Understanding Biblical Theology: A Comparison of Theory and Practice

Cutting through the confusing array of interpretive strategies that claim the term “biblical theology,” Edward Klink and Darian Lockett consider five types of biblical theology as they are currently practiced, including an explanation of how they developed and an exploration of one contemporary proponent of each.

Examines and compares the five major schools of thought regarding biblical theology.

Understanding Biblical Theology provides an expert and clarifying look at the catch-all term “biblical theology,” a movement that tries to remove the often-held dichotomy between biblical studies for the Church and as an academic pursuit.

Using a spectrum between history and theology, each of the five “types” of biblical theology are identified as landing somewhere on the continuum from “more theological” to “more historical” in concern and practice.

This text defines them in detail and gives a brief developmental history for each one, exploring each method through the lens of one contemporary scholar who champions it:

• Biblical Theology as Historical Description (James Barr)
• Biblical Theology as History of Redemption (D. A. Carson)
• Biblical Theology as Worldview-Story (N. T. Wright)
• Biblical Theology as Canonical Approach (Brevard Childs)
• Biblical Theology as Theological Construction (Francis Watson).

Readers will gain an appreciation for each of these approaches and understand how any student of the Bible can learn from them.