Christian heresies and practices. The early Christian apologist Irenaeus (d. 200) established a rule (kanon) or means by which all beliefs (doctrines) were to be judged. This Rule of Faith had three elements: 1) Was it biblical, and did it adhere to the doctrines of the baptismal formula (Apostles' Creed)? 2) Was it believed always, everywhere by everyone? And 3) In cases of dispute, did the churches founded by the apostles endorse it, the church at Rome having greatest authority?

It was this belief that leads to the terms “One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic” that we hear in the early creeds. While this system protected the patristic church from the many heresies that were swirling in the first three centuries, it created a fatal flaw (according to Protestants) in the system. This flaw was that tradition (the beliefs and practices of the churches) was eventually placed on a par with scripture, so that Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches have tended to give equal place to scripture and tradition in their doctrinal formulations. This will become a primary bone of contention over a thousand years later at the time of the Reformation, and is very much a current found in the Westminster Confession.

1.3 What is a Confession of faith?

Confessions (from Latin, “to say together”), also sometimes referred to as creeds (Latin, credo, “I believe”), are simply succinct statements of the faith of a given community. Catholics, Baptists, Lutherans, Presbyterians all have confessions that they adhere to. Some confessions are embraced by numerous groups. For instance, Anglicans (Episcopalians) adhere to the Thirty-Nine Articles (1563) as well as the Nicene Creed (A.D. 381) which the Orthodox and Catholic Churches also believe. In fact, most Protestants embrace the tenants of the Nicene Creed and other early confessions, but Catholics and Orthodox don’t embrace Protestant confessions, generally.

Some of the more well-known confessions include the Augsburg Confession, First and Second Helvetic Confessions, the Belgic Confession, the Scottish Confession of Faith, the Barmen Declaration among others. The Westminster Confession of Faith, the starting point of our study is a foundational document of the Puritan/Reformed movement in England. The Westminster Confession was drawn up by leading ministers of Great Britain at Westminster Cathedral in 1644 during the Cromwellian period of the British political and religious reformations. This confession has been the basis of many Reformed bodies including several Presbyterian Churches, and is considered a mature statement of Reformation doctrine.

Some of the major figures of the Reformation are Martin Luther, John Calvin and Menno Simons – all active in the early to mid-sixteenth century. So the Westminster Confession was drawn up a full 100 years after the initial impact of the Reformation of the Church. Luther, the German reformer, was the first successful reformer, though numerous attempts at reform of the doctrine, polity, and practices of the Catholic Church in Western Europe had been attempted prior to him, notably John Wycliff and John Hus in the 14^th and 15^th centuries. Calvin, a bit junior to Luther lived and worked in Geneva and published the immensely influential Institutes of the Christian Religion which had a major influence on all Reformed national churches subsequent to its publication. Menno Simons was a primary leader among the Anabaptists, the most persecuted and disestablished wing of the Reformation. They were rejected both by Catholics and Protestant Reformed bodies and are the forerunners of present–day Mennonites and Baptists. Each have their particular doctrinal emphases which we will discuss in time.

It may surprise you, but even Staunton Grace Covenant Church has a statement of faith or confession. We base our beliefs on the Bible, the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed.

Discussion Questions

1. What is the value of a confession of faith?

2. Do Protestants adhere to the rule of faith in some way?

3. What is the down side of using a confession of faith?

4. What’s the difference between a creed, a confession of faith, and a catechism?

Readings for Chapter One:

Time Line

Ireneus and Tertullian, Rule of Faith

Apostle’s Creed, Nicene Creed

Luther on Liberation from Human Authority

Thirty-Nine Articles

Introduction to the Westminster Confession

Barmen Declaration

Glossary:

Anabaptist: Named used to refer to those who refused to have their infants baptized, introduced believers, baptism and re-baptized professing adults who had been baptized as children

Biblical Theology: A systematic study of various doctrines based soley on the teachings of scripture in a given area of doctrine.

Catechism: A method or system of teaching adherents and converts to the faith its rudimentary doctrines.

Confession of Faith: A brief but comprehensive, systematic statement of the beliefs of a given faith community in relation to the primary doctrines of the faith.

Creed: The most succinct form of a statement of beliefs.

Historical Theology: The study of the development of the doctrines of the church in the context of the conflicts and controversies of church history.

Lutheran: The Church which embraced the reformation practices initiated by Martin Luther in the early 16^th century.

Reformed: Generally those churches which embraced the reformation practices endorsed by John Calvin as expressed in The Institutes of the Christian Religion.

Reformation: Refers to an era, an event, and an ongoing phenomenon. In essence, it refers to the re-forming of the medieval Catholic Church in the areas of doctrine and polity.

Systematic Theology: The study of belief and teaching about God based on established categories of thought and doctrine (teaching). Systematic theology is based primarily on biblical theology.

Theology: The study of doctrine and teaching relating to God, particularly the teachings of the Christian faith.

Westminster Confession of Faith: Confession of faith drawn up by the Westminster Assembly in 1644 and after, and used as the basis of Reformed doctrine in the English speaking world.

Select Bibliography

Earl Cairns. Christianity Through the Centuries. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1967.

John Calvin. Institutes of the Christian Religion. MacDill AFB, FL: MacDonald

Publishing Co., n.d.

Wayne Grudem. Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing Co., 1994.

J.N.D. Kelly. Early Christian Doctrines. Peabody, MA: Prince Press, 2003, rpt. 1978.

George Eldon Ladd. A Theology of the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Wm. B.Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1974.

John Leith. Creeds of the Churches. Atlanta: John Knoz Press, 1982.

J. Rodman Williams. Renewal Theology. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing Co., 1988.

Pastor P. Steve Paulus D.min. ~ pastor@stauntongrace.org