Thursday, September 16, 2010

Book Summary Report: An Introduction to Theological Research.

An Introduction To Theological Research: A Guide for College and Seminary Students by Cyril J. Barber and Robert M. Krauss

The book, An Introduction to Theological Research, begins by rhetorically asking the reader if there exists a need for a book that teaches a researcher how to do research. The simple answer to this question is yes. The explosion of information in our era and the accessibility of much of this information via the internet have created the need for guidance. The academic researcher and the earnest Christian seeking to grow in their theological knowledge may indeed navigate through this sea of information safely and successfully. The general aim of the book is to help students do better quality research with a greater amount of personal fulfillment. These objectives have the goals of reducing the time a student might normally spend looking for information, finding information that will significantly improve the quality of the student’s research, and equipping the student to be able to do research independent of a guide. These goals may be achieved by beginning first with general reference works and then moving on to specific resources that increase the student’s knowledge in a particular area.

General reference works are treated in three parts in the book and include encyclopedias of religion and the Bible, Bible dictionaries, atlases and concordances, biblical archeological reference works, and theological reference works. Also included in general reference works are resources that cover areas such as education, history and philosophy, missions, philosophy, ethics, sociology and psychology. By beginning with general reference works the book contends that a student will be able to “work smarter, not just harder” thus enhancing both their enjoyment of research and, for the academic, their grades.

To the average person, the word ‘encyclopedia’ conjures up the multi-volume publications of Encyclopedia Britannica or Encyclopedia Americana. For the Bible student and theological researcher, these resources will not be sufficient. Encyclopedias can enrich a student’s study to give a broad range of a particular topic or discover who the major contributors are, both past and present, and who contributed to the body of knowledge. Not every encyclopedia will represent a high view of Scripture. It is important then for the student to critically examine each work as to who the editor is, why the work was written, and the scope of the work. While in the fields of science, theories and even axioms change, God’s truth is timeless and therefore older works should not be ignored.

In the category of religion one has to tread carefully to mine good information from them. Of note among several mentioned in the book is the Cylopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature edited by James M’Clintock and James Strong. The articles in this encyclopedia are long and cover all of Christianity and many non-Christian religions. It is useful both topically and biographically. Topics such as Pelagianism and scholasticism are covered, and biographies of Calvin and Erasmus are examples of what may be found within its volumes. This set was updated with two additional volumes from the original ten running about 1000 pages each and are included in the 1968-1970 reprint.

While the aforementioned encyclopedia falls under the category of religion, there are encyclopedias and dictionaries that narrow our focus to biblical studies. Of note among them is New Unger’s Bible Dictionary. Its value lies in its currency, consistency, and archeological accuracy. This one-volume work is decidedly conservative no doubt due to Unger who was a professor of Dallas Theological Seminary for 19 years and a renowned biblical archeologist. It is important for the student of the Bible to think critically regardless of the encyclopedia or dictionary that is taken in hand for research. We should determine the theological perspective of each writer, whether the work was written from a biblical, theological, historical, or philosophical perspective and the sources the writers drew from for their information.

Also under the category of general reference works are theology and biblical archeology. Biblical archeology adds interest, validity, and accuracy to what is taught in the Bible. Theological reference works can be divided into two categories: biblical theology and systematic theology. Biblical theology aims at advancing the understanding of redemptive history as it progresses through time. It is exegetical and historical in nature. A narrower application of biblical theology is the study of a particular person in the Bible and derives a “theology” of that individual’s view. The reader may be familiar with the phrases “Pauline Theology” or “Johannine Theology” which are examples of biblical theology. Systematic theology is concerned with the history of ideas. Systematic theology approaches the Bible thematically and tends toward a more philosophical approach. The roots of such an approach are found in the ancient civilizations of the word. Caution must be exercised in Systematic Theology by remembering that the discipline of theology in Christianity is primarily the work of exegesis. Nevertheless, examining theological themes such as Christology or the Godhead, and treating each theme exhaustively, is of great value in theological research.

Of note among the nine works cited in the book touching biblical theology is The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology edited by C. Brown. Of particular interest to etymological considerations in this four-volume set is tracing the meaning of a word from the classical period through its usage in the Septuagint (LXX) and then addressing the occurrences in the New Testament. Also worth mentioning is the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament edited by R.L. Harris, G.L. Archer and B.K. Waltke. The student is able to examine key words with respect to their etymology, cognate usage, and meaning. It is designed for the busy pastor or earnest Christian that has neither the time nor the background for a detailed technical study.

Reference works in the area of Systematic Theology should be evaluated as to whether or not the articles demonstrate knowledge of biblical languages. Works that contain articles from this approach will tend to hold a systematic theology that comes from the text of Scripture rather than reading into the text a preconceived notion. Worth considering is The Expository Dictionary of Bible Words by Lawrence O. Richards. Both Old and New Testaments are thoroughly covered. Words are explained in light of their etymology and practical insights are given to aid the spiritual growth of the believer. The reader should note that the 1985 edition has been updated by Zondervan entitled The New International Encyclopedia of Bible Words in 1999 and this printing is based on the NIV and NASB while the 1985 edition mentioned in the book addresses the Authorized (King James) Version.

The final part of the book covering general reference works deals with the integration of scientific disciplines outside the realm of biblical and theological research. There are eight subjects mentioned in the book: education, history, biography, missions, philosophy, ethics, sociology, and psychology. It is important to note that Scripture should be relied upon to keep the researcher on track in secular areas. For example, it may fall to a student of the Bible to develop an educational program for their church. Knowledge of the history, theory, processes and practices in education may prove helpful. Two works stand out for the biblical researcher. The first is The Encyclopedia of Education edited by L.C. Deighton. This encyclopedia covers public and private approaches to education to stress both the mechanics of learning and what ought to be done. The second is Town’s Sunday School Encyclopedia edited by E.L. Towns. It is 639 pages long and covers recent trends in Sunday school education, effective teaching methods, and proven methods and strategies for various groups.

Often lacking in our diet of biblical knowledge is the integration of history and biography. Having knowledge of certain personalities and events in history can bring a fresh vitality to our studies. With regard to biblical history and personalities in church history two works stand out. The first is A Dictionary of Christian Biography, Literature, Sects, and Doctrines edited by William Smith and Henry Wace in four volumes. An abridgment to this in one volume is available entitled, A Dictionary of Christian Biography and Literature to the End of the Sixth Century edited by H. Wace and W.C. Piercy. These works cover from the times of the Apostles to the age of Charlemagne. They cover 19th century theologians and historians as well as ancient church leaders such as Athanasius and Augustine. Through these two works the earnest Christian may also trace the history of apologetics or find doctrinal essays on subjects like the Antichrist or baptism. The Dictionary of American Biography is another resource mentioned in the book that proves its value by containing 14,000 articles of deceased men and women that impacted American culture.

It is the mission of the church to preach the Gospel to all people and make disciples of all the nations. Editors S. Neill, G.H. Anderson and J. Goodwin contributed A Concise Dictionary of the Christian World Mission covering the history of missions from 1492 to present. While this work is dated (“present” is as of 1971) over 200 missiologists contributed to the work from all over the world. The leading resource for Protestant missions is the Mission Handbook 1998-2000 and serves as a more updated resource.

The disciplines of philosophy and ethics are closely related to theological study. The work of a theologian or student of the Bible is mainly the work of an exegete. Philosophy and ethics intersect our exegesis through logical analysis of the Scripture. The Encyclopedia of Philosophy edited by Paul Edwards spans the theories of philosophy in eight volumes covering both Eastern and Western thought including ancient and modern authors. The Encyclopedia of Biblical and Christian Ethics, edited by R. K. Harrison may be useful in demonstrating how ethics is integrated into theology during an era of moral equivocation. The modern era has given rise to the disciplines of sociology and psychology and has emphasized man’s felt needs. The International Encyclopedia of Psychiatry, Psychology, Psycho-Analysis, and Neurology, edited by B. B. Wolman contains articles from over 1,500 authors on the subjects of adolescence, death, depression, emotions, and leadership to name a few. It is clearly a secular encyclopedia but may offer insight to the student and pastor. Of interest for the student of the Bible is Roland de Vaux’s Ancient Israel: Its Life and Institutions, translated by J. McHugh and Israel: Its Life and Culture by Johannes Pedersen. These works deal with the sociological aspects of the people of the Bible. The first four chapters of the book dealt with general reference works. The remaining eleven chapters address specialized reference works.

After gleaning a general overview and scope of a subject the student is then ready to gather additional data through specialized reference works. Through specialized reference works the student will be able to refine a topic through particular Bible study tools. Once this is accomplished, the student will have laid the groundwork for a better understanding of journal articles, bibliographies, and unpublished materials. There are six main Bible study tools helpful for refining a topic: Bible atlases, concordances, Bible commentaries, lexicons, word studies, and online searching.

A Bible atlas will pave the way for the Bible student to locate the places significant to people and events mentioned in Scripture. The Moody Atlas of the Bible by Barry J. Beitzel covers both the Old and New Testaments with colorful maps. Included in this atlas are discussions regarding the history of biblical mapmaking and historical geography. Bible commentaries are very numerous. When one begins to consider what is available it becomes a daunting task to decide which commentary to invest in. Of the thirteen commentary sets mentioned in the book The New International Commentary on the New Testament and its counterpart The New International Commentary on the Old Testament stand out as representative of current conservative scholarship.

Concordances are an indispensable tool for the Bible student. While many use a concordance mainly to find a verse in the Bible, they are useful to discover the meaning of a word, follow a biblical writer’s theology, develop a biblical theology from the Scripture, trace the progression of revelation from the Old to the New Testament, and much more. A careful student of the Scripture will want to avoid abridged concordances which can leave out hundreds of words. It is also advised that one carefully examine a concordance prior to purchase by the reading the preface. Sometimes those called “exhaustive” which would imply coverage of all words is not the case. Two concordances mentioned in the book of note are the Analytical
Concordance to the Bible by Robert Young and James Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. Young’s concordance is based on the AV providing a reference to each passage of Scripture in which a word appears. It shows the form of the Greek and Hebrew word underlying the translation and includes a lexicon at the end. Strong’s concordance is also based on the AV and has been recently updated under the title New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance. It differs from Young’s by providing a Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary with a corresponding number for every word of the Bible. The New Strong’s Expanded Exhaustive Concordance added Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words and proves to be of great use to everyone.

Lexicons are important to the student of the Bible because they provide
etymological information and short summaries of the vocabulary of a language. Hebrew and Greek lexicons may take some time to get used to but with persistent use they will yield their benefit. Wilhelm Gesenius’ Hebraisched-deutches Handworterbuch uber die Schriften des Alten Testaments published in two volumes covers the Hebrew language and has stood the test of time. The Greek of the NT which concerns the Bible student is from the Hellenistic period. Bauer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament contains a thorough examining of Greek literature touching the NT words still in use at the time. The proper use of concordances and lexicons build the foundation for what most earnest Christians are eager to do: word studies.

By using the language tools of a concordance and lexicon we can begin word studies which trace the origin and history of a word (etymology), the usage of the word in order to ascertain its meaning, and then verify our work by comparing it to exegetical works. This procedure is the same for both Old and New Testaments. One must not think that doing word studies is exegesis, yet it is fundamentally important for the right interpretation of a text. Liskowsky may be consulted with Gesenius’ work for tracing both the etymology and usage of the Hebrew through his Konkordanz zum hebraischen Alten Testament. Verification can be sought from the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, edited by R.L. Harris, G.L. Archer and B.K. Waltke. For tracing the etymology of a word in the NT, A Greek Grammar of the New Testament by F. Blass and A. Debrunner should prove useful and Moulton and Geden’s Concordance to the Greek Testament for tracing the usage of a word. Kittel’s Theological Dictionary of the New Testament may be consulted for verification noting that the “theological” aspect is from liberal presuppositions.

The use of online searching aid students to refine their topics and move from the general to the specific more efficiently. It is important to keep in mind when doing theological research that the Library of Congress Subject Headings may not always match a theological topic. The book examples the subject “Christology” which is common in theological study but is found under the subject heading “Jesus Christ” in the Library of Congress Subject Headings so an online search for “Christology” would not have yielded any results when in fact much is available on the subject under the approved heading. Online searching enables the student to find books, dissertations, and articles. Books may be found through Worldcat which allows a search of more than 31,000 libraries simultaneously. The ProQuest Religion database gives access to thousands of journal articles in full text form and ATLA Religion Database can be used to find dissertations. There are valuable resources on the internet through using common search engines and websites that do provide quality information. Bible software can also be a useful tool in the hands of a researcher, such as the Logos Library System, that offer a multitude of books, articles, lexicons, concordances, and dictionaries that may be searched simultaneously.

Indexes, abstracts, bibliographies, and unpublished works further aid the researcher to move from the general to the specific. Having a working knowledge of these tools can greatly reduce the time a student may spend in their research allowing them to spend less time trying to find resources and more time using them. Specialized indexes alphabetize subjects and then list journal articles or essays that relate to the subject. Abstracts follow a similar format, but include a summary of the referenced journal article or essay. The Religion Index One: Periodicals and Religion Index Two: Multi-Author Works may be accessed via the internet through FirstSearch, SilverPlatter, Ovid and EBSCO. The Religious and Theological Abstracts provide for searching under four divisions: Biblical, Theological, Historical, and Practical. Related disciplines such as administration, counseling, education, history, marriage and family, philosophy and the humanities may be searched through similar indexes and abstracts.

Searching bibliographies should not be overlooked. Indexes and abstracts limit the material to be found to recent history while searching bibliographic indexes provide for finding information that dates beyond the scope of online searching. Charles Haddon Spurgeon’s Commenting and Commentaries, for example, contains 1437 mini-reviews of commentaries and books reviewed by Spurgeon. Special bibliographies covering the Bible, Church History, Missions, and Pastoral theology should not be overlooked by the researcher. Finally, unpublished materials should not go unchecked when conducting theological research. Unpublished materials include papers read at theological society meetings or other private circulations that present the scholarly works of others. Such research may have a bearing on the topic under consideration.

The book concludes with a recap of their process to aid students to conduct better quality and more fulfilling research under their theme: from the general to the specific. The process followed involves beginning with general reference works and then narrowing one’s topic through books, periodical articles, bibliographic sources, and unpublished materials. And this, they claim, will put the student one track so that “…there is nothing you should not be able to find.”

1 comment:

  1. This is posted to have an online copy of this book report for school. It has only gone through one edit, so please feel free to conmment with any grammatical corrections that may be needed.

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