When we speak of the value of systematics, or, of the value of any other theological discipline, we do not take the pragmatic position. The question of value is not the first question we should ask. The question of truth and of duty is primary. It is a God-given duty that we should take the content of Scripture and bring it together into a systematic whole. It is plain that we are required to know the revelation that God has given us. Yet, we would not adequately know that revelation if we knew it only in its several parts without bringing these parts into relation to each other. It is only as a part of the whole of the revelation of God to us that each part of that revelation appears as it is really meant to appear. Our minds must think systematically. It is with our God-created minds, which must think systematically, that we must rework the content of revelation.
From: An Introduction to Systematic Theology by Cornelius Van Til (Phillipsburg: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., 1974), p. 5. Van Til (1895-1987) taught systematic theology and apologetics at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1929-1972).
