Gregg R. Allison on Historical Theology

Gregg R. Allison, Historical Theology: An Introduction to Christian Doctrine: A Companion to Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011), 784pp., ISBN 9780310230137.

Zondervan make available online an excerpt of this full volume on historical theology. The first chapter comprises the Introduction, and addresses three questions:

(1) What is historical theology?

(2) What benefits does it provide?

(3) How should we study it?

What is historical theology?

‘Historical theology is the study of the interpretation of Scripture and the formulation of doctrine by the church of the past’ (23).

What benefits does it provide?

• ‘One benefit that historical theology offers the church today is helping it distinguish orthodoxy from heresy’ (24).

• ‘A second benefit of historical theology is that it provides sound biblical interpretations and theological formulations’ (24).

• ‘A third benefit of historical theology is that it presents stellar examples of faith, love, courage, hope, obedience, and mercy’ (25).

• ‘A fourth benefit that historical theology renders the church is to protect against the individualism that is rampant today among Christians’ (26).

• ‘A fifth benefit of historical theology is that it not only helps the church understand the historical development of its beliefs, but enables it to express those beliefs in contemporary form’ (27).

• ‘A sixth benefit of historical theology is that it encourages the church to focus on the essentials, that is, to major on those areas that have been emphasized repeatedly throughout the history of the church’ (28).

• ‘A seventh benefit of historical theology is that it gives the church hope by providing assurance that Jesus is fulfilling his promise to his people’ (28).

• ‘Finally, as beneficiaries of the heritage of doctrinal development sovereignly overseen by Jesus Christ, the church of today is privileged to enjoy a sense of belonging to the church of the past’ (29).

How should we study it?

There are two basic approaches to studying historical theology: (1) the synchronic approach ‘engages in the study of the theology of a certain time period, a particular theologian, a specific theological school or tradition, and the like’, and (2) the diachronic approach ‘engages in the study of the development of thought on a given doctrine throughout the periods of the church’s history’ (29).