God Who Acts

This is the first paragraph of the Preface to G.E.Wright's monogram "God Who Acts" - Biblical Theology as Recital which was published in 1951. It was published in the series "Studies in Biblical Theology No. 8" by SCM Press, London

The purpose of this monogram is to describe the special and characteristic nature of the Biblical presentation of faith and to defend the use of the word 'theology' for it. This means, however, that the term must be rescued from the exclusive and private use of the systematic theologians. To most of them, as to most others, it has meant propositional dogmatics, stated as abstractly and universally as possible and arranged in accordance with preconceived and coherent system.
Obviously, the Bible contains nothing of the sort; in fact' its writers seem completely uninterested in this type of discussion. As a result, there has been a tendency to disparage the Bible and to assume that since it belongs to a pre-logical age, it cannot be allowed to speak in its own way.
Instead it must be systematised in some manner, else its witness for the modern Church will be ineffectual. But to systematise it has meant that one has attempted to organise its data by means of a pattern of thought foreign to its nature: ie, by means of the rubrics of propositional theology. such procedure is a matter of great concern to the specialist in Biblical history because it so easily disregards the Biblical variety, change and flexibility.
It is more Hellenic than Hebraic, and the heart of Biblical faith somehow eludes it.

I have long felt the truth of this concern and find myself drawn to this work. It does not reject Systematic Theology but seeks to put it in its proper place. While propositional dogmatics was my impression of systematic theology at Theological College. A somewhat unsatisfying impression given that I was expected to go forth with such propositions and change the world. It didn't happen. The Biblical Drama and Narrative is the correct place to understand what God has said and done.