How I View Systematic Theology

I made this chart to help explain to someone my definition of Systematic Theology. It is not a magnificent or thought-provoking chart by any means. I just made it to help convey what I wanted to explain.

They way I define Systematic Theology is that it is compromised of four broad, key components. Those components are God, Scripture, Philosophy, and Experience. Each component affects how one views the other three components. For example, your experiences help you draw up preconceived notions of who you think God is. So when you come to Scripture to understand who God is, you read Scripture with these notions in mind. This affects how you interpret Scripture which, in turn, affects your understanding of who God is. This is why in the chart, there are all those arrows bouncing off each component.

Think of Systematic Theology this way. You are building a house and you lay the four cornerstones. These stones are important in building a supportive structure to your house. You label each cornerstone with either the name God, Scripture, Philosophy, or Experience. You place a brick, and on that brick is a thought or a question. Then the next brick that you place on top of it is labeled with the response to the thought or question that was on the previous brick. Then, you place a brick on top of that one and it has another thought or question, because of the response on the previous brick. This pattern repeats, until you finally complete your house. The house represents your theology and the differently labeled brick make up the support for your theology. This support is grounded in the foundation of God, Scripture, Philosophy, and Experience.

So that is how I define Systematic Theology. Granted, more could be added to the chart I assume, but I do not know what else there would be to add. I am open to ideas and suggestions though.

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