THEOLOGY STUDY GUIDE
Terms
1. General Revelation
Definition: it is God’s communications of himself to all persons at all times in all places. (p.
42) It is God[s self-manifestation through nature, history, and inner being of the human
person; (2 general aspects- …..)
2. Special Revelation
Definition: it is God’s particular communications and manifestations of himself to particular
persons at particular times, communications and manifestations which are available now only by
consulting certain sacred writings.
3. Inspiration (p. 61)
Definition: the Inspiration of Scriptures is the supernatural influence of the Holy Spirit upon the
writers which rendered their writings an accurate record of the revelation or which resulted in
what they wrote actually being the Word of God.
4. Inerrancy
Definition: it is not a biblical concept (the word is not found in the Bible). (p. 69)
Inerrancy is the doctrine that the Bible is truthful in all of its teachings. Inerrancy is a natural
result to the full inspiration of the Bible.
- Absolute inerrancy
- Full inerrancy
- Limited inerrancy
5. Canonicity
Definition: it is a measuring stick. It refers to the list of books recognized as divinely inspired and
authoritative for faith and practice.
6. Illumination: Witness of the Holy Spirit (p. 77-78)
Illumination Theory- maintain that there was an influence of the Holy upon the authors of the
scripture, but that it only involved only a heighten of their normal powers and increased
sensitivity and perceptivity with regard to spiritual matters.
7. Bibliology
Bibliology is the study of the Bible, the Word of God. It tells us what the Bible is. Areas of
discussion include the canon of Scripture, inspiration, inerrancy, preservation.
8. Theology proper
9. Theology proper is the study of God and His attributes; specific study of God’s
person and character. Theology proper focuses on God the Father. Areas of discussion
are existence of God, God’s revelation of Himself, the Law of God, the Decree of
God.
10. Premodern era
This era believes in the rationality of the universe (objective truth). Truth is absolute.
- Pre-enlightment
- God exists
- Morality
- World has a purpose
- Belief in supernatural
- There is a purpose in creation
11. Postmodern era
(Truth is created)
- Truth is whatever is good for me
- Deconstructionism
- The search for the truth
- Frustrations with “absolutes”
- Questioning, if truth can be known (agnostic)
- Elevation of the individual
12. Modern era
(Science + theology)
- Truth must be discovered by reason
- Scientific method to discover the truth
- If God exists, he does not care ( the questioning of the goodness of God)
- Removal of the supernatural
- Elevate science
- Elevate rationality & certainty
- Separation between facts and faith
13. Systematic theology
Systematic theology is a discipline of Christian theology that formulates an orderly, rational, and
coherent account of the Christian faith and beliefs. Systematic theology- collecting,
scientifically arranging comparing exhibiting, and defending
Practical theology- treats the application of theology
14. Gnosticism- is the name given to a loosely organized religious and philosophical movement
that flourished in the first and second centuries CE.
15. Intuition inspiration- make inspiration largely a high degree of insight pg 63
16. Conceptual inspiration: The thoughts of scripture are inspired but the actual words used
are not. There is factual and scientific error.
17. Partial inspiration: The Bible contains God’s words but must be sorted out (“demythologized”)
to find them. Other parts are purely human and may be in error.
18. Limited inspiration: Limited inspiration is sort of the opposite view of dictation. Whereas
dictation sees Scripture as primarily the work of God with the human agent reduced to being
a secretary, limited inspiration sees Scripture as primarily the work of man with "limited"
inspiration from God.
19. Plenary Non-verbal inspiration
The belief in non-verbal plenary inerrancy would mean that one believes all the Bible is inspired,
but only as to its concepts—not all the words—meaning that it might contain historical errors.
20. Dictation
The writers passively recorded God’s words without any participation of their own styles or
personalities.
21. Inspired translation
KJV version of the bible was claimed to be the inspired translation of the Bible.
Saint Jerome: the translation of the Old and New Testaments from Hebrew and Greek into Latin.
Jerome's text, the common, or Vulgate, version of the Bible, became the official edition of the
Bible for the Western church.
22. Doctrine deals with general or timeless truth about God and the rest of the reality.
Christian doctrine is simply statements of the most fundamental beliefs that the Christian has,
beliefs about the nature of God, about his action, about us who are his creatures, and about
what he has done to bring us into relationship with himself.
23. Dogma- a belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without
being questioned or doubted
“Dogmatic theology is the study of varied beliefs and creeds of the different religious sects and
orders throughout church history with a view of ….
24. Radical postmodernism (p. 34-35)- read
25. Natural theology (philosophical): the created universe is studied to determine certain
truths about God and about human nature (p. 19)
It involves collecting scientifically, comparing exhibiting and defending all data including logic,
experience, reasons, and facts from the natural world. It leads to apologetics (to give a defense). It
helps to defend theology and establish its truth.
The core of natural theology is the idea that it is possible, without a prior commitment of faith
to the beliefs of Christianity and without relying on special authority such as an institution (the
church) or document(the Bible), to come to a genuine knowledge of God on the basis pg 44
Contemporary Theology- study of movements, men, institutions and trends found
in current theological world
Theology Proper: Theo “god” and Logo
“Word” Topics of discussion- existence of God
Christology- Christos “Christ” and Logos “Word”. Christ means the anointed one.
Topics of discussion: Deity of Christ, Humanity of Christ, Death of Christ,
Resurrection of Christ
Pneumatology- convictions, gifts, indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Topics of
discussion: Holy Spirit in the Old Testament, Deity Of the Holy Spirit, Spiritual
Gifts
Angelology- Elect angels, Satan, Demon, works of angels
Soteriology: Concerned with salvation
Anthropology: man & logos(word)
Topics of discussion:
• the purpose of mankind,
• image of God,
• human personality,
• the “heart” of man
26. Transcendence- Transcending the universe, time, etc (pg. 86)
•Separate and removed from creation
•Nothing can be known or understood of Him
27. Immanence- Indwelling the universe, time , etc (pg.86)
•He is to be found within human society and the process of nature
•God is present and active within his creation and within the human race
The Goodness of God (Moral Qualities)
Moral Purity, (God’s absolute freedom from anything wicked or evil)
28. Holiness- Two basic aspects
1. Uniqueness- He’s totally separate form all creation (Exodus 15:11)
2. Means “marked off” or withdrawn from common, ordinary use
3. God not only is personally free from any moral wickedness or evil. He is unable to
tolerate the presence of evil.
29. Righteousness- Means that the law of God, being a true expression of His nature, is as perfect
as he is.
God commands only what is right and therefore what will have a positive effect on the believer
who obeys
30. Justice- His justice is His official righteousness, His requirement that other moral agents
adhere to the standards as well.
•It means that God is fair in the administration of his law
Integrity, (Relates to the matter of truth)
31. Genuineness- God is what he appears to be. God is real; he is not fabricated or
constructed or imitation, as are all the other claimants to deity. God does not simply
seem to embody the qualities of greatness and goodness he is actually those
attributes.
32. Veracity- God present things the way they are. God cannot lie or will not lie.
33. Faithfulness- If God’s genuineness is a matter of his being true and veracity is his telling
of the truth, then his faithfulness means that he proves true. God keeps all his
promises.
Love, (God’s love may be thought of as his eternal giving or sharing of himself; his love has always
been present among the Trinity) – benevolence, grace, mercy, persistence
34. Benevolence- The concern of God for the welfare of those he loves. (Actual caring
and providing for those he loves) God’s love is unselfish interest in us for our sake. (It
is agape Love)
35. Mercy- God’s mercy is his tenderhearted, love and compassion for his people. Mercy
sees humans as miserable and needy pg. 103 (Diff. between grace and mercy)
He is concerned for our own sake not for what he can get out of us. God does not need us. He is
all powerful, all sufficient. He can accomplish what he wishes without us, although he has
chosen to work through us.
The Greatness of God (Attributes)
36. Constancy-(pg. 96) God is unchanging. There no quantitative change. God cannot increase in
anything because he is already perfection. Nor can he decrease for if he were to, he would
cease to be God.
37. Trinity-
•God is one not several.
•The deity of each person must be affirmed (the Son is divined in the same way and
the same extent as the father and applicable to the Holy spirt.
•The Threeness and the oneness are not in the same respect (pg. 113)
•The trinity is eternal. There have always been three the father, son and the Holy
spirit and all have them have been divined
•The function of one member of the trinity may for a time be subordinate to one or both
of the other member, but that does not mean that he is in any way inferior in essence.
38. Monarchism- Sole sovereignty, stresses the uniqueness of God.
39. Modalism- Strongly committed to the deity of Christ, one person with three different
names, roles, or activities
40. Polytheism- Belief in more than one God
41. Atheism- Belief in no God
42. Agnosticism- the view that the truth values of certain claims—especially claims about the
existence or non-existence of God, as well as other religious and metaphysical claims—
are unknown or unknowable. (I don’t know if there’s a God)
43. Animism- the belief in a supernatural power that organizes and animates the material universe.
44. Materialism- the doctrine that nothing exists except matter and its movements
and modifications. Gives priority to matter
45. Idealism- any of various systems of thought in which the objects of knowledge are held to be
in some way dependent on the activity of mind.
46. Henotheism- one supreme God over other Gods
47. Pantheism- Everything is a God
48. Deism- God does not supernaturally get involved
49. Dualism- two competing views Good Vs. Evil
50. Spirituality (p. 92)
- God is not composed of matter (john 4:24)
- Hence, he doesn’t have physical limitations involved with a physical body
- He is not destructible
- God does appear in human forms in OT (theophanies or temporary manifestations of God)
- Mormonism contends that an immaterial body cannot exist
- God’s spirituality was a counter to the practice of idolatry and of nature worship.
51. Life (p. 93)
- God is alive
- “I am”
- Existence is considered as the most basic aspect of his nature.
- God is independent and that he relates to us, but it is by his choice.
- He doesn’t derive life from any external source (unlike humans who derive life from God)
- A proper understanding of the self-caused life existence of God’s nature should free us
from the idea that God needs us.
52. Personality (p. 93)
- God is personal; he is an individual being, with self-consciousness and will, capable
of feeling, choosing, and having a reciprocal relationships with other personal and
social beings.
- God has a name “I am” or “I will be”
- Another indication of the personal nature of God is the of God is the activity in which he
engages (communicates with humans- Gen 3, before fall) – anthropomorphic
representation
- God is to be treated as a being, not an object or force. He is not something to be used
or manipulated.
- God is an end in himself, not a means to an end.
53. Infinity (p. 94-95)
The infinity of God is categorized in:
(i) Space - omnipresent
(ii) Time
(iii) Knowledge – omniscient
(iv) Power – omnipotent
- Limitless being
54. Constancy (p. 96)
- God is unchanging. (p. 97)
- God does not change his mind, plans, or actions for these rest upon his nature
which remains unchanged no matter what occurs.
VERSES:
2 Timothy 3:16:17- inspired
2 Peter 3:16-17 Peter refers to the writing of Paul as “scripture”
Luke 3:22- Trinity
John 1:14 incarnation (Special Rev.)
Colossian 1:15-20- trinity or authority, image of God
ESSAY QUESTIONS:
THE TWO-STOREY HOUSE
The house involves the concept of the sacred/secular divide.
- Upper level
(1) Non-cognitive experience
(2) The locus of personal meaning
(3) Private truth (that may be true for you, but not for me)
(4) Values
- Lower level
(1) Science & reason
(2) Public truth, binding everyone
(3) Facts
INTEGRATION OF SPECIAL & GENERAL REVELATION (physical, cognitive, socio-ethnical,
spiritual)
On the first level, the physical step of the ladder, Special Revelation and General revelation overlap
completely. Creation, in form of Nature, is a form of general revelation. At this level, SR & GR is
combined because we know that God created creation. On the cognitive step of the ladder, there is
little distinction made between SR & GR, but there is still a great deal of overlap. (Human beings).
As we go up the ladder, there is less overlap, and the distinction between SR & GR are becoming
cleared. The more grounded in God and special revelation one is when he or she moves up the
ladder. You can actually make a clear distinction between general revelation and special revelation.
This ladder of integration of SR & GR helps one to understand how to process revelation in different
areas and spheres of life, physical, cognitive, socio-ethical, and spiritual.
OVERVIEW OF 5 STEPS OF THE INTERPRETIVE JOURNEY
Step 1: Grasp the text in their town. What did the text mean to the original audience?
(Understand the culture, story, and languages)
This simply means to understand what was written and how it was written, at first glance. In
addition, one must look for significant words, historical and literary contexts. After this portion of
the study is complete, it is time to combine these meanings into basic sentences about what this
passage, actually, meant to the biblical audience. By understanding, the passage of scripture, for
the audience for which it was written, we could begin to understand the basics and move
forward to understanding the differences between biblical times and current times, which will
help us be able to apply what God has said.
Step 2: Measure the width of the river to cross. What are the differences between the biblical
audience and us?
(Difference in culture, language, time, situation, covenant)
This is a word picture meaning that in order to understand and apply a particular passage of
scripture, we must find the differences between their time and ours. These differences are, but
not limited to, the culture of the times, the situation, and languages. The biggest difference
between the New and Old Testaments is the covenant. This is also something one must look at
when examining the width of the river. Depending on the passage, it may be easy to understand
and cross from biblical times to ours; it may not be as easy, but through the study and prayer
God will always show us what He wants us to know
Step 3: Cross the Principlizing Bridge. What is the theological principle in this text?
These principles are reflected in the meaning of the text in step one. We are to discover meaning
through specific expressions and specific audiences that God provides. During this step, we need
to try to find any similarities between their town and ours. Once the principles are found, they
need to be written out. By writing them out, it makes it easier to understand. The book describes
theological principles as the same thing as the "theological message" or the "main theological
point" of the passage. This is important for the application portion. How can one apply what is
learned in scripture if there is no message found? That is why this step is very important to the
Interpretive Journey.
Step 4: Consult the biblical map. How does our theological principle fit with the rest of the Bible?
(Run the principle through the whole scripture)
Once the theological principles are found, in step 3, the next step is to dive into scripture and
compare the text. We must find out if the principle found, aligns with the rest of scripture. We
must understand the other portions of Scripture that either adds insight or qualification to the
text being studied. If the principle is correct, then it will fit in with the rest of the Bible.
Step 5: Grasp the text in our town. How should individual Christians today live out the
theological principles?
(how do we apply the text in our time? There’s a difference between meaning & application.
This means we must apply the text and what was learned in the previous four steps to our lives
[in modern times]. How do the theological principles fit into real-life situations? There are
numerous potential applications. If the principle is applied to a situation, it must be soundly
based on doctrine. Not everybody will understand or grasp/apply the same application in the
same way. Just as personalities differ, so does the application process. I believe this is the most
challenging step because application is a matter of wanting to live for God. Sometimes when
things are not going the right way, in our minds, we do not think about Scripture, but the truth
is we need to apply Scripture daily and in everything we do, if we are going to truly be Christ-
like.
Criteria for Principles
✓The principle should be reflected in the text.
✓The principle should be timeless and not tied to a specific situation.
✓The principle should not be culturally bound.
✓The principle should correspond to the teaching of the rest of Scripture.
✓The principle should be relevant to both the biblical and the contemporary audience
ARGUMENTS FOR THE INERRANCY/INSPIRITAION OF SCRIPTURE
(Read p. 70-71)
OVERVIEW THE 3 STAGES TO THE CANON OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
According to Sailhamer, to speak of the New Testament canon is to speak of a recognized authority
and a specific collection of 27 books. The development of this canon falls in 3 stages:
(1) From the time of the composition of the New Testament books to the middle of the
(2nd)second century
(2) From the middle to the end of the (2nd)second century to the end of the (2nd)second century
(3) From the (3rd) third to the (4th) fourth centuries.
The 1st stage, the time of the apostles and the early church, is known primarily from within the NT
itself. In Christ’s day and during the 1st years of the church, the only Bible the church had was the
OT. Jesus’ ministry was punctuated with references to the Hebrew Scriptures. The missionary &
pastoral activity of the apostles was also guided by and grounded in the OT. But already from the
beginning of Jesus’ ministry, a new canonical authority was making itself heard- the teachings of
Christ. Christ spoke with authority, and the signs he performed witnessed that he was send from
God. The concept of a NT canon was thus already in the air. Moreover, in Peter’s lifetime the letters
of Paul
were already considered as “Scripture” alongside with the OT (2nd Peter 3:15). The NT writings
assumed a canonical authority, though there were no official lists of canonical books.
The 2nd stage is marked by theological division, and the need for an official list of canonical books was
beginning to be felt. As the apostles passed from scene and general Christian literature, some orthodox
and some heretical, began to increase, the church was forced to clarify which of its books were
authoritative. In this 2nd period, then, canonical lists of NT books began to appear
By the middle of the 4th century, official and complete lists began to be published. From 3rd + 4th century,
the twenty seven books that form the New Testament are recognized by church councils. The first
official list was provided by Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria. The list was later accepted by the council
of Hippo in 393 AD and the council Carthage in 397 AD.
3 Modes of General Revelation
•Knowledge of God available through created physical order (beauty of a
sunset)
•History- Events that occur as part of history (preservation of Israel)
•Humans Themselves- Physical structure, mental capacities. Moral
and spiritual qualities that God’s character is best perceived.
•Religious nature- All cultures, and places, humans have believed in a
higher power.
