Christian Theology in Outline
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CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY IN OUTLINE BY WILLIAM ADAMS BROWN, Ph.D., D.D. ROOSEVELT PROFESSOR OF SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY IN THE UNION THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, NEW YORK AUTHOR OF "THE ESSENCE OF CHRISTIANITY" NEW YORK CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 1919 Copyright, 1906, By Chari.es Scribner's Sons. Published, December, iqo<5 Reprinted October. T007; July. 1008; December, 1011; December, 1912; July, igi4; October, 1916; April, 1018; August, 1919. LIBRARY OF THE, Union Theological Semina'ry NEW YORK CITY PR BUNTED BY APR 9 *. ' 1S4K " CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY IN OUTLINE ,-- BOOKS BY PROF. WILLIAM ADAMS BROWN Published bt Charles Scribneb's Sons Is Christianity Practicable? 12mo net $1.60 Modern Theology and the Preaching or the Gospel. 12mo .... net $1 SO The Christian Hope: A Sirot in the Doctrine or Immortality. 12mo net 41.25 Christian Theology in Outline. 8vo net $3.00 The Essence or Christianity. £vo net SI 25 T3 S« 199300 /1H TO MY STUDENTS Past and Present in gratitude and hops PREFACE The book which follows owes its origin to a practical purpose. It is the outgrowth of the author's experience as a teacher of theology, and is the attempt to meet a definite need which that experience disclosed, — that, namely, of a brief handbook, at once scientific and constructive, in which the subjectrmatter of Christian theology should be treated from the modern point of view, and the new conceptions and ideals which have been more or less consciously affect ing Christian thought should be set forth in their inner consistency, and in their true relation to their antecedents in the past. A considerable part of the material which the book con tains was originally given to my students in the form of type-written notes, and has been tested by repeated use in the classroom. With the exception of the chapter on the Trinity, however, a part of which was included in an address delivered before the Alumni of the Union Theological Semi nary, and since published under the title, " The Trinity and Modern Thought: An Experiment in Theological Recon struction," no part of the matter here offered has appeared in print. The change of form has given a welcome opportunity of revision and enlargement. While the original purpose of the book as a textbook for the theological classroom has been strictly adhered to, I have not been unmindful of the wider public who are interested in theological questions. Many thoughtful laymen to-day desire to know how the great convictions which form the subject-matter of the viii PREFACE Christian faith appear when regarded from the modern, that is to say, the scientific, point of view. This question the book which follows attempts to answer. While I have everywhere studied brevity, I have tried not to carry con densation so far as to interfere with clearness. The spirit in which I have sought to write is suggested by the opening quotation from William Ames, a theologian who, in the clear ness of his insight that the final test of truth is practice, suggests the genial modern philosopher with whose name his own has so many letters in common. The purpose of the book explains its method. The posi tive treatment of doctrine is prefaced in each case by a brief historical introduction, in which the sources from which it is derived are indicated and the significance of the older statements explained. I am well aware that there are not a few thoughtful people in our day who, for causes into which it is not necessary here to enter, have moved so far in their sympathies from the historic forms of Christianity that any attempt to relate the living content of our present spiritual life to these forms seems to them misleading, if not disin genuous. I believe that one of the most important problems which face the Christian theologian at the present day is how to present the permanent elements in the Christian message in a form to appeal to those who have thus broken with the past. But, legitimate and fascinating as this attempt may be, it is not the task proposed in the present book. The public which it addresses consists of those who still feel themselves at home in the Christian church, who value the heritage which has come down to them from the past as a priceless possession, but who do not always see clearly how to relate this treasure to the world of thought in which they are living, and so find themselves in a situ ation of perplexity, if not of positive distress. To such the re-interpretation of old terms here proposed may serve PREFACE tX as a help and not a hindrance, fostering that sense of spiritual unity with the past without which the religious lifa of the present must necessarily be impoverished. It would be too muoh to hope that in a work which covers so wide a territory errors should have been avoided. No one is more conscious than the author of the many possibili ties of mistake, or will more gladly welcome correction. Indeed, the desire to profit by the criticisms of other workers in the same field has been one of the strongest motives lead ing me to publication. The difficulties which confront the teacher of systematic theology in an age of transition render it desirable that those who are engaged in this important branch of instruction should share with one another what ever light they may have gained through their experience in the classroom. Improvement in method is possible only through the co-operation of many minds, and it is primarily as an essay in theological method that I should wish the book to be judged. If it shall serve in any degree to pro mote that closer co-operation which is so much needed for the most effective work in this particular department, one of the main purposes of its publication will have been fulfilled. It was my original plan to furnish the text with notes, going more fully into difficult or disputed points, and including references to the more helpful and accessible literature. This plan I have reluctantly been obliged to modify, in order to keep the book within the limits origi nally designed. For the convenience of students, a classified bibliography of some of the more helpful books treating of the subjects under discussion has been added in an appen dix. It is needless to say that the lists given make no claim to be exhaustive. It remains only to express my thanks co the many from whom I have received stimulus and help. Where sources X PREFACE of obligation are so numerous it is impossible to specify names. But I cannot refrain from acknowledging here my debt to two honored friends, my former teacher, Professor Adolf Harnack, of the University of Berlin, and Professor William Newton Clarke, of Colgate University. From Professor Harnack I first learned to think of theology as a progressive science, dealing with the living convictions of living men ; to Professor Clarke more than to any other recent English speaking theologian it is due that systematic theology has been freed from the bonds of a scholastic phraseology and taught to speak again an English pure and undefiled. For the example thus set, as well as for personal kindnesses too numerous to mention, I desire here to thank him. Most of all I owe to the suggestions gained in per sonal intercourse with my colleagues, and to the questions and criticisms of my students in the classroom. Special thanks are due to Dr. Francis Brown, Dr. George William Knox, and Dr. Henry Sloane Coffin. In the midst of many and engrossing duties, the two former have found time to read the whole, and the latter a considerable part, of the proof, and to their helpful suggestions in points of detail I owe much. WILLIAM ADAMS BROWN. Union Theological Seminary, November, 1906. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION I. The Idea and Relations of Christian Theology . 3 1. The Definition of Theology 3 2. Theology and the Religious Experience 7 3. Theology and the Christian Revelation 8 4. Theology and the Christian Church 11 5. Theology and Contemporary Thought 13 II. Sources and Method 16 1. The Sources of Christian Theology 16 2. Method and Order 23 THE POSTULATES PART OF CHRISTIAN I THEOLOGY HI. The Christian Religion 29 1. The Definition of Religion 29 2. The Origin and Development of Religion 31 3. The Types of Historic Religion 32 4. The Place of Christianity in the History of Religion ... 33 5. Christianity as a Distinctive Religion 37 6. The Finality of Christianity 39 IV. The Christian Revelation 42 1. What is Meant by Revelation 42 2. The Test of Revelation 44 3. The Christian Revelation 47 4. The Nature and Function of the Bible 50 5. The Inspiration of the Bible 52 6. The Bible as Revelation 54 V. The Christian Church 57 1. The Definition of the Church 57 2. The Church in its Ideal and in History 59 3. The Types of Historic Christianity 62 4. The Catholic View of the Church 65 5. The Protestant View of the Church 67 VI. The Task of Modern Theology 71 1. The Problem 71 2. The Christological Principle and its Implications .... 74 Lilhracv ot trie U.N10N THEOLOGICAL SiliMllMAR^ ■ xn CONTEXTS THE CHRISTIAN PART IDEA II OF GOD VII. Thk Sources of the Christian Idea of God ... 81 1. The Origin and Relations of the Christian Idea of God . 81 2. Elements Inherited from Israel 83 S. Elements Contributed by Greece 85 4.