Which text is closest to the original?
- the mainstream critical text
- Byzantine priority
- Textus Receptus advocacy
- King James Onlyism
The Muslim charge of corruption is answered separately.
The study of theology.
Theology is the disciplined study of God and of everything in relation to God, carried out through Scripture, history, doctrine and practice. Universities and seminaries organize it on a fourfold pattern first set out in nineteenth-century Germany: the Bible, the history of the church, doctrine, and the practice of ministry.
Numa Verse has mapped the discipline field by field. Each field below has been researched from its own sources, written up, and approved before it appears here. Fields are added as their studies are completed.
- published fields
- 55published fields
- branches
- 6branches
- Journal articles on these fields
- 20Journal articles on these fields
Theology, the field
What is theology?
Theology is the disciplined study of God and of everything in relation to God. Universities and seminaries teach it in four parts: the Bible, the history of the church, doctrine, and the practice of ministry, a pattern first set out in nineteenth-century Germany. Beneath these lie the foundations of method, and around them the fields where theology meets other disciplines.
Where traditions divide on theology itself
Traditions divide on how Scripture relates to Tradition and church authority, and on the canon: 66 books for Protestants, 73 for Catholics, larger Orthodox and Ethiopian canons.
The fourfold pattern
How theology is studied
- BibleBiblical studiesWhat does the text say?16 published fieldsExplore Biblical studies
- HistoryHistorical theologyHow did belief develop?4 published fieldsExplore Historical theology
- DoctrineSystematic theologyWhat does it teach as a whole?17 published fieldsExplore Systematic theology
- PracticePractical theologyHow is it lived and shared?10 published fieldsExplore Practical theology
The theology map
How the fields connect
Every field draws on others. Textual criticism needs the biblical languages; the doctrine of salvation needs Christology and the study of the human person. The map below shows the six branches and the fields within each, top to bottom; each field page names what it builds on and what it leads to.
Branches
The six branches
01Foundations
- Biblical and ancient languagesHebrew, Aramaic and Greek, the languages of Scripture
- Textual criticismWeighing manuscripts and variants to recover the earliest wording
- Canon formation and canonicityWhich books count as Scripture, and for whom
- Bible translation and versionsHow Bible versions are made, from Septuagint to English
- Old TestamentThe books, genres and scholarship of the Old Testament
- New TestamentThe Gospels, Acts, the letters and Revelation
- Second Temple and early Christian literatureWritings between the Testaments, including the Dead Sea Scrolls
- Book of Enoch1 Enoch, quoted in Jude and kept in Ethiopia
- Jewish studies and Jewish–Christian relationsJewish reading of the Hebrew Bible, from the rabbis
- Ancient Near East daily lifeDaily life as the Bible's first hearers lived it
- Biblical history and geographyPlaces, routes, kingdoms and dates of the Bible
- Biblical archaeologyWhat has been found, and what it shows
- HermeneuticsThe principles of reading and interpreting Scripture
- ExegesisThe close reading of a single passage
- Biblical theologyThemes that run through the whole Bible
- Reception history and history of interpretationHow passages have been read across the centuries
03Systematic theology
04Historical theology
05Practical theology
06Wider fields- 01Foundations3 published fields
- 02Biblical studies16 published fields
What does the text say?
- Biblical and ancient languagesHebrew, Aramaic and Greek, the languages of Scripture
- Textual criticismWeighing manuscripts and variants to recover the earliest wording
- Canon formation and canonicityWhich books count as Scripture, and for whom
- Bible translation and versionsHow Bible versions are made, from Septuagint to English
- Old TestamentThe books, genres and scholarship of the Old Testament
- New TestamentThe Gospels, Acts, the letters and Revelation
- Second Temple and early Christian literatureWritings between the Testaments, including the Dead Sea Scrolls
- Book of Enoch1 Enoch, quoted in Jude and kept in Ethiopia
- Jewish studies and Jewish–Christian relationsJewish reading of the Hebrew Bible, from the rabbis
- Ancient Near East daily lifeDaily life as the Bible's first hearers lived it
- Biblical history and geographyPlaces, routes, kingdoms and dates of the Bible
- Biblical archaeologyWhat has been found, and what it shows
- HermeneuticsThe principles of reading and interpreting Scripture
- ExegesisThe close reading of a single passage
- Biblical theologyThemes that run through the whole Bible
- Reception history and history of interpretationHow passages have been read across the centuries
- 03Systematic theology17 published fields
What does it teach as a whole?
- BibliologyThe doctrine of Scripture: revelation, inspiration, authority
- ChristologyWho Jesus is, his person and his work
- Theology properThe doctrine of God, the attributes and the Trinity
- PneumatologyThe doctrine of the Holy Spirit
- Creation and providenceHow God made and sustains the world
- AngelologyAngels, demons and the unseen world
- SoteriologyGrace, faith, justification and atonement
- Sacramental theology and ordinancesBaptism, the Lord's Supper and the other rites
- Theological anthropologyWhat a human being is, in God's image
- HamartiologyThe doctrine of sin
- EcclesiologyThe doctrine of the church
- EschatologyDeath, resurrection, judgment and the new creation
- Theological ethics and moral theologyHow belief shapes conduct
- Public, political and social theologyFaith in public life: justice, state and society
- ApologeticsThe reasoned case for faith, and answers to objections
- Ecumenical theologyHow the churches talk and where they agree
- Mariology and the saintsMary and the saints, honored and disputed
- 04Historical theology4 published fields
How did belief develop?
- Church historyTwo thousand years of the church's life
- The churches and denominationsThe church families and who holds which reading
- History of doctrine, with creeds and confessionsHow doctrine developed through creeds and confessions
- Patristics, including Syriac and Eastern witnessesThe early church writers, East and West
- 05Practical theology10 published fields
How is it lived and shared?
- HomileticsThe craft of preaching one clear message
- Christian education and catechesisHow faith is taught and learned
- Communication, media and digital cultureHow faith is communicated through film, apps and AI
- Liturgy and worship, with church musicHow the churches pray and worship
- Spirituality, ascetical and mystical theologyPrayer and the inner life
- MissiologyHow the faith crosses cultures and languages
- Diaconal studies and social ministryThe church's service to the poor and the sick
- Pastoral care and counsellingCaring for people in need, and its limits
- Canon law and church polityHow churches govern themselves by law
- Practical theology method and congregationsHow practical theology studies real congregations
- 06Wider fields5 published fields
Where does it meet other fields?
- World Christianity and contextual theologiesChristianity in the Global South and its readings
- Comparative religion and theology of religionsHow Christianity relates to other faiths
- Theology and scienceCreation, evolution, cosmology and miracles
- Aesthetics and sacred arts, with iconsArt, icons and beauty in Christian faith
- Social-scientific study of religionHow the social sciences study religion
Reading order
Where to begin
Start with the fields the others build on.
- 1DivinityDivinity is the degree through which most scholars and ministers are trained. Knowing how it is taught shows what they have studied.Read the field: Divinity
- 2Philosophy and philosophy of religionPhilosophy supplies the tools theology reasons with: logic, the arguments about God, and the language of being and knowing. The creeds themselves use its terms.Read the field: Philosophy and philosophy of religion
- 3Biblical and ancient languagesScripture was written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, so every reading starts from what the text says in its own languages.Read the field: Biblical and ancient languages
- 4Church historyTwo thousand years of the church's life: people, councils, divisions and renewal. It gives every reading its date and setting.Read the field: Church history
- 5Social-scientific study of religionReligion studied by sociology, psychology and anthropology, which supply the data on belief and Bible engagement. Surveys show Western affiliation and practice falling, flattening in the United States since 2019, and high practice in Africa.Read the field: Social-scientific study of religion
- 6Foundations and methodEvery theological claim depends on how its sources are weighed: Scripture, tradition, reason and experience. This field sets those ground rules for the fields that lean on it.Read the field: Foundations and method
Traditions
Where the traditions divide
Textual criticism Canon formation and canonicity Which books belong in the Bible?
- the deuterocanonical books
- whether the church establishes the canon or recognises it
- when the Hebrew canon closed
Soteriology How is a person saved?
- Catholics: grace given in baptism with inner renewal
- Orthodox: synergy and deification
- Lutheran and Reformed: justification by faith alone
- Methodists: prevenient grace and entire sanctification
Mariology and the saints What place do Mary and the saints hold?
- calling Mary Mother of God
- her perpetual virginity
- the 1854 and 1950 dogmas
- asking Mary and the saints to pray
- apparitions
- relics and images
Journal
From the Journal
AI-generated imageEschatologyWhy do Christians read the millennium in Revelation 20 differently?
Revelation 20 speaks of Satan bound and the saints reigning with Christ for a thousand years. Christians read it in three main ways: as a future reign on earth after Christ returns, as the present age of the Church, or as a golden age before his return. All agree that Christ will return; they differ on how this one passage fits.Numa Verse Editorial · November 2026 · 5 min readAI-generated imageChurch historyWhy did one word in the Creed divide East and West?
The word is filioque, Latin for "and the Son". The Creed agreed at Constantinople in 381 says the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father; Western churches later added "and the Son". The addition, and the authority to make it, became one of the lasting points of division between Catholic and Orthodox Christians.Numa Verse Editorial · November 2026 · 5 min read
AI-generated imageAngelologyWhat does the Bible say about angels?
In the Bible an angel is first of all a messenger: a created spirit that serves God and is never to be worshipped. Scripture names only a few, and the detailed ranks of angels come from later Christian writers. The traditions agree on the core and differ on the detail.Numa Verse Editorial · November 2026 · 5 min readQuestions
Questions people ask
What is theology?
Theology is the disciplined study of God and of everything in relation to God. Universities and seminaries teach it in four parts: the Bible, the history of the church, doctrine, and the practice of ministry, a pattern first set out in nineteenth-century Germany. Beneath these lie the foundations of method, and around them the fields where theology meets other disciplines.
What are the main branches of theology?
The theology map has 6 branches: Foundations, Biblical studies, Systematic theology, Historical theology, Practical theology and Wider fields. Each asks its own question, from "How does theology know what it knows?" to "Where does it meet other fields?"
Where should I start studying theology?
Start with the fields the others build on: Divinity; Philosophy and philosophy of religion; and Biblical and ancient languages. "Where to begin" above lists them in an order where no field comes before one it builds on.
How are these pages reviewed?
Each field begins as a research study, which is challenged by three independent reviews before it is approved. Every page is reviewed and approved by a named person before it is published, and shows the date it was last reviewed.
Method
How this section is made
Every field page is drawn from a research dossier and an approved assessment, carries numbered sources, and shows when it was last reviewed.
How these pages are made
Reviewed and approved by Duane Herholdt, BA (Theology), Chief Executive Officer, Numa Verse