THEOLOGIES OF HISTORY

Domenic Marbaniang

Theologies of history have, at least, two functions:
1. They provide a thematic layout of general history.
2. They provide an interpretive framework for specific
events in history.

We term them theologies because there are a number of
various theological approaches to history. Examples are
Augustines Two City Theology and Dispensationalism.

SOME TERMINOLOGICAL CLARIFICATIONS
Vs. Historical Theology
Theology of history is, of course, certainly not historical
theology; that may not need to be mentioned, except for
clarification of terminologies. Historical theology is the
name of a discipline that studies the historical development
of theology. On the contrary, theology of history
theologically approaches history with theories and
interpretations. For example, historical theology studies
issues like how the doctrine of Trinity developed in history.
Theology of history, on the other hand, addresses issues
like what the Bible says about why postmodernism came to
be or whether wars are going to cease.

Vs. Philosophy of History
A further distinction needs to be made between theology of
history and philosophy of history. While a theology of
history approaches history from the vantage point of the
Bible; however, philosophy of history (e.g. the dialectical
theory of Hegel or Marxist philosophy of history)
approaches history from the perspective of a philosophical
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Theologies of History
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tradition. A philosophical bias towards history, for instance
in the secular humanist approach to history, will usually
demythologize ancient historical accounts recorded from a
theological perspective.

Vs. Non-Biblical Theology
There are also non-biblical theologies of history like, for
instance, the Cyclical Theory of History and the Theory of
the Four Yugas. The beginning points of these theologies
are in non-biblical sources. They fall under theology since
the sources are claimed to have a sacred origin.

Vs. Prophecy
While prophecy relates to the future, theology of history
encompasses the entire time-spectrum and also provides
the framework for the interpretation of prophecy (but not
without the hermeneutical circlethe reading of prophecy
does also influence the development of a theology of
history, provided the view and approach towards biblical
interpretation e.g. literal or allegorical).

RELATIONSHIP WITH COSMOLOGY, SOTERIOLOGY, AND
ESCHATOLOGY
Theology of history certainly involves discussions of
cosmology, soteriology, and eschatology; however, these
are viewed as parts of its own grand story. These narratives
are parts of the metanarrative, which is meta not only in
the sense of being the bigger story, but also in the sense of
providing the theological vantage point from which these
events derive theological significance.


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IMPORTANT CHARACTERISTICS OF THEOLOGIES OF HISTORY
A few important characteristics of theologies of history may
be pointed out as follows:
1. They are normative, not descriptive. Theologies of
history prescribe the blueprint for an understanding
of history.
2. They are interpretive. Theologies of history attempt
to theologically interpret general and specific events
in history in light of the theological metanarrative.

FEW THEOLOGIES OF HISTORY
1. Augustines The City of God. Rome was sacked in
410 by the Visigoths who inflicted on it barbaric
destruction. In the aftermath, critics assailed
Christianity for being the reason of Romes fall. One
challenge of history that Christianity faced was,
How could Rome as strong as it was crumble down
after turning to Christianity? Augustine wrote The
City of God in response to this question. His
theology of history was actually an apologetic that
provided a theological framework for an
understanding of the Sack of Rome in light of Gods
metanarrative of history. To Augustine, there are
ultimately only two cities: the City of the World and
the City of God. The book is, in essence, a
commentary on history from the vantage point of
this view of the two cities and the conflict between
them.

2. Dispensationalism. Dispensationalism was
systematized by John Darby (1800-82) and was
popularized by C.I.Scofield through his Scofield
Reference Bible. Dispensationalism divides the
history of the world into various ages which provides
also a hermeneutic normative for interpretation of
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Biblical history and Gods dealings with the nations.
Some dispensationalists consider the ages to only be
three (Law, Grace, and Kingdom), while others opt
for four, seven, or more (e.g. Innocence,
Conscience, Human Government, Law, Grace).
Further, there are also differences with regard to the
division a particular age; for instance, whether the
tribulation would follow or precede the rapture.
Dispensationalists theology of history also tries to
identify the present status of Israel and the nations
in the plan of God.

3. Dominionism. Dominion theology or dominionism
has variants in movements such as Christian
Reconstructionism and the Kingdom Now theology
and looks to the triumph of Christ on the Cross over
principalities and powers as the ground for Christian
dominionism. While there are disagreements
between various theological perspectives in this
camp, there is a general agreement on
postmillennialism (that the reign of Christ began
with Christs triumph on the Cross). The view, thus,
prescribes Christians to become actively involved in
politics, arts, education, and economics, in order to
transform history.


Any reading of the Scriptures will need a theology of history
to relate the events to each other. A theology of history
becomes necessary not only for an understanding of Gods
dealings with humans at different times, but also in order to
understand, for instance, why a particular divine
commandment is not binding at other times. Thus, theology
of history also sheds light on biblical politics and ethics.
More significantly, it helps us in the understanding of
contemporary history and its trends and in being able to
predict where all this is leading towards.

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FURTHER READING
The 6th and 5th Century BC in the Theology of History
Globalization and Gospelization
The Upper and Lower Story Problem in Theologically Secularizing Politics
Religious Fundamentalism - A Philosophical Perspective





Domenic Marbaniang, 2014
marbaniang.com