Theology is the study of God and His works. Believe it or not, everyone does theology. It’s just that not everyone is good at it. You probably already have some thought as to what God is like. You might believe that there is only one God as the monotheists do. You might believe that there is many gods, as the polytheists do. You might believe that there is no god as the atheists do. But no matter what you believe, this question is of the most importance. Because the answer determines the purpose of the universe, your world view of what reality is, and who you are as a human being in this universe. The study of theology is also a science because there is an object of study, namely God, it is coherent, and it has objectivity to it. One can have a more accurate view of God than another.
How do we know if our view of God is correct and reflects reality? There are different ways people get their ideas of what God is like. Some through observing the natural world, such as nature, history and through human personalities. Some through tradition, and culture, such as what the church or culture believes about what God is like. Some gain knowledge of God through their own personal experiences. These ways can give us some true idea about God, but for Christians the most accurate way to know what God is like is through the Bible. It is the most important source for our understanding of who God is. We believe that God has revealed Himself to us in Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16), and thus the study of Theology has to be at the foremost biblical. Scripture also informs us on how we interpret our observations nature, tradition, and personal experiences.
There is different type of Theology with different focuses.
- Biblical Theology: concerned with the redemptive story of salvation, the different theme of the book of the Bible, and how they relate to each other.
- Historical Theology: concerned with what the church believed throughout history.
- Practical Theology: concerned with how to live out these doctrines.
- Systematic theology: concerned with what the Bible speaks about various topics. Such as what the Bible says about man and women, and their roles in the church. What the bible believes about angels, and demons.
Systematic Theology subdivides various topics into further area of study some common ones include:
- Bibliology: study of the Bible
- Christology: the study of Jesus Christ
- Pneumatology: study of the Holy Spirit
- Anthropology: study of man
- Hamartiology: the study of sin
- Soteriology: the study of salvation
- Ecclesiology: the study of church
- Eschatology: the study of end times