BUILDING SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY
PREPARATION FOR LESSON 2
TECHNICAL TERMS IN SYSTEMATICS

In preparation for this lesson, look again at the selected portions of the table of contents of Luis Berkhof's Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996, second section, pages 7-16), as found in the list below. Write down 5-10 terms used in the table of contents that seem to be technical theological terms.

Part 1, The Doctrine of God

I. The Existence of God
II. The Knowability of God
III. Relation of the Being and Attributes of God
IV. The Names of God
V. The Attributes of God in General ...

Part 2, The Doctrine of Man in Relation to God

I. The Origin of Man
II. The Constitutional Nature of Man
III. Man as the Image of God ...

Part 3, The Doctrine of the Person and Work of Christ

I. The Doctrine of Christ in History
II. The Names and Natures of Christ
III. The Unipersonality of Christ ...

Part 4, The Doctrine of the Application of the Work of Redemption

I. Soteriology in General
II. The Operation of the Holy Spirit in General
III. Common Grace ...

Part 5, The Doctrine of the Church and of the Means of Grace

Part 6, The Doctrine of the Last Things 

This lesson will be divided into three major sections:

Orientation
Formation
Values and Dangers

The work for this lesson will follow the same pattern as Lesson 1.

Goals and Objectives of Lesson 2

GOALS

In this lesson, we would like to accomplish the following:

1. We hope you will become convinced of the importance of understanding the complexities of theological language, as well as the complexities of language used in the Scriptures.

2. We hope you will make use of all the resources and activities of the lesson to understand the formation and the proper use of technical terms in theology. 

3. We hope you make some changes in your life as a response to the teachings of this lesson. How does it help you analyze other theological expressions?

OBJECTIVES

When you have done the following, it will show that the goals are met:

1. Use all the resources and complete all the written assignments of the lesson, expressing your own thoughts and attitudes regarding technical terms in theology.

2. Obtain a satisfactory grade on the accumulative test, demonstrating that you can identify: a) examples of how terms are used in complex ways in the Scriptures and in theology, b) different ways in which technical terms are formed, and c) the values and dangers of using technical terms in theology.

3. Answer the application questions of the study guides, in which you apply the teachings of the lesson to your own life.

"Instructions for Lesson 2"

Carefully read the "Instructions for Lesson 2." You may want to print them out so that you can refer to them as you proceed through the assignments.

If you need a little reminder of how to do the assignments, go back to the instructions of lesson one and read the "General Instructions for Assignments" again.