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

Augustine’s 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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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 circle—the 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. Augustine’s 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 Rome’s 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 God’s

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 God’s 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 Christ’s 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 God’s

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

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