What Is Theology?

Building Your Theology, Lesson One

Thirdmill Seminary

STUDY GUIDE 1.1

Definitions

Christians use the word "theology" constantly, but the term itself never appears in Scripture — it comes from Greek philosophy and was adopted by the church only after New Testament times.

A. Typical Definitions

Four respected theologians illustrate the range of ways "theology" has been defined.

1. Thomas Aquinas

• Defined theology ("sacred doctrine") as a unified science — using "science" in the older sense of an intellectual or scholarly pursuit, not the modern hard sciences

• Theology addresses two subjects: theology proper (God himself) and topics that "refer to God," such as eschatology, sin, and redemption

• Primarily conceived of theology as thinking, speaking, or writing about doctrine, though he believed it should influence Christian living

2. Charles Hodge

• Defined theology as "the science of the facts of divine revelation so far as those facts concern the nature of God and our relation to him"

• Compared the theologian's task to a scientist's: the Bible supplies facts that the theologian gathers, analyzes, and organizes into a coherent system, just as nature supplies facts to the chemist

• Like Aquinas, treated application as secondary — left mainly to pastors rather than central to formal theology

3. William Ames

• Defined theology as "the doctrine or teaching of living to God" — deliberately avoiding the word "science"

• Shifted the central focus of theology away from facts and ideas toward the believer's whole life before God (an "experimental" orientation, in Puritan terms)

4. John Frame

• Defined theology as "the application of the Word of God by persons to all areas of life"

• Like Ames, treats application — not academic analysis — as the centerpiece of theological work

B. Tendencies

These four definitions reflect two broader tendencies in how theologians approach their task.

1. Academic Orientation

• Represented by Aquinas and Hodge; reflects the etymology of "theology" — theos (God) + logos (doctrine/study)

• Application is treated as a secondary, later enterprise ("practical theology") rather than the primary goal

• Characterizes the majority of formal theological work, past and present

2. Life Orientation

• Represented by Ames and Frame; treats application to daily life as the essence of theology, not an afterthought

• Reflects a growing recognition in recent decades that no scholar — however gifted — is untouched by life experience and culture

C. Evaluations

Both orientations carry real strengths and real dangers.

1. Academic Orientation

• Strength: honors God-given rational abilities; Scripture praises wisdom and careful thought (e.g., Solomon, 1 Kings 4:29–31)

• Danger: can become an end in itself — producing theologians who know a great deal but whose knowledge never reaches their character or conduct

  • 2 Peter 3:15–16 — Peter affirms the value of Paul's sophisticated theology, even calling parts of it "hard to understand"

2. Life Orientation

• Strength: fulfills biblical calls to be doers of the word, not hearers only (James 1:22); "knowledge puffs up, but love builds up" (1 Corinthians 8:1)

• Danger: can slide into anti-intellectualism — rejecting careful doctrinal study as unnecessary or even harmful to spiritual life

  • 2 Timothy 2:15 — Paul calls Timothy to be a diligent "worker" (ergates) who rightly handles the word of truth

• The way of wisdom is to embrace both orientations together — academic theology and theology for life

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1.  What does Romans 1 suggest about doing theology?

Romans 1 teaches that all people are already engaged with theology in an informal sense, because God's invisible attributes and moral requirements are revealed to everyone through creation. Even unbelievers reflect on God, however unconsciously, when confronted with this revelation. In these lessons, though, the focus narrows to theology as a formal discipline — a concerted, well-informed pursuit rather than the everyday awareness Paul describes.

2.  Briefly state the four definitions of "theology" provided by Aquinas, Hodge, Ames and Frame.

Aquinas called theology a unified "science" treating all things under the aspect of God. Hodge similarly defined it as "the science of the facts of divine revelation" concerning God's nature and our relation to him. Ames described theology as "the doctrine or teaching of living to God," emphasizing life over academics. Frame defined it as "the application of the Word of God by persons to all areas of life."

3.  Write down the important biographical information about each of the above theologians.

Thomas Aquinas (c. 1225–1274) was a Roman Catholic theologian known as "the great synthesizer" for bringing Aristotelian philosophy into conversation with Christian doctrine. Charles Hodge (1797–1878) taught at Princeton and wrote the influential three-volume Systematic Theology. William Ames (1576–1633) was an influential Puritan theologian who wrote The Marrow of Theology. John Frame (1939– ) is a contemporary theologian and author of The Doctrine of the Knowledge of God.

4.  Explain the linguistic origin of the word "theology."

The word "theology" derives from two Greek words: theos, meaning "God," and logos, meaning "doctrine" or "study." Its etymology therefore suggests "the doctrine or study of God." Notably, the term itself never appears in the Old or New Testaments, likely because of its pagan philosophical connotations; Christians only began using it in the centuries after the apostolic era.

5.  Describe the two tendencies or perspectives most people have when approaching the study of theology.

Some approach theology with an academic orientation, treating it primarily as an intellectual discipline focused on doctrines and concepts, with application as a secondary concern. Others approach it with a life orientation, treating the practical application of Scripture to daily living as the very essence of theology rather than something added afterward.

6.  Contrast the relative strengths and weaknesses of an academic orientation and of a life orientation.

An academic orientation rightly honors the God-given gift of reason and produces careful, rigorous thinking, but risks becoming an end in itself, producing theologians who are intellectually impressive yet not necessarily godly in character. A life orientation rightly insists that theology must be lived out, not merely known, but risks tipping into anti-intellectualism, where careful doctrinal study is dismissed as unnecessary or even spiritually dangerous.

7.  Make sure you are familiar with the contents of the following Bible passages.

1 Kings 4:29 describes the greatness of Solomon's God-given wisdom. 2 Peter 3:15–16 acknowledges that some of Paul's writings are hard to understand, showing that Scripture itself values careful thought. 1 Corinthians 8:1 warns that "knowledge puffs up, but love builds up." 1 Corinthians 13:2 says that knowledge without love amounts to nothing. 2 Timothy 2:15 calls believers to be diligent workers who rightly handle the word of truth.

APPLICATION QUESTIONS

1.  What do you expect to learn in this course? How do you hope that it will be beneficial for you?

This is a personal reflection question with no single correct answer. A thoughtful response might note a desire to build a more coherent, biblically grounded framework for belief, to grow in the ability to apply theology practically to ministry and daily life, and to gain the vocabulary and categories needed to engage confidently with theological conversation and controversy.

2.  How would you explain the term "theology" to someone who was unfamiliar with the concept?

A clear explanation would describe theology simply as the study of God and everything that relates to him — not just an academic exercise in gathering facts, but a discipline meant to shape how a person thinks, behaves, and feels in light of who God is. It combines careful reflection on Scripture with a commitment to living out what is learned.

3.  Which approach to theology do you think is more valuable? Why?

The lesson itself resists picking a single "more valuable" approach, insisting instead that academic and life orientations need each other. A strong answer would explain that pursuing academic rigor without application produces hollow intellectualism, while pursuing application without careful thought risks doctrinal error, so both orientations are necessary rather than competing.

4.  Explain how you might successfully approach theology with a life orientation.

A life-oriented approach to theology means consistently asking, after studying any doctrine, how it should reshape actual behavior and priorities — not stopping at correct belief. Concretely, this could mean pairing Scripture study with prayer for the Spirit's help in application, seeking accountability from other believers, and deliberately looking for specific, practical changes each lesson calls for.

5.  Which is more important in theology, faith or reason?

Scripture presents faith and reason as complementary rather than competing; the lesson's own argument is that academic (reason-oriented) and life (faith-lived-out) orientations both carry real value and real danger in isolation. A balanced answer would affirm that reason serves faith by helping believers understand what they believe, while faith directs reason toward its proper end — knowing and serving God rather than mere intellectual mastery.

STUDY GUIDE 1.2

Goals

A. Primary Goals

Theology pursues three primary goals, corresponding to belief, behavior, and emotion.

1. Orthodoxy

• Defined as right or straight thinking — reaching true doctrines about God

• Jesus prioritized orthodoxy throughout his ministry, praying that his followers would be "sanctified in the truth" (John 17:17)

2. Orthopraxis

• Defined as right behavior or practice — putting theological truth into action (prayer, evangelism, worship, generosity, service)

• James 2:19 warns that even demons hold orthodox belief ("God is one") yet "shudder" rather than submit — orthodoxy without orthopraxis is insufficient

3. Orthopathos

• Defined as right or correct feelings or emotions — the goal most often neglected by academically oriented theologians

• Two reasons for neglect: academic theologians are often personally uncomfortable with emotion, and many evangelicals wrongly assume feelings are morally neutral

• The fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5) is deeply emotional — love, joy, peace, patience — showing that emotions are not morally neutral

• Paul's writing regularly breaks into spontaneous praise (e.g., Romans 11:33–36), modeling orthodoxy fused with orthopathos

B. Interdependence

The three goals are not sequential steps but form what the lesson calls "webs of multiple reciprocities" — each one shapes and is shaped by the other two.

1. Orthodoxy

• Right belief confirms or challenges existing behaviors and emotions — deepening theological understanding can strengthen a natural compassion or expose and correct selfishness

2. Orthopraxis

• Right behavior sharpens belief and produces emotional fruit — for example, an experienced life of prayer reveals biblical motivations for prayer that inexperienced believers rarely see (James 5:16)

• Righteous or sinful behavior produces corresponding emotions — the joy of God's blessing or the guilt of conviction

3. Orthopathos

• Emotions feed back into thought and action — discouragement saps motivation to think carefully or act rightly, while encouragement fuels both

• The Psalms repeatedly show emotion driving theological reflection (Psalm 13:1–3) and action (Psalm 6:6; Psalm 30:11)

C. Priorities

Because the three goals are interdependent rather than strictly sequential, no single "correct order" (think → do → feel) applies in every situation.

• Prioritizing one goal permanently leads to characteristic errors: constant orthodoxy breeds intellectualism, constant orthopraxis breeds legalism, constant orthopathos breeds emotionalism

• Because "the deck of life is always shifting, balance can be nothing more than momentary synchronicity" — like balancing on a rocking ship, priorities must shift with the needs of each situation

• Wisdom means regularly asking which goal the moment requires, then pursuing all three wholeheartedly over time

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1.  Describe the three primary goals of theology.

Orthodoxy is right or straight thinking — holding true doctrines about God. Orthopraxis is right behavior or practice — living out theological truth through actions like prayer, worship, and service. Orthopathos is right or correct feelings or emotions — bringing one's deepest sentiments into conformity with God's will. All three are meant to be pursued together, not in isolation.

2.  Write Bible passages that support each of these goals.

Orthodoxy is supported by John 17:17, where Jesus prays that his followers be "sanctified in the truth." Orthopraxis is supported by James 2:19, which warns that even demons hold correct belief yet fail to submit in practice, and by James 1:22's call to be doers of the word. Orthopathos is supported by the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5 and by Paul's outburst of praise in Romans 11:33–36.

3.  In what ways are the three primary goals of theology interdependent?

Orthodoxy shapes behavior and emotion, since what a person believes influences how they act and feel. Orthopraxis, in turn, confirms or corrects belief and produces emotional results, such as the joy of obedience or the guilt of sin. Orthopathos also feeds back into thought and action, since emotional states like discouragement or encouragement affect a person's capacity to think clearly and act rightly. None of the three operates independently of the other two.

4.  How should a person prioritize the three goals of theology?

There is no single fixed order — such as always thinking, then doing, then feeling — that applies in every circumstance. Because the goals form an interconnected web, a person needs the wisdom to discern which goal most needs emphasis in a given moment, much like adjusting one's balance on a shifting ship's deck, and then to pursue all three goals wholeheartedly over time.

5.  What happens when only one of the goals is always given priority?

Constantly prioritizing orthodoxy alone leads to intellectualism, where correct belief becomes disconnected from a transformed life. Constantly prioritizing orthopraxis alone leads to legalism, reducing faith to a checklist of actions. Constantly prioritizing orthopathos alone leads to emotionalism, where feeling becomes detached from truth and right conduct.

6.  Has the Church misused theology sometimes? Explain.

Yes — the lesson notes that the church has committed serious sins in the name of truth throughout history, using theological reasoning to justify horrendous behaviors. This is one reason many Christians grow reluctant to emphasize orthopraxis strongly: they are wary of repeating past abuses where doctrine was twisted to excuse wrongdoing rather than to produce righteous living.

7.  Are emotions morally neutral?

No. The lesson argues directly against the common evangelical assumption that emotions are amoral. Galatians 5's fruit of the Spirit — love, joy, peace, patience, and the rest — are inherently emotional terms, showing that the Holy Spirit's work touches the emotional life. Because of this, some emotions are right and others wrong, and part of building sound theology involves learning to ask whether a given feeling is the one God intends for that circumstance.

8.  What does it mean to say that "our beliefs and our actions and our feelings form webs of multiple reciprocities"?

This phrase captures the idea that orthodoxy, orthopraxis, and orthopathos do not relate to each other in one fixed direction, such as belief always producing action and feeling. Instead, all three continuously and mutually influence one another — belief shapes action and feeling, but action and feeling also reshape belief — so that growth or decline in one area inevitably affects the other two.

9.  What does the lesson mean when it states, "because the deck of life is always shifting, balance can be nothing more than momentary synchronicity"?

This image compares maintaining theological balance to standing on the rocking deck of a ship: because circumstances are always changing, there is no single stationary posture that keeps a person balanced for good. Instead, believers must continually adjust which goal — orthodoxy, orthopraxis, or orthopathos — needs emphasis at a given moment, achieving only a momentary, ever-renewed balance rather than a fixed and permanent one.

APPLICATION QUESTIONS

1.  The lesson says that "our beliefs and our actions and our feelings form webs of multiple reciprocities"? Why is this concept important to understand as you begin the study of theology?

Understanding this concept prevents a student from treating theology as a purely intellectual exercise disconnected from life, since it shows that belief, action, and feeling are inseparably linked. It also encourages humility and self-examination, because weakness or neglect in one area — say, unaddressed emotional wounds or unexamined habits — will inevitably distort a person's theological convictions, not just their conduct.

2.  The lesson states that, "because the deck of life is always shifting, balance can be nothing more than momentary synchronicity." What implications does this have for you as you study theology?

This implies that a student cannot simply master a fixed formula for balancing belief, behavior, and emotion once and be done; balance has to be actively renewed as circumstances change. Practically, this calls for ongoing self-awareness — regularly asking whether current struggles call for deeper study, more consistent obedience, or greater attention to emotional and spiritual health.

3.  Which of the three goals of theology is your weakest in the way you do theology? How can you improve that aspect?

This is a personal reflection question. A thoughtful answer would honestly identify a natural tendency — for instance, gravitating toward intellectual study while neglecting practical obedience, or emphasizing emotional experience while avoiding careful doctrinal reflection — and then describe concrete steps to strengthen the neglected area, such as seeking accountability, setting specific practices, or intentionally studying topics that have been avoided.

STUDY GUIDE 1.3

Topics

A. Options

The field of theology covers an enormous range of subjects, both practical and theoretical.

• Practical topics include missions, evangelism, apologetics, worship, mercy ministries, pastoral counseling, and homiletics (preaching)

• Theoretical or abstract topics include:

  • Soteriology — the doctrine of salvation

  • Ecclesiology — the doctrine of the church

  • Anthropology — the doctrine of humanity

  • Pneumatology — the doctrine of the Holy Spirit

  • Christology — the doctrine of Christ

  • Theology proper — the doctrine of God

  • Eschatology — the doctrine of end times

  • Biblical theology — theology of redemptive history recorded in Scripture

  • Systematic theology — the logical arrangement of biblical teaching

  • Historical theology — tracing the development of doctrine through church history

  • Hermeneutics — interpretation

• Traditional academic theology tends to approach nearly all of these topics from the standpoint of orthodoxy alone; skills-based classes (worship, evangelism, homiletics) touch orthopraxis, but orthopathos is rarely addressed directly

B. Selections

Given the enormous scope of theology, these lessons narrow their focus to pastoral theological concerns — the beliefs, practices, and pathos most directly useful for pastors and church leaders.

• A typical seminary curriculum divides into three major divisions:

  • Biblical division — Old and New Testament studies, focused on the content of Scripture and responsible interpretation

  • Doctrinal and historical division — church history and systematic theology, tracing how the church has organized and defended biblical teaching

  • Practical division — personal spiritual development and ministry skills such as preaching and evangelism

• These lessons will draw on all three divisions and keep orthodoxy, orthopraxis, and orthopathos in view throughout

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1.  Which perspective of theology is usually emphasized most: orthodoxy, orthopraxis, or orthopathos? Which is usually emphasized least?

Traditional academic theology emphasizes orthodoxy most heavily, since most seminary classes and theological writing concentrate on getting doctrinal concepts straight. Orthopraxis receives secondary attention, mainly in skills-oriented classes like homiletics or evangelism. Orthopathos — the emotional dimension of theology — is emphasized least of the three, rarely appearing even in classes that might seem to call for it, such as preaching.

2.  Give a brief description of the following terms:

Soteriology is the doctrine of salvation. Ecclesiology is the doctrine of the church. Anthropology is the doctrine of humanity. Pneumatology is the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. Christology is the doctrine of the person and work of Christ. Theology proper is the doctrine of God himself. Eschatology is the doctrine of the last things. Biblical theology traces the history of God's redemptive acts as recorded in Scripture. Systematic theology arranges biblical teaching into a logical, organized system. Historical theology traces how doctrines developed across church history. Hermeneutics is the discipline of interpreting the meaning of Scripture.

3.  Name the three main divisions of a typical seminary curriculum and give the phrase used to describe what kind of study is involved in each division.

The biblical division covers Old and New Testament studies, focused on the content of Scripture and how to interpret it responsibly. The doctrinal and historical division covers church history and systematic theology, tracing how the church has developed and organized its teaching over time. The practical division focuses on students' personal spiritual formation and ministry skills, such as preaching and evangelism.

APPLICATION QUESTIONS

1.  How can we avoid the trap of intellectualism as we study theology?

Avoiding intellectualism requires deliberately pairing every doctrine studied with concrete questions about behavior and emotion — not just "what is true?" but "how should this change what I do and feel?" Practically, this can mean consistently applying lessons through prayer, accountability with other believers, and specific acts of obedience rather than treating theological study as complete once the ideas are understood.

2.  What is the most significant insight you have learned from Lesson 1? Why?

This is a personal reflection question with no fixed answer. A strong response would identify a specific concept from the lesson — such as the interdependence of orthodoxy, orthopraxis, and orthopathos, or the danger of overemphasizing any single goal — and explain concretely how it challenges or reshapes the student's current approach to theology.

3.  Read the following quotes, and answer the question: What is the tendency of the author?

Author A (Packer) warns against pursuing theological knowledge for its own sake and emphasizes humility, reflecting a combination of orthodoxy and orthopathos. Author B (Chan) laments the neglect of the Holy Spirit's experiential presence, emphasizing orthopathos primarily. Author C (Hodge) describes theology as an inductive science organizing biblical facts, emphasizing orthodoxy. Author D (Crabb) calls for holding emotional honesty and God-centered obedience together, emphasizing a balance of orthopraxis and orthopathos. Author E (Clark) stresses propositional truth and objective knowledge of God, emphasizing orthodoxy.

4.  How would you describe your own tendency?

This is a personal reflection question. A thoughtful answer would honestly assess whether the student naturally gravitates toward orthodoxy, orthopraxis, or orthopathos, using specific examples from their own habits of study, worship, or Christian living, and would identify one practical step toward better balance among the three.