Systematic Theology: The Complete Three Volumes

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Systematic theology. New York, London and Edinburgh: C. Scribner and company, T. Nelson and sons. pp.3 v. 25 cm. LCCN 45041149. LCC BT75 .H63.

As a Princeton professor Hodge became involved in the ecclesiastical and theological disputes that agitated Presbyterianism throughout the nineteenth century. There had always been two distinct mentalities, tendencies, or streams in American Presbyterianism, and these were always threatening to diverge. The one tended to be more objective, to favor theological precision and centralized church authority. This came to be known as the “Old School.” The other tendency, the “New School,” was more concerned with spontaneity, cultural relationship (sometimes at the price of compromise), and theological flexibility. The “Old School” was located mainly in Pennsylvania and the South, the “New School” in New York and the Midwest. Hodge, Charles (1837). A commentary on the Epistle to the Romans. London: The Religious tract society. pp.xvi, 438 p. LCCN 38018206. LCC BS2665 .H65 1837.

Reviews

Hodge was a leader of the Old School faction of Presbyterians during the division of the Presbyterian Church (USA) in 1837. The issues involved conflicts over doctrine, religious practice, and slavery. Although prior to 1861 the Old School refrained from denouncing slavery, the issue was a matter of debate between Northern and Southern components of the denomination.

A sermon, preached in Philadelphia ... American Sunday-school Union, May 31, 1832. Philadelphia: The Union. LCCN 96229925. LCC YA 30459 YA Pam. Hodge, A. A. (1880). The life of Charles Hodge: Professor in the Theological seminary, Princeton, N.J. C. Scribner's sons. Reissued 1979 by Ayer Co. Pub. ISBN 0-405-00250-5Hugh graduated from Princeton College in 1773 and served as a military surgeon in the Revolutionary War, after which he practiced medicine in Philadelphia. Joel Beeke and Mark Jones, Puritan Theology (2012). A tremendous achievement. Beeke and Jones go through the traditional loci explaining what major Puritan thinkers taught on each topic. Harder to use than a traditional systematic theology, but still useful. Beeke and Jones know their stuff. Level: Hard (one volume)

An important aspect of these confessions changed in approach from the appearance of the Second Helvetic Confession (1566). Before that time, systematic theology had always started with the doctrine of God, but that now gave way to the priority of Scripture, as the source of Christian teaching and the doctrine of God was put in the second chapter, a pattern that is still dominant today.

Summary

He was a leading exponent of the Princeton Theology, an orthodox Calvinist theological tradition in America during the 19th century. He argued strongly for the authority of the Bible as the Word of God. Many of his ideas were adopted in the 20th century by Fundamentalists and Evangelicals. [1] Biography [ edit ] Francis Turretin, Institutes of Elenctic Theology (1679-1685). This was the textbook at Old Princeton until Charles Hodge wrote his own. It’s hard to overstate the influence Turretin has had on the development and transmission of Reformed theology. Some of the debates will seem overly philosophical and arcane. But for comprehensiveness and careful delineation of categories, you will not find anything better. Level: Hard (three volumes) By way of contrast the Mercersburg theologians, Nevin and Gerhart, relied heavily upon German Idealism and Romanticism in their efforts to reformulate traditional Reformed prolegomena. Gerhart, for example, thought that Baconianism could be applied to the natural sciences, but not to the study of Christianity. Their rejection of Baconianism and Common Sense Realism led them away from the exegetical approach of Princeton’s theological method to the Christological approach, which argued that Christ (rather than scripture) was the ultimate source of theology. Moreover, Schaff’s application of Hegel’s dialectic to church history and Nevin’s appropriation of the ideas of the English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge were further indicators of the influence of Romanticism. It should not be assumed, however, that Mercersburg had a monopoly in relation to its interaction with German theology. Both the Mercersburg Review and the Princeton Review took great interest in German Protestantism. Even Hodge appreciated aspects of German theological works, especially philological, critical, and exegetical studies which could be used to support Reformed orthodoxy. Hodge, in fact, had studied in Germany and interacted carefully with various strands of German theology. (6) Thus, the author has provided a balanced assessment of the interaction between the Princeton divines and German theology, helpfully correcting the assertion that Hodge was ‘anti-German’. (7) Michael Horton, The Christian Faith (2011). While the organization and layout are not as user-friendly as Grudem, Horton is a much more sophisticated theologian. Horton is especially good if you want a reliable contemporary writer who is conversant with the history of theology and with the best theologians from other traditions. See also Horton’s shorter Pilgrim Theology and Core Christianity. Level: Medium (one volume)

Geerhardus Vos, Reformed Dogmatics (1896). Just published for the first time in English, this work represents theological exploration from a gifted young man who would later make his mark in the field of biblical theology (as opposed to systematics). Vos employs a catechetical question-and-answer approach, making his theology read like lecture notes more than continuous prose (a feature that some will appreciate and others will not). Level: Medium (five volumes)

Article contents

John Halsley Wood Jr., "The 1861 Spring Resolutions: Charles Hodge, the American Union, and the Dissolution of the Old School Church," Journal of Church and State, Spring 2005, Vol. 47 Issue 2, pp 371-387 Hodge is not alone in refusing to die; there are other theological authors whose works continue to be reprinted. But a hundred years after the publication of his Systematic Theology is a good time to try to find the secrets of its longevity. Why haven’t there been more Charles Hodges during the intervening century? Perhaps the question is unfair, for genius is notable first of all for being rare. Had there been many others of comparable stature and achievements in the recent past, Hodge might even have been forgotten. Nevertheless, in taking another look at the Systematic Theology we are forced to wonder why it remains one of the landmarks on the evangelical scene. What has been going on in the evangelical church in the last hundred years that makes this theology so unusual? Noll, Mark A., ed. (2001). Princeton Theology, 1812–1921: Scripture, Science, and Theological Method from Archibald Alexander to Benjamin Warfield. Baker Publishing Group. ISBN 0-8010-6737-5