Biblical theology as an independent discipline: history and perspectives

The article addresses the problem of the prospects for the existence of Biblical Theology as an independent discipline. Since Biblical Theology is very often directly associated with the methods of historical criticism and is understood as an opposition to Dogmatic Theology, the most methodologically correct approach seems to have attracted the attention of Western biblical scholars in the last quarter of the 20th century, which places Biblical Theology between historical and dogmatic disciplines. This line is illustrated against the backdrop of a historical review of the interpretation of the term “Biblical Theology”, as well as the development and application of methods of historical criticism. The review of new trends in Biblical Theology in the context of Western biblical studies, as well as individual works of Russian pre-revolutionary biblical scholars dedicated to this subject, showed that the discipline in question can and must exist in isolation from the extremes of historical criticism methods, while placing its object of study in the framework of the church canon books of Sacred Scripture.