PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
Systematic Theology — Volume 1
Hodge, Charles, 1797–1878 · 293,425 words · 364 reading sections
§ 1, B.] ]\IYSTICISM. USAGE OF THE WORD. 63
soul, but God in man. As electricity and magnetism ai'e (or used to be) regarded as forces diffused through the material world, so the Adyo?, the divine impersonal reason, is diffused through the world of mind, and reveals itself more or less potentially in the souls of all men. This theory, in one aspect, is a form of…
819 wordsSECTION 62§ 1, C] MYSTICISM. USAGE OF THE WORD. 65
and Mysticism. The first makes the senses the exclusive or pre- dominant source of our knowledge ; the second, the self, in its constitution and laws, as understood and apprehended by the intel- lect ; and Mysticism, the feelings. The Mystic assumes that the senses and reason are alike untrustworthy and inadequate, as …
437 wordsSECTION 63VOL.. 1. 5
66 INTRODUCTION. [Ch. IV. - Mtsticmbi. Infinite. " Although man," says even Morell, " while in the midst of finite objects, always feels himself to a certain extent free and independent ; yet in the presence of that which is se}f-existent, in- finite, and eternal, he may feel the sense of freedom utterly pass away, an…
443 wordsSECTION 64§1, D.] MYSTICISM. USAGE OF THE WORD. 67
knowledge, and with whom the organ of communication with God, xs the reason ; and the Mystics proper, whose object is, hfe, purity, and beatitude ; and with whom the organ of communication, or re- ^;eptivity, is the feehngs. They agree, first, in relying on the im- -nediate revelation or communication of God to the sou…
923 wordsSECTION 65§ 2, A.] MYSTICISM IN THE EARLY CHURCH. 69
God leads his people by the cords of a man, i. e., in accordance with the laws of his nature. This is very different from the doc- trine that the soxil, by yielding itself passively to God, is "filled with all truth and goodness ; or, that in special emergencies it is con- trolled by blind, irrational impulses. It dif…
810 wordsSECTION 66§ 2, B.] MYSTICISM IN THE EARLY JHURCH. 71
year A. D. 523, during the Monothelite controversy cerrain writ- ings were quoted as of authority as being the productions of Dionys- ius the Areopagite. The total silence respecting them during the preceding centuries ; the philosophical views wliich they express ; the allusions to the state of the Church with which t…
853 wordsSECTION 67§ 8, A.] MYSTICISM DURING THE MIDDLE AGES. 73
and long continued. The writings of its author were translated, annotated and paraphrased, centuries after his death. As there is no effect without an adequate cause, there must have been power in this system and an adaptation to the cravings of a large class of minds. Causes of the Influence of the Writings of the ps…
843 wordsSECTION 68§ 3, A.] MYSTICISM DURING THE MIDDLE AGES. 75
immutabilis munitur, nullius auctorltatis adstipulatione roboi-ari indiget.''-^ His philosophy as developed in his work, " De Divisi- one Naturae," is purely pantheistic. There is with him but one being, and everything real is thought. His system, therefore, is nearly identical with the idealistic pantheism of Hegel ; …
859 wordsSECTION 69§ 3, B.] MYSTICISM DURING THE MIDDLE AGES. 77
by Scotus Erigena:, himself the most pronounced pantheist of the Middle Ages. Through the joint influence of these two men, a strong tendency to pantheism was developed to a greater or less degree among the mediaeval Mystics. Even the associations among the people, such as the Beghards and Lollards, although at first e…
936 wordsSECTION 70§4, A.] MYSTICISM AT, AND AFTER THE REFORMATION. 79
affirm the transcendence of God, and still hold the extreme form of pantheism which makes the world the existence-form of God, his whole intelligence, power, and life. But he may be a Monist. He may believe that there is but one Being in the universe, that everything is a form of God, and all life the life of God. Pan-…
874 wordsSECTION 71§ 4, B.] MYSTICISM AT, AND AFTER THE REFORMATION. 81
Reformers, and the relaxation of papal authority occasioned by the Reformation, served but to inflame the elements which had for years been slumbering in the minds of the people. The numerous associations and fellowships, of which mention was made in the pre- ceding section, had leavened the public mind with the princi…
854 wordsSECTION 72§ 4, B.] MYSTICISM AT, AND AFTER THE EEFOKMATION. 83
and blood, as Romanists teach ; nor that his body and blood were locally present in the sacrament, in, with, and under the bread and wine, as Luther held ; nor could he admit the dynamic presence of Christ's body, as taught by Calvin ; nor that the Lord's Supper was merely a significant and commemorative ordinance, as …
896 wordsSECTION 73§5, A.] QUIETISM. 85
sometliing more than all this, something mystical and therefore inexplicable ; a matter of feeling, not something to be under- , stood or explained ; a state in which all thought, all activity was suspended ; a state of perfect quietude in which the soul is lost in God, — an " dcouleraent et liquefaction de I'^me en Di…
908 wordsSECTION 74§ 6, B.] QUIETISM. 87
in the cloister she came under the influence of the writings of St. Francis de Sales, which determined her suhsequent course. En- thusiastic in temperament, endowed with extraordinary gifts, she soon came to regard herself as the recipient of visions, revelations, and inspirations by which she was impelled to write, an…
875 wordsSECTION 75§ 6, B.] QUAKERS. 89
. The Quakers were at first, as a class, illiterate, but men from the educated classes soon joined them, and by their influence the irregularities connected with the movement were corrected, and the society reduced to a regularly organized form. The most promi- nent of these men were George Keith, Samuel Fisher, and Wi…
868 wordsSECTION 76§ 6, B.] QUAKERS. 91
would send in his name, to lead and guide his followers into all truth, to teach them all things, and to bring all things to their re- membrance They believe that the saving knowledge of God and Christ cannot be attained in any other way than by the revelation of this Spirit ; — for the Apostle says, ' What man knowet…
901 wordsSECTION 77, 6, C] QUAKERS. . 93
ward work of the Spirit, which all Christians acknowledge, by which the soul is enabled to know " the things of the Spirit '* as they are revealed in the Scriptures, and without which there can be no saving faith, and no holiness of heart or life. This spiritual illumination is peculiar to the true people of God ; the …
920 wordsSECTION 78§ 6, C] QUAKERS. 95
ners." They are, however, " to be esteemed a secondary riile subordinate to the Spirit." Nevertheless, he teaches with equal plainness that what " cannot be proved by Scripture, is no neces- sary article of faith." ^ Again, he says : We are " willing to ad- mit it as a positive and certain maxim, that whatsoever any do…
934 wordsSECTION 79§ 7.] OBJECTIONS. 97
until his time came ; for God is not the author of confusion. In 1 Cor. xiv. we have the Quaker ideal or model of a Christian assem- bly. And as the Apostles went hither and thither, not according to their own judgment, but supernaturally guided by the Spirit, so the Spirit guides all believers in the ordinary affairs …
454 wordsSECTION 80VOL. I. 7
98 INTRODUCTION. [Ch. IV. — Mysticism. acter, their effects, and by signs and wonders, and divers miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost ; that these holy men of old who spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, communicated the revehUions wliich they had received not only orally, but in writing, employing not tiie wo…
449 wordsSECTION 81§ 7.] OBJECTIONS. 99
what truth ? Not historical or scientific truth, but plainly revealed truth ; truth which He himself had taught, or made known by his authorized messengers. The Spirit is indeed a teacher ; and with- out his instructions there is no saving knowledge of divine thino-s, for the Apostle tells us, " The natural man receive…
958 wordsSECTION 82§ 7.] OBJECTIONS. 101
for the Holy Spirit to enable them to understand, receive, and obey what was thus externally made known to them. Contrary to the Facts of Experience. 3. The doctrine in question is no less contrary to fact than it is to Scripture. The doctrine teaches that by the inward revelation of the Spirit saving knowledge of tr…
925 wordsSECTION 83§ 7.] OBJECTIONS. 103
it is from God. All his revelations have had the seal both of in- ternal and external evidence. And when the believer is assured, by the testimony of the Spirit, of the truths of Scripture, he has only a new kind of evidence of what is already authenticated be- yond all rational contradiction. Our blessed Lord himself …
468 wordsSECTION 84CHAPTER V.
BOMAN CATHOLIC DOCTRINE CONCERNING THE RULE OF FAITH. § 1. Statement of the Doctrine. 1. Romanists reject tke doctrine of the Rationalists who make human reason either the source or standard of religious truth. It is one of their principles, that faith is merely human when either its object or ground is human. Faith t…
311 wordsSECTION 85§2.] THE SCRIPTURES. 105
(2.) They agree with us in receiving into the sacred canon all the books which we regard as of divine authority. Romanists differ from Protestants in regard to the Scriptures, — 1. In receiving into the canon certain books which Protestants do not admit to be inspired, namely : Tobit, Judith, Sirach, parts of Esther,…
858 wordsSECTION 86§2.J THE SCRIPTURES. 107
in rebns fidei et morum ad a9dificationem doctrinas Christianaa pertinentium, Sacram Scripturam ad suas sensus contorquens con tra eum sensum, quern tenuit et tenet sancta mater Ecclesia, cujus est judicare de vero sensu et interpretatione Scripturarum Sancta- rum, aut etiam contra unanimem consensum patrum ipsam scrip…
863 wordsSECTION 87§8.] ON TRADITION. 109
found that these traditions differed, one church saying their teach- ers had always taught them one thing, and another that theirs had taught them the opposite, it was felt that there should be some com- mon and authoritative standard. Hence the wisest and best of the j fathers insisted on abiding by the written word, …
1,336 wordsSECTION 88Part 88
The Organs of the GhurcKs Infallibility. 4. As to the organs of the Church in its infalHble teaching, there are two theories, the Episcopal and Papal, or, as they are designated from their principal advocates, the Gallican and the Transmontane. According to the former, the bishops, in their col- lective capacity, as th…
1,236 wordsSECTION 89§6, B.] EXAMINATION OF TRADITION. 115
beyond what is taught in Scripture ; the two as to their contents are one and the same." ^ Nevertheless, he acknowledges that in the Church of Rome many things were handed down from the f Apostles which are not contained in the Scriptures. This fact he // does not deny. He admits that such additional revelations, or/ s…
880 wordsSECTION 90§ 6, C] EXAMINATION OF TRADITION. 117
have been from the beginning. They are, however, far better • known, and more clearly understood now than they weiB a thou- sand years ago. The mechanism of the heavens was the same iri the days of Pythagoras as it was in those of La Place ; and yet the astronomy of the latter was immeasurably in advance of that of the…
914 wordsSECTION 91§6, C] EXAMINATION OF TRADITION. 119
that SchelHng and Hegel taught the world to recognize in his- tory " the ever opening sense of eternal thoughts, an always ad- vancing rational development of the idea of humanity, and its rela- tions to God." This theory of historical development was adopted, and partially Christianized by Schleierniacher, from whom i…
890 wordsSECTION 92§6, D.] EXAMINATION OF TRADITION. 121
D. Arguments against the Doctrine of Tradition. The heads of argument against the Romish doctrine on thig subject are the following : — 1. It involves a natural impossibility. It is of course conceded that Christ and his Apostles said and did much that is not re- corded in the Scriptures ; and it is further admitted …
859 wordsSECTION 93§ 6, D.] EXAMINATION OF TRADITION. 123
have formulated their rule of judgment in the famous dictum of Vincent of Lerins : " Quod semper, quod ubique, quod ab om- nibus." ' '" """ Common Consent not a Criterion. To this Protestants reply, — First, That they admit the authority of common consent among true Christians as to what is taught in the Scriptures. S…
912 wordsSECTION 94§6, D.] EXAMINATION OF TRADITION. 125
admission of a want of all histoi'ical evidence of " common con- sent " is also involved, as before remarked, in their constant appeal to the authority of the Church. Wiiat the Church says is a mat- ter of faith, we, the traditionists affirm, are bound to believe, has always been a matter of faith. The passage from " P…
871 wordsSECTION 95§6, D.] EXAMINATION OF TRADITION. 127
fessor Newman,^ "is the Church Catholic bound to teach the truth, but she is divinely guided to teach it ; her witness of the Christian faith is a matter of promise as well as of duty ; her dis- cernment of it is secured by a heavenly, as well as by a human, rule. She is indefectible in it; and therefore has not only a…
924 wordsSECTION 96§ 7, A.] INFALLIBILITY OF THE CHURCH. 129
peculiar to Romanism, and for which Romanists plead the authority of Scripture, Protestants believe to be anti-scriptural ; and there- fore they need no other evidence to prove that tradition is not to be trusted either in matters of faith or practice. The Scriptures not received on the Authority of Tradition. 8. Rom…
854 wordsSECTION 97§ 7, B.] INFALLIBILITY OF THE CHURCH. 131
merit of what the Church of Rome now is. It is a body profess- ing the same faith, united in the communion of the same sacra- ments, subject to pastors (i. e., bishops) assumed to be lawful, and to the Pope as the vicar of Christ. Now in this definition it is gratuitously assumed, — 1. Tliat the Church to which the pr…
959 wordsSECTION 98§ 7, C.] INFALLIBILITY OF THE CHURCH. 133
that Christ constituted the Church on the papal system, and there- fore, it is to be believed. The thing to be proved is taken for granted. It is a. petit io principn from beginning to end. C. The Romish Doctrine of Infallihility founded on a Wrong Theory of the Church. The first great argument of Protestants against…
903 wordsSECTION 99§ 7, C] INFALLIBILITY OF THE CHURCH. 135
on eartn, consisting of all those who profess the true religion, to- gether with their children. But they are not all included in any- one external society. They also admit that it is the duty of Chris- tians to unite for the purpose of w^orship and mutual watch and care. They admit that to such associations and societ…
858 wordsSECTION 100§ 7, D.] INFALLIBILITY OF THE CHURCH. 137
of saints, that is, of those who truly believe on Christ, in which the gospel is purely preached and the sacraments properly adminis- tered." Proof of the Protestant Doctrine of the Church. This is not the place to enter upon a formal vindication of the Protestant doctrine of the nature of the Church. That belongs to…
1,453 wordsSECTION 101Part 101
Modern prelates do not claim to possess any one of these gifts. Nor do they pretend to the credentials which authenticated the mission of the Apostles of Christ. They claim no immediate com- mission ; no independent knowledge derived from immediate reve- lation ; no personal infallibility; no vision of Christ; and no g…
423 wordsSECTION 102§ 7, D.J INFALLIBILITY OF THE CHURCH. 141
corded (Acts, i. 15-26), took place before the Apostles had been endued with power from on high (Acts i. 8), and, therefore, be- fore they had any authority to act in the premises. Christ in his own time and way completed the number of his witnesses by call- ing Paul to be an Apostle. But, however this may be, here if …
927 wordsSECTION 103§ 7, F.] INFALLIBILITY OF THE CHURCH. 143
to teach be a promise to render infallible. As the Church has gone through the world bathed in tears and blood, so has she gone soiled with sin and error. It is just as manifest that she has never been infallible, as that she has never been perfectly holy. Christ no more promised the one than the other. F. The Doctrin…
893 wordsSECTION 104§ 7, F.] INFALLIBILITY OF THE CHURCH. 145
orbis teiTarum, et Arianum se esse miratus est." ^ He also says : ^ " Ecclesia non parietibus consistit, sed in dogmatum veritate, Ec- clesia ibi est ubi fides vera est. Ceterum ante annos quindecim aut viginti parietes omnes hie ecclesiarura haeretici (Ariani) pos- sidebant, Ecclesia autem vera illic ei'at, ubi vera f…
449 wordsSECTION 105VOL. I. 10
146 rNTRODUCTION. [Ch. V. — R. C. R. of Faith sincerely, so did many hypocritically assent to the decrees of Nice. If many were overborne by authority and fear in the one case, so they were in the otlier. If many revoked their assent to Arian- ism, quite as many withdrew their consent to the Athanasian doc- trine. Th…
444 wordsSECTION 106§ 7, G.] INFALLIBILITY OF THE CHURCH. 147
for all Christendom by the third ecumenical council of Ephesus, A. D. 431." It is not denied that many of the eastern bishops, per- haps the majority of them, were secretly opposed to that system in its essential features. All that is insisted upon is that the whole Church, through what Romanists recognize as its offic…
920 wordsSECTION 107§ 7, H.J INFALLIBILITY OF THE CHURCH. 149
diarist are offered as a true propitiatory sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin, tlie application of wliich is determined by the intention of the officiating priests. 7. Idolatry consists not only in the worship of false gods, but in ^e worshi^^of the true God* by images. The second Command- ment of the Decalogue expr…
836 wordsSECTION 108CHAPTER VI.
The PROTESTANT RULE OF FAITH. § 1. Statement of the Doctrine.'* All Protestants agree in teaching that " the word of God, as contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only infallible rule of faith and practice." In the Smalcald Articles,^ the Lutheran Church says : " Ex pa- trum — verbis et fa…
801 wordsSECTION 109§ 2, A.] INSPIRATION. 153
of divine authority, we refer to it as a volume and recognize all the writings which it contains as given by the inspiration of the Spirit. In like manner when Christ or his Apostles quote the " Scriptures," or the " law and the prophets," and speak of the volume then so called, they give their sanction to the divine a…
872 wordsSECTION 110§ 2, C] INSPIRATION. 155
design of the former is to render certain men infallible as teachers; the design of the latter is to render men holy ; and of course they differ as to their effects. Inspiration in itself has no sanctifying influence. Balaam was inspired. Saul was among the prophets. Caiaphas uttered a prediction which " he spake not o…
888 wordsSECTION 111§2,E.] INSPIRATION. 167
intended simply to illustrate one point, namely, that the words ut- tered or recorded by inspired men were the words of God. The Church has never held what has been stigmatized as the^mechani- cal theory of inspiration. The sacred writers were not machines. TTieir' self^conscidusness^vas not suspended ; nor were their …
981 wordsSECTION 112§2, E.] [NSPIRATION. 159
shall thereby determine the character of their writings and the au- thority due to them. A prophet, then, in the Scriptural sense of the term, is a spokesman, one who speaks for another, in his name, and by his authority ; so that it is not the spokesman but the person for whom he acts, who is responsible for the truth…
962 wordsSECTION 113§2, E.] INSPIRATION. 161
from narrow-minded, bigoted Jews, into enlightened, large-minded, catholic Christians, to mere natural causes. Their Jewish prejudices had resisted all the instructions and influence of Clu'ist for three years, but gave way in a moment when the Spirit came upon them from on high. (3.) After the day of Pentecost the Apo…
952 wordsSECTION 114§ 2, F.] INSPIRATION. 163
man claims to be the organ of God, when he sajs that God speaks through him, then his working of miracles is the testimony of God to the validity of his claims. And such testimony God gave to the mftillibility of the Apostles. The above considerations are sufficient to show, that according to the Scriptui-es, inspired…
942 wordsSECTION 115§ 2, G.] INSPIRATION. 165
that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you." (Matt. X. 20.) They spake " as the Spirit gave them utterance." (Acts ii. 4.) " Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." (2 Pet. i. 21.) All these, and similar modes of expression with which the Scriptures abound, imply that the words…
1,492 wordsSECTION 116Part 116
A large class of the objections to the doctrine of inspiration, which for many minds are the most effective, arise from the rejec- tion of one or other of the presumptions specified on a preceding page. If a man denies the existence of a personal, extramundane God, he must deny the doctrine of inspiration, but it is no…
376 wordsSECTION 117§ 2, I.] INSPIRATION. 169
nothing. If God, without interfering with a man's free agency, can make it infallibly certain that he will repent and believe. He can render it certain that he will not err in teaching. It is in vain to profess to hold the common doctrine of Theism, and yet assert that God cannot control rational creatures without turn…
883 wordsSECTION 118§ 2, 1.] INSPIRATION. 171
It would be ridiculous to refuse to speak of the sun rising and setting, because we know that it is not a satellite of our planet. (3.) There is a great distinction between theories and facts. The- ories are of men. Facts are of God. The Bible often contradicts the former, never the latter. (4.) There is also a distinc…
891 wordsSECTION 119§ 3, A.] THEORIES OF INSPIRATION. 173
A revelation is admitted, or at least, is possible. But it is merely providential. It consists in such an ordering of circumstances, and such a combination of influences as to secure the elevation of cer- tain men to a higher Level of religious knowledge than that attained by others. They may also, in a sense, be said …
939 wordsSECTION 120§3, A.] THEORIES OF INSPIRATION. 175
consciously opposed ; and the feeling of dependence must become absolute ; for all finite power is as nothing in relation to the Infinite." Christianity, as just stated, is the life of Christ, his human life, which is also divine, and is communicated to us as the life of Adam was communicated to his descendants. Morel…
882 wordsSource & rights
Public-domain historical edition (1877). Text from OCR of an original Internet Archive scan; OCR may contain recognition errors.
Project Gutenberg source record →
Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.