Outlines of Theology
Digital Logos Edition
Overview
A. A. Hodge composed Outlines of Theology for his congregation—making the tone of this succinct systematic theology more pastoral than dogmatic. Hodge credits his father’s theological wisdom, and acknowledges that conversations with his father, as well as material from his father’s sermons and lectures, has made its way into Outlines of Theology. This outline began as a series of popular lectures and sermons, which Hodge’s congregation urged him to publish for a broader audience.
Outlines of Theology attempts to orient theological discussion around a shared language. Hodge surveys the whole of theology concisely and succinctly. He covers the central doctrines, the most important moments in church history, as well as the purpose of divine revelation. Hodge also discusses ecclesiastical issues, such as baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Outlines of Theology is intended as a theological manual for preachers, a theological syllabus for students, and a clear and accessible summary of theology for those who lack the means or the time to read a more expansive systematic theology.
In 1878, a new edition of Hodge’s Outlines of Theology was finished. This expanded edition contains nearly fifty per cent more content than the first edition published in 1863. Five new chapters were added, and two were dropped. Several other chapters were rewritten or reorganized, and others were substantially enlarged. This edition also contains excerpts from relevant confessions, creeds, and classic theological works. It also benefits from fourteen years of scholarship during the intervening years.
Top Highlights
“7. What are the consequences of this union to the believer?” (Page 372)
“Christ herein visibly seals his promises to those who receive it with faith, and invests them with the grace promised” (Page 481)
“But the law demands obedience as its condition of life” (Page 300)
“What is the general nature of our union with Christ?” (Page 369)
“To whom are all men united in their natural estate?” (Page 369)
[A. A. Hodge possessed] an acute mind; [was] interested in theological speculation; rethinking independently the old questions; analytic in his mental processes; full of scholastic subtleties; bold, confident, intense in his convictions; holding the Reformed faith as a sacred trust, and also as a personal possession; pervaded by this faith and living on terms of easy familiarity with it; able to distinguish between essence and accident, and knowing when harmless idiosyncrasy runs into serious doctrinal divergence; strong in his convictions, but not litigious; tenacious of principle, but never sticking in the bark: a sturdy, robust thinker, always ready to defend the faith, a brilliant thinker. . . . Beyond all question he takes his place among the great men of America and the great theologians of the world.
—Francis Landey Patton, in A Discourse in Memory of Archibald Alexander Hodge, 1887
Archibald Alexander Hodge was born in 1823 in Princeton, the son of Charles Hodge. He was named after Archibald Alexander, the principal of Princeton Theological Seminary from 1812 to 1840. A. A. Hodge attended Princeton College and Princeton Theological Seminary, graduating in 1847. He spent three years in India as a missionary, before returning to America to become professor of systematic theology at Western Theological Seminary in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania in 1864. In 1877, A. A. Hodge left Western Theological Seminary to return to Princeton Theological Seminary to succeed his father as the chair of systematic theology. Archibald Alexander Hodge died in 1886.
Reviews
23 ratings
David Anfinrud
5/21/2024
This format is a good one. The updated version is easier to read. But both volumes are excellent for use to get an overview of the theology within the Church today as it was back then. Question and answer format I think is one of the better ways to express the answers. This gives some understanding and defines terms so you know what they are talking about. Getting with a legacy package is the cheapest way and it is fun looking for all the treasures hidden in each legacy Package.
Larry Craig
1/5/2018
If you scroll through the book to look at the contents, it only keeps repeating the first two pages, title page and first part of the introduction. I could be interested in this book but need to see more
Chadwick Haygood
5/23/2016
Shaun Turner
11/11/2015
Michael Mullen
9/25/2015
John C Sweet
9/8/2015
John R. Davis
6/10/2015
