PRRD I.85-87

Chapter 2 – The Development of Theological Prolegomena (85-146)

2.1 Presuppositions, Principles, and Prolegomena (85-87)

A. Setting the Stage after the Production – on the Construction of Prolegomena (85-86)

While all theology and theological statements rest upon presuppositions and principles, the ‘explicit explanation of those presuppositions and principles, however, is one of the last tasks undertaken in the historical development of theological system’ (85). It was not until medieval theology (e.g. with the development of sententiae) and Protestant orthodoxy that questions concerning theological system emerge.

Although theological prolegomena is a relatively late historical phenomenon, the issues addressed by this discipline have always impacted the task of theology. ‘The production of any theological formula brings with it fundamental questions of relationship of language to divine truth, of the capability of any human statement to bear the weight of revelation, and of the relationship of statements concerning God to grammatically identical statements concerning the world of sense and experience’ (86).

And who says analytic theology is only for sophisticated postmoderns?

B. Prolegomena and Theology: Some Basic Relationships (86-87).

Otto Weber made the observation that when prolegomena rests on ‘nontheological, ontological, or anthropological presuppositions’ it is predogmatic (vordogmatisch). Technically, Weber contends, Christian dogmatics can have no prolegomena, but rather only an introduction which ‘shares in the presuppositions of the system of dogmatics as a whole’ (86).

This can be illustrated by examining the emergence of Protestant orthodox prolegomena. First, historically speaking, prolegomena arouse out of Protestant reflection upon a received theological heritage. The fundamental questions and principles discussed in theological prolegomena share the same theological presuppositions of the system of doctrine of Protestant orthodoxy as a whole. ‘Reformed orthodoxy was not a deductive system…but a topical theology that arose out of extended meditation on and defense of its varied loci’ (87).

Second, Protestant orthodox prolegomena evidences a clear commitment to the primacy of exegesis. In other words, the task of prolegomena is not pretheological, for the same Scripture principle normative for Reformed dogmatics is operative for Reformed prolegomena. Additionally, the themes and basic distinctions of the prolegomena (e.g. archtypal and ectypal theology, theology before and after the fall, etc) are a reflection of the theological system as a whole.