It’s been more than a year now that Pastor Peter Sim has been leading us through Michael Horton’s book, The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the Way. At the time of this entry, we just started the twelfth chapter, on being human. What does it mean for us to be created in the image of God? Do we also have a spirit which is distinct from the soul? This is what systematic theology seeks to do—give biblical answers in an orderly fashion. What’s more, the study has been good in reminding us that these questions and answers do not exist by themselves in a vacuum; they are part of what makes a whole, a system, if you will.
“Systematic theology is like a box top of a jigsaw puzzle,” says Horton, “and every believer is a theologian in the sense of putting the pieces together. If we fail to recognize there is a box top (i.e. a unified whole) to Scripture, we will have only a pile of pieces. Simplistic slogans, formulas, and catchphrases will not suffice in conveying the richness of the Scriptures” (27).
So then, each class has been sort of like a jigsaw puzzle night with the family. What’s also true about this analogy is that anyone can jump in at anytime and still be part of the exercise. Some nights we are trying to fit this piece to that, or perhaps it’s just trying to find the edge pieces. We are almost half way through the book now, but my guess is that when the the big sections of the puzzle come together, there will be a collective sense of relief and satisfaction. Come then, and join the study—jump right in!
Systematic Theology study will resume January 15th, 2020