The Genetic-Sectional Model

It is difficult to write a theology of the Old Testament because we typically read the Old Testament with preconceived notions and learning. We bring a lot of baggage into reading the Old Testament. Difficulty comes when writing a theology solely on the Old Testament and not including the entire canon. The Old and New Testament are needed as a whole, which brings difficulty when writing about one exclusively. John Goldingay states, “related to the question of salvation is another question: Is the Old Testament complete? The NT story clearly adds to the OT story, so do other Jewish writings from the Greek and Roman periods, such as Maccabees.” (237, Goldingay) Goldingay reminds us that “We need the Old Testament for an understanding of the story of God’s working out his purpose, for its theology, for its spirituality, for its hope, for its understanding of mission, for its understanding of salvation, and for its ethics.” (Goldingay, 248). …show more content…
The Dogmatic-Didactic Model uses the categories God, man, and Salvation. God represents theology, man represents anthropology and Salvation represents soteriology in this approach. The Genetic-Progressive Model is God’s unfolding throughout history. The Cross-Sectional Method is God’s relationship to mankind. The issue with the Cross-Sectional Method is can we just have one idea, therefore the methodological approach of stressing one idea is present while marginalizing other ideas. The Topical Model is revelation or wisdom is given in categories or topics. The Diachronic Approach is done through time. The Canonical Model was where the whole canon has to be studies and it could not be