Systematic theology 101

One of the most precious things a previous pastor of my family's did for us was to educate us on the key issues of theology; specifically, that practical, applied theology ought to be built upon a foundation of exegesis, hermeneutics, Old Testament and New Testament theology, Biblical theology, and finally systematic theology. In a very strict sense, the person wishing to build a Biblical position on issue X needs to first learn to understand the text as it presents itself, how that text relates to other Biblical texts, how larger portions of the Bible interact with and define each other, and finally how the Bible as a whole relates to God and man.

In contrast, most of today's "Biblical" teaching more or less mixes a few proof-texts with a heavy dose of the wisdom of our own culture, generating ton after ton of slender paperback books over which well-meaning but theologically immature people can debate ad infinitum. With theological training like this, is it any wonder that many churches split like amoebae?

And so I humbly offer an extremely truncated systematic theology; if whatever exegesis, hermeneutic, Biblical theology, systematic theology, or practical theology does not point to Christ and His Gospel of forgiveness of sin through His work on the Cross, it needs some work.