Welcome to lesson four the theological method How we study God In this lesson we will

cover how we study God foundational principles historical perspectives and contemporary approaches Wrapping up with practical application OK Each of

these parts works together with the theological method By the end of this lesson you

will gain a comprehensive understanding of God the foundational principles You will understand the theological method how to explain

it And God's divine attributes we will divide this lesson into four parts So let's start by defining the theological

method and explaining what it is So what is the theological method How a person approaches the interpretation of the

Bible and how they arrive at the doctrinal implications of that interpretation So how are

you interpreting what you are reading what you are taking in your understanding of it How are you interpreting

that And how are you coming to those conclusions is an even more important part So

part one of this is foundations theological study So let's dive a little bit deeper into the foundational

aspects of theological inquiry which is guided by Proverbs two verse six This passage reminds us that true wisdom

comes from the Lord and that knowledge and understanding stem from his teachings So when studying theology it

is very important to understand that God has many facets The field of theology explores God's nature his divine

qualities and his connection with humanity So one of the most important parts of studying

theology is looking at these sacred texts It's looking at the Bible taking these writings

and interpreting the messages from God It's all there for us We just need to read it pray

about it to understand it The Bible it acts as a guide and it helps us learn more

about God as we go So part two is historical perspectives So in addition to the Bible this often

involves exploring history and traditions of various religious communities understanding the historical context in which

different religious beliefs and practices developed This can really help shed light on their significance and their relevance

in our world today So theological inquiry this involves exploring philosophical and ethical aspects It includes thinking about

God about evil free will morality and most of all the purpose of life Why are

we here What is our purpose We can use philosophy and ethics to better comprehend God and its impact

on human existence So another important part of theological inquiry is discussing and exchanging ideas with people who

have different religious beliefs or perspectives This is the interfaith dialogue we were speaking of

in the last lesson this promotes respect greater understanding and the chance to really learn from each other's

thoughts and experiences This reminds us and should remind us that we are all connected as humans This emphasizes

the value of trying to find common ground despite our differences and we will have our differences It's

important to try to find common ground to move forward with So part three what are

some modern approaches that we can use today today There are many different ways of thinking about theology all

influenced by different philosophies different ideologies these influences they show how our world is very complex with different

cultural social intellectual perspectives shaping how we understand theology So one important thing to consider

is the Bible and how we interpret the Bible in Romans 12 2 it reminds us

not to just go along with what everyone else is doing but to change the way we think

change the way we go about what we are doing to question things This means actively engaging

with existing theological ideas seeking the truth to nurture them and nurture our relationship with God So in

light of the contemporary approaches we want to try to connect also with the ancient

theological traditions with the changes happening in our modern society So we want to take the

teachings of the Bible not change them and keep using them and keep utilizing them as God has

written them So these approaches may draw from various sources like philosophy anthropology psychology sociology just

to name a few the goal here is to better understand and respond to the important questions

and challenges we as believers face today So one contemporary approach is the focus on contextual theology This means

considering the cultural historical and social context in which theology is practiced This makes theology more relevant and more accessible

to people from different backgrounds We will discuss more approaches as we move throughout the course Now

part number four some practical application of the theological method Now that we've learned what the method is what it

does how can we apply it So the practical side of the theological method this involves seeking answers to

important questions questions to ask yourself when looking for answers right What are some of the big questions What is

God's nature How does God relate to humanity How do we comprehend complex theological concepts How does theology address

modern issues that I'm going through that we're going through now So through the use

of scripture and reason we explore the attributes and character of God So theological reflection this helps us understand

God's interaction with creation including aspects of things like revelation salvation and divine providence All of these we will discuss

as we continue through the course and in the next lessons So what we covered in this lesson we've

got an understanding of how we study God We know the theological method historical perspectives modern approaches

the practical side the practical application of theological inquiry the four base questions to ask yourself the four big questions

we have learned that studying theology It helps us gain wisdom and knowledge from the Lord

It helps us deepen our understanding of God's nature and his connection with humanity So congratulations for

completing section one of the course Please take some time again Go back through finish filling out the worksheets if

you have not already done So look forward to seeing you in section two where we begin discussing humanity send

some other very interesting topics