Biblical Theology vs Systematic Theology? Romans 7 explained and whether Calvinism is Biblical?

Ask NT Wright Anything

Premier Unbelievable

History, Religion & Spirituality, Christianity

4.8 • 2.3K Ratings

🗓️ 25 May 2026

⏱️ 41 minutes

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Summary

Another three thorny questions tackled with clarity and depth by Tom Wright and Mike Bird this week. Grab a coffee and prepare for vintage NT Wright. First, they explore the difference between biblical theology and systematic theology, asking when each is most useful and why keeping close to the biblical text really matters. Next, Tom unpacks the much-debated “I” the "Wretched Man" in Romans 7, explaining why Paul is not simply describing the ordinary Christian life but telling a bigger story about Israel, Torah and the problem of sin. Finally, they tackle Calvinism, predestination, the five points of TULIP and the tension between divine sovereignty and human freedom.Into The Heart of Romans https://amzn.to/4sq8aBXSupport & Subscribe👉 Support thought-provoking conversations and help keep the show going at www.premierunbelievable.com/geolink/donate💡❓Got a question for Tom? Go to askntwright.com👉 Refer a friend to become a subscriber → They can get 10% off by clicking hereFollow usInstagram: https://instagram.com/premierunbelievableFacebook: https://facebook.com/premierunbelievableTik Tok: https://tiktok.com/@premier.unbelievableX: https://x.com/UnbelievableFE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:25.4	Hello and welcome to the Ask Antirite Anything podcast, the program where we answer your questions
0:31.3	about Jesus, the Bible and the life of faith. I'm Mike Bird from Ridley College in Melbourne,
0:39.5	Australia, and I'm joined by Tom Wright from Wycliffe Hall in Oxford. Tom, have you ever thought about going back in time
0:47.7	and changing your career path? Like instead of being a New Testament person, maybe could you have gone
0:54.5	Old Testament? Could you have gone into systematic theology, ethics, or you're like, oh, no, I'm
1:01.7	kind of happy with New Testament. Do you ever think, you know, is there, rather than being
1:05.6	N-T-right, maybe you could have been O-T-right? Well, actually, we christened my younger son, Oliver Thomas. So he is O.T. right. But he is actually a philosophical theologian, not an Old Testament theologian. But we laugh about that.
1:23.0	He's not an analytic theologian, is he? Tom. Please tell me he's not an analytic theologian.
1:26.7	No. He's written about that stuff, but that's not where he is.
1:33.7	But no, the reason I chose New Testament, as my main course of study, was that I wanted to stay
1:42.0	in touch with both old and New Testaments. So I wanted to look
1:45.6	for bits of the New Testament, which were anchored firmly in the Old Testament so that I would
1:50.4	have to keep on going with both. And that's really what I've spent my life doing. One or two friends
1:57.5	did tell me I should be a systematic theologian. and I think that's because they probably saw in me kind of impetus towards
2:07.3	larger scale patterns of things.
2:09.2	Yes, that is true.
	...

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