Journal: Westminster Theological Journal
Volume: WTJ 38:3 (Spring 1976)
Article: Systematic Theology and Biblical Theology
Author: Richard B. Gaffin, Jr.

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WTJ 38:3 (Spr 76) p. 281

Systematic Theology and Biblical Theology

Richard B. Gaffin, Jr.

Not so widely known among the writings of John Murray are two articles on systematic theology which appeared in this Journal in 1963.1 These articles are important because, written just a few years prior to his retirement, they provide us with his matured reflection on the field in which he labored with such distinction as a teacher and writer. Significant also is the fact that of the two articles the second in its entirety is given over to the relationship of systematic theology to biblical theology. This in itself suggests the importance that over the years he had come to attach both to the latter and to this relational question for a proper understanding of the nature and task of systematic theology. In what follows here I would like to continue the discussion of this question reflecting on what Professor Murray and several others in the Reformed tradition have written that bears on it. While focused in this somewhat restricted, some may even feel introverted, fashion, the discussion, because of the basic nature of the question, should also touch on concerns felt increasingly by those with other backgrounds.

I

It is worth keeping in mind from the outset that the question of the relationship between systematic theory and biblical theology is a relatively recent, even modern, one in the history of theology. This is especially true in the line of Reformation orthodoxy. Understood generally as the effort to provide a

WTJ 38:3 (Spr 76) p. 282

compendium or comprehensive summary of what the Bible teaches, systematic theology, or dogmatics, is almost as old as the church itself. Origen’s De Principiis, Augustine’s Enchiridion, the Summa of Thomas Aquinas, Calvin’s Institutes, the imposing productions that flourished in the context of 17th century Reformed and Lutheran orthodoxy, such as those of Turretin and Gerhard, as well as the work of more recent figures like Charles Hodge and Herman Bavinck are all monuments to the longevity and established place of dogmatic endeavor in the life of the church.

In contrast, biblical theology, conceived of in some sense as a distinct discipline, is comparatively new and has had a rather problematic history.2 Apparently the expression “biblical theology” occurs for the first time at the beginning of the 18th century within German pietism. There it functions as part of a kind of “back to the Bible” movement, in reaction to allegedly speculative and other unbiblical elements in orthodox (Lutheran) dogmatics. Passing over here the important question of how warranted this re...

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