Scripture

The word canon has multiple meanings. In the Christian context, it refers on the one hand to the Bible as a collection of sacred writings (cf. art. Scripture) and on the other hand to the foundation or elementary contents of the Christian faith. The relationship between the two is a topic handled within fundamental theology as well as within material dogmatics. The latter disciplines also deal with the biblical canon and biblical hermeneutics, where, in its function as Holy Scripture, the Bible has a normative status that is yet-to-be-determined more precisely not only in the context of proclamation and the life of the Church but also in all of the theological disciplines. However, the extent to which this applies to, and how it manifests itself concretely in, theological work is the subject of ongoing debate.

Dogmatics is a field within (systematic) theology that deals with the development of the content of Christian faith and its responsibility to the present. Against the background of dogmatics’ historical developments, we focus on what characterizes dogmatics as an academic (wissenschaftliche) discipline (such as systematicity, positionality, contextuality, interdisciplinarity), the tasks and goals it pursues, the sources (Bible, practice of faith, experience) and norms it refers to, and the subjects that it deals with. In light of the plurality internal to dogmatics, we discuss the position of dogmatics in the context of systematic theology and also thematize the status of dogmatics as an academic discipline. Finally, our own understanding of dogmatics in the context of the SysLex project is presented and explained as followed: “Dogmatics means theologizing in the face of the present as a reflective endeavor related to the Christian faith and its practices. This process gives rise to a dialogical context that, within academic dogmatics at least, aims at increasing coherence and at methodologically grounded dispute around and between categories of interpretation. Dogmatics finds a central – but not the only – place in academic theology (wissenschaftliche Theologie).”

• Prolegomena
• Systematic Theology

The Christian faith lives by means of the passing on of its content. For centuries, the testimony of the revelation of God in Jesus Christ has been handed down both orally and in writing. Tradition is therefore a process of transmission (lat. tradere). In this process, Christians grapple with how to understand the passed-on content (lat. tradita, traditum). From this grappling emerged doctrines and creeds, rituals, and attitudes that likewise can be described as tradition. Even though the emergence of faith is not subject to human control, the transmission of the content of faith is a necessary medium through which faith can emerge. The question of tradition is therefore a foundational topic for theology. Yet it is one that has often only been dealt with marginally within Protestant dogmatics, primarily in the context of interdenominational controversies surrounding the question of the sources of theology and salvation. Protestant theology always determines the exact meaning of tradition in relation to the bible.

• Ecclesiology