12/27/10 LIBRARY OF THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
PRINCETON, N. J.
PRIA maT » day ie oi FROM THE LIBHARY OF TTD AVFHS Mane DR. JAMES McCOSH
BT 265 .H68 | Hodge, Archibald Alexander, |
1823-1886. | The atonement
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BY THE ‘ohh REV eA RCHIBALD: Ay RODGE. Bebe
AUTHOR OF ‘‘OUTLINES OF THEOLOGY.”
EDITED BY WILLIAM H. GOOLD, D.D.,
PROFESSOR OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE AND CHURCH HISTORY, EDINBURGH
1 ON DO Ne | TaN ee SON, AND SONS, PATERNOS TER. BROW; EDINBURGH ; AND NEW YORK. | pease! i 1868.-— i
Preface to British Edition.
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“ena had pleasure in undertaking to superintend ce ie the passage of the British Edition of this work 24 ABA «through the press. It is singularly able and an Gived. There may be some evidence of haste in the composition, and a want of finish generally about the work; but these faults are redeemed by excellences that are somewhat rare in modern theological treatises. It is a specimen of discussion in pure theology quite refreshing to peruse, from the frank and manly spirit which pervades it; the care with which every link in the argument is mange and illustrated; and the anxiety of the author, in contrast with the haze and mist so common in religious speculations of our day, to make his meaning clearly understood, as if conscious that the better it was understood the more would it commend it- self to the judgment and convictions of the readers. The conclusion evolved comes home to the mind with the power and vividness of a mathematical demonstration. The object is to establish the objective view of the Atonement as a real and positive satisfaction to divine justice,—no arrangement merely to work upon human feelings, or to give a vague expression of divine displea- I
EDITOR’S PREFACE.
li PREFACE TO BRITISH EDITION.
sure at sin. While establishing this conclusion on the solid basis of Scripture, the author succeeds at the same
time in showing that it has been the received doctrine of
the Church of Christ in all ages; and that the opposite theories, far from meeting the yearnings of the human spirit more satisfactorily than the orthodox doctrine, give no peace to the conscience, and involve us in deeper per- plexities than ensue from the reception of those old views on the subject which have the sanction of nearly all our confessional theology.
The mischief which the volume is designed to counter- act is not confined to America. The tendency to embrace the errors refuted in it has been manifested in British Churches. This tendency is no doubt somewhat abated. The literary skill and genius of such men as Maurice, and Jowett, and Robertson of Brighton, at first threw a false charm around errors of this description. On recourse, however, to the early fountains of theological learning, it was found that these were almost as old as the truths they opposed ; that they had been maintained with even more of logical acumen than they are now; and that all which was needed in proof of their untenableness was simply the recasting into modern form of the complete refutation of them which had been transmitted to us by the piety and learning of our old divines. This is the task which Professor Hodge has undertaken, and most successfully has he accomplished it.
In a work touching theology upon so many points, it is hardly to be expected that any editor could hold himself responsible for every statement. We have abstained from notes indicating the points on which we take a
PREFACE TO BRITISH EDITION. lil
different view. We believe, for example, that Outram (see chap. vill.) does not commit himself to either view in regard to the origin of sacrifice ; that there is room for doubt as to the validity of our author’s criticism on the work of Dr. Symington (see chap. xviii.); and that a full examination of Calvin’s opinions does not warrant the ascription to him of Supralapsarianism, whether that - theory of the decrees be sound or not. We venture especially, with all deference, to take exception to the assertion that God, according to Calvin, predestinated the non-elect to sz and misery for ever (see part iL, chap. v.) It might be shown that such a statement is inconsistent with several passages in his works, while the one sentence upon which it is often founded is con- tained in an objection which Calvin mentions only to refute, and that he does not homologate the phrase as justly applicable to his own views.