Digital Logos Edition
The first two volumes of Pohle’s Dogmatic Theology treat the doctrine of God as he is in himself. This volume, however, treats God in relationship to his creation.
Pohle defines creation as the most fundamental thing in theology. From a robust doctrine of creation, we discern the natural order, the incarnation, and the means of grace. In this volume, Pohle examines Scripture to uncover and explain God’s creative power, the relationship between the creation and the Trinity, as well as God’s continual act of creation. Pohle also devotes a section of this volume to theological anthropology, and discusses at length the immortality of the soul, the body/soul dichotomy, and God’s intention for human beings in relation to the rest of creation.
Joseph Pohle (1852–1922) studied in Trier, Rome, and was ordained as a priest in 1878. He served as a professor in Baar, Switzerland from 1881 to 1883, as professor at St. Joseph’s College in Leeds, England from 1883 to 1886, and as professor of philosophy in Fulda from 1886 to 1889. In 1889, he moved to America to teach at the newly-founded Catholic University. Pohle returned to Europe in 1894, teaching at Münster and then Breslau, where he served as professor of dogma, and wrote his Dogmatic Theology. He was also a frequent contributor to the Catholic Encyclopedia.