my burg

In my previous post I wrote about the importance of systematic theology , not just for our thinking but for our spiritual life. Doctrine is very practical, and it leads to devotion which is not only heart-filled but clear-headed. There are usually nine or ten divisions traditionally given to the topics within Christian theology. Here's my list, with notation of how practical and devotional I find these studies... BIBLIOLOGY is the study of the doctrine of God's revelation . He has shown us his will, as well as his thoughts, heart, and plan for history. This is important because it lays the foundation of God's authority in my life. I can know truth, and reality, and what is authoritative and important in life, because God himself has revealed these things to us in the Scriptures. THEOLOGY PROPER is the doctrine of God , who he is, and what we can know about him. He is not a force, not some-thing beyond good and evil, not fatalistic. He is a sovereign and infinitely good B...

  "For my own part I tend to find the doctrinal books often more helpful in devotion than the devotional books, and I rather suspect that the same experience may await many others. I believe that many who find that ‘nothing happens’ when they sit down, or kneel down, to a book of devotion, would find that the heart sings unbidden while they are working their way through a tough bit of theology with a pipe in their teeth and a pencil in their hand." (C. S. Lewis, Introduction to Athanasius' On The Incarnation )  "And he said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'" (Matthew 22:37)  My special focus of study in seminary was systematic theology. This has become a lifelong pursuit and passion for me. Systematic theology (also called Christian dogmatics) is biblical truth, articulated and arranged by subject into a logical and inter-connected order. It is a compilation of "sound doctri...