Dr. Gray Sutanto, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at RTS Washington, explores why systematic theology matters for every Christian.
Systematic theology helps us engage with the whole of Scripture, challenges our blind spots, and shapes our understanding of God according to his word. It also helps us persevere through suffering and difficult questions, connects us with the historic church, and prepares us to respond faithfully to objections raised against the Christian faith.
The following is a transcript of the video above.
Is studying Systematic Theology only for the seminary student?
No, studying systematic theology is not just for seminary students. Perhaps when people hear the term “systematic theology,” they feel intimidated. They may think of a philosophically oriented way of doing theology that is abstract or cold. But that is not what systematic theology is.
When I think about systematic theology, I think about examining God and all things in relation to God by depending on the veryWe tend to make God in our image rather than embrace the truth that we are made in the image of God. We should instead shape our thoughts about God in light of his word to us. word of God. Systematic theology considers what the whole Bible says about God and all things in relation to him.
Every Christian should be concerned with systematic theology because Christians should want to take in the whole of the Bible. When we are new believers, for instance, we tend to gravitate toward the passages with which we are familiar and ignore those that are less familiar. Systematic theology forces us to engage with the whole of Scripture so that our blind spots are exposed and our conceptual idolatries are challenged.
We tend to make God in our image rather than embrace the truth that we are made in the image of God. We should instead shape our thoughts about God in light of his word to us.
The second reason Christians should consider systematic theology, even if they are not seminary students, is that they will experience periods of suffering, deep questioning, and difficulty throughout their lives. They will have to address questions such as: Why does God allow suffering in the world? How do my prayers affect an unchangeable God? If God is real, why does so much evil befall good people?
These are deep systematic questions. We turn to systematic theology because it provides honest answers to these difficult questions. I want to challenge Christians to consider doctrine a means of grace. By going more deeply into our faith and seeing its wholeness and richness, we are helped to persevere in the Christian life.
When I think about systematic theology, I think about examining God and all things in relation to God by depending on the very word of God. Systematic theology considers what the whole Bible says about God and all things in relation to him.The third reason Christians, not only seminary students, should be concerned with systematic theology is that it connects us with the whole universal church. One definition of systematic theology is that it is the history of biblical interpretation. It tells us how the whole church has received the whole Bible and read it coherently.
When we study systematic theology, we seek to learn from the best resources of the past so that we can develop a reading of Scripture that nurtures our faith and helps us address questions from the world.
Fourth and finally, Christians should consider systematic theology because the world raises objections to the Christian faith. Many of those objections presuppose incorrect ideas about what Christians believe. Much of defending the faith, therefore, is simply Christian catechesis.
We need to help people see that their objections may be our objections as well, but that those objections are often based on beliefs that have little to do with the Christian faith. We can say, “If I believed that about God, I would have objections too. But that is not what I believe about God. Tell me about the God you do not believe in, and perhaps I do not believe in that god either. Let me present to you what Christians have actually believed.”
Systematic theology connects us with the church’s deep, catholic, whole-Bible reception of the word of God. It helps us endure in our faith and address the challenges presented by the world.
