Symphonic Theology: The Validity of Multiple Perspectives in Theology

The truth of God is rich and multifaceted. Though a coherent body of revelation, the Bible comes to us through a variety of inspired authors, metaphors, and themes, highlighting the many facets of God's truth. Likewise, our theological formulations capture manifold emphases-distinct "perspectives" on the whole-which collectively enable us to gain a fuller understanding of the truth. Poythress explains, "We use what we have gained from one perspective to reinforce, correct, or improve what we understood through another. I call this procedure 'symphonic theology' because it is analogous to a blending of various musical instruments to express the variation of a symphonic theme."

"[A] seminal book. . . . Symphonic Theology can help us . . . avoid the errors which have been all too common even in much of our best work, and allow the multiple perspectives present in Scripture to enrich our theology rather than threaten it."

-Donald T. Williams