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SHEDD'S DOGMATIC THEOLOGY

CHAPTER 1. - THE TRUE METHOD IN THEOLOGICAL SCIENCE.

THERE are a few topics that require to be discussed preparatory to the investigation of the several divisions in theological science. Some writers bring them under the head of Prolegomena, and others under the general title of Introduction.

The principal of these introductory topics are:

1. The true method in theological science.

2. The plan, divisions, and subdivisions.

3. The nature and definition of theological science.

1. The true method of investigation in any science is natural. It coincides with the structure of the object. The method in anatomy is a good example. It follows the veins, if veins are the subject-matter; the muscles, if muscles are; the nerves, if nerves are. It does not cross and recross, but pursues a straight-onward course. The natural method, consequently, is marked by ease and freedom. There is no effort to force a way through. "He winds into his subject like a serpent," said Goldsmith of Burke’s oratorical method.

The natural method necessitates a thorough knowledge of the nature and structure of the object. It is therefore generally the result of much study, and perhaps of many attempts. The first investigator is not so likely to strike upon the intrinsic constitution of a thing as the last one, because he has not the light of previous inquiries. Methods of investigation are continually undergoing correction and modification, and are thus brought closer to the organization of the object. Sometimes scientific genius hits by intuition immediately upon the method of nature. But such genius is rare. Ordinary talent must make many trials, and correct many errors of predecessors. The botanical method of Linnæus, excellent as it is, has been modified by Le Jussien and De Candolle. Goethe adopted the theory that all the parts of a plant are varieties of the leaf - a theory that had been suggested by Linnæus himself, but rejected by that great naturalist. Oken, in physiology, advanced the view that all the parts of the skeleton are varieties of the vertebra. It is evident that the correctness of the methods of these investigators depends upon whether the view taken of the intrinsic nature and constitution of the plant or the skeleton is a correct one.

2. The true method of investigation is logical. Nature is always logical, because in nature one thing follows another according to a preconceived idea, and an established law. The inquirer, therefore, who perceives the natural structure and organization of an object will exhibit it in a logical order. Everything in the analysis will be sequacious, and the whole will be a true evolution.

Theological science, like others, presents some variety in its methods of investigation, though less than most sciences. In the Ancient, Mediæval, and Reformation periods the method commonly adopted was the theological. The Trinity was the basis. Beginning with the divine existence and trinal nature, the investigator then discussed the acts and works of God in creation, providence, and redemption. This is the method of John of Damascus, the Greek theologian of the seventh century, that of Lombard, Aquinas, and Bellarmin, in their elaborate systems; that of Melanchthon, Calvin, and Turrettin, and of Lutheran and Calvinistic divines generally. The system sometimes followed the order of an accepted creed; that of Calvin, the Apostles’ Creed; that of Ursinus, the Heidelberg Catechism. Calvin’s. Institutes are a fine example of the theological method. No system exceeds it in comprehensiveness, precision, lucidity, and literary elegance. For an analysis of it, see the general syllabus in the Presbyterian Board’s edition, pp. 41-44.