A Primer on Missional Theology §3: Dogmatics

3. Dogmatics and Missional Theology

I began with exegesis and history because, more than most other theological perspectives, missional theology is rooted in particular exegetical and historical contexts. The dogmatic dimensions of missional theology are dramatically shaped by the exegesis of specific texts and the concrete cultural and historical details of specific people. Of course, to say that we will now deal with the dogmatic loci in relation to missional theology is a bit misleading, in that we have been speaking theologically from the start. Theology is not something that we do only after exegeting Scripture and examining history; we are theological from the beginning. And yet I place it here only because it helps to understand that missional theology has some radical implications for our approach to Scripture and the history of the church. With that said, I will now briefly explicate the implications of missional theology for some various issues in dogmatics today.

While I cannot examine missional theology in relation to every dogma or doctrine, I will try to explore what I think are the more important ramifications of thinking missiologically about theology. I will start by looking at the doctrine of God, focusing on the divine attributes, the Trinity, and election. I will then turn to christology, specifically the incarnation. Next, I will move to two issues in ecclesiology, where I will take up some of the issues raised in the section on church history. Finally, I will conclude with a reflection on the eschatological dimension of mission.

[Series introduction and outline]

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