Mün Lutheran type of theology He enjoys the highest respect and consideration for his learning and candor. And among the works published upon the History of Doctrines, this is still perhaps the one best adapted to general consultation and profitable use. scher's Lehrbuch, as edited by Von Cölln, Hupfeld and Neudecker (in the successive parts, 1832-38) is valuable chiefly as a collection of materials; Ruperti (1831), Augusti (4th edit., 1835), and Lentz (1834), have been superseded. Baumgarten-Crusius' Compendium, 1840-46 (the second volume edited by Hase), and Engelhardt (1839), show an abundance of learning, but are deficient in the method essential to a text-book. Meier's Lehrbuch (2d edit. 1854), and Beck's (1864), simply present the results in a concise form. Gieseler's Dogmengeschichte, edited by Redepenning, 1855, extends only to the Reformation, and is rather intended as a supplement to his Church History. Baur's work is pervaded throughout by the theory, that dogmas are destined to be resolved into philosophical ideas. Noack's Dogmengeschichte (2d ed., 1856) has the same tendency, with less learning and method. Neander's History of Dogmas, admirable in many respects, has the disadvantages of a posthumous publication; it devotes less than a hundred pages to the history since the Reformation. Some of the other works of Dr. Hagenbach are, his Lectures on the Church History of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries, and on the History of the Reformation, 3d ed. in 6 Parts, 1856-7; Theological Encyclopædia, 4th ed., 1854; Lectures on Ancient Church History, to the Sixth Century, 2 vols., 1855-56; and Lectures on the Church History of the Middle Ages, 2 vols, 1860,-1. Among all the branches of theological study, the History of Doctrines has been the most neglected in the general course of instruction in our theological schools. There are not wanting some healthful indications of an increasing sense of its value and importance. Without it, neither the history of the church, nor the history of philosophy, nor the present phases and conflicts of religious belief, can be thoroughly appreciated. It gives us the real internal life of the church. It renders important aid in testing both error and truth. It may guard against heresy, while it also confirms our faith in those essential articles of the Christian faith, which have been the best heritage of the church. In the fluctuations of human opinion, the History of Doctrines shows the immutability and progress of divine truth. UNION THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, NEW YORK, Jan. 21, 1861. H. B. S. CONTENTS. PAGE 6. Relation to the History of Heresies and the General History of Religion..... 7. Relation to the History of Philosophy, the History of Christian Ethics, and 9. Importance of the History of Doctrines.. 10. Mode of Handling the History of Doctrines. PAGE THE DOCTRINE RESPECTING GOD (INCLUDING THE DOCTRINE OF THE CREATION AND GOVERNMENT OF THE WORLD; THE DOCTRINE ABOUT ANGELS AND DEMONS). 40. The Doctrine of the Logos: a. Before the Christian Era, and in other Systems. 113 41. b. The Christian Doctrine of the Logos, in the Writings of John...... 42. c. The Theologumenon of the Church concerning the Logos to the Times of 80. Doctrinal Definitions and Controversies. 81. The Dogmatic Character of this Period.-The Fate of Origenism. |