Biblical Theology

Does The Scripture Have a Centre, Or Is It a Collection of Writings without a Centre?

January 16, 2020 by wagraham 2 Comments

Many have attempted to discover the centre of Scripture by reading it according to its own terms, idioms, and storyline. In this attempt, however, theologians have differed on what that centre is. Proposals include justification, God’s glory in salvation through judgment, and God himself. That so many disagree on the centre suggests that such an approach has yet to discover the centre.

Despite the seeming impossibility of discovering the centre, it is possible to name it. In my view, the discipline of biblical theology can grasp the centre only through first considering key apostolic comments on the relationship between Christ and Scripture. Only then does the centre become manifest.

Let me explain. [Read more…] about Does The Scripture Have a Centre, Or Is It a Collection of Writings without a Centre?

Three Limitations of Biblical Theology

January 13, 2020 by wagraham 4 Comments

What is biblical theology? In simplest terms, it means theology that comes from the Bible. More specifically, biblical theology studies the theology of the Bible according to its own terms, themes, and storyline. It then tries to understand the various theological themes across the whole canon of the Bible to discover shared meaning among Scripture’s diversity.

In this sense, biblical theology provides theological first principles that systematic theology may use to expose the underlying structures of created and uncreated reality. Definitions like these often feel abstract or vague. One way to understand biblical theology with more clarity is to know its limitations since we often learn by contrasts. The limitations include the following: [Read more…] about Three Limitations of Biblical Theology

Book Notice: Michael Vlach’s Biblical Theology of the Kingdom

February 6, 2017 by wagraham Leave a Comment

Michael Vlach is a professor of theology at the Master’s Seminary, and he is publishing a 640 work on the theme of the kingdom in the Bible. His argument is “that the kingdom of God is the theme of Scripture and thus a proper understanding of the kingdom means that one is properly grasping the Bible’s storyline.”

Uniquely, Vlach rights from a dispensational perspective, making this the only recent dispensational work of Biblical Theology that I know of. Read his blog announcement for more information, and go to the publisher’s website to read a 38 page preview of the work.