History of Christian Dogma is a translation of Ferdinand Christian Baur's Lehrbuch der christlichen Dogmengeschichte, second edition, 1858. The Lehrbuch, which Baur himself prepared, summarizes in 400 pages his lectures on the history of Christian dogma, published post-humously in four volumes. Baur, professor of theology at the University of Tubingen from 1826 to 1860, brilliantly applied Hegelian categories to his historical studies in New Testament, church history, and history of Christian dogma. According to Baur, "Dogma" is the rational articulation of the Christian "idea" or principle-the idea that God and humanity are united through Christ and reconciled in the faith of the spiritual community. Following an introduction on the concept and history of the history of dogma, the Lehrbuch treats three main periods: the dogma of the ancient church or the substantiality of dogma; the dogma of the Middle Ages or the dogma of inwardly reflected consciousness; and dogma in the modern era or dogma and free self-consciousness. The entire history is a progression in the self-articulation of dogma through conflict and resolution, moving gradually from objective to subjective forms and to the mediation of subject and object by the philosophers and theologians of the early nineteenth century. The detailed analyses provide a wealth of information on individual thinkers and doctrines that is still relevant today.

History of Christian Dogma

Religion & Spirituality

BAUR, Ferdinand Christian

Brown, Robert F.

Hodgson, Peter C.

Christian Books & Bibles

Oxford University Press

Ferdinand Christian Baur (1792-1860) has been described as "the greatest and at the same time the most controversial theologian in German Protestant theology since Schleiermacher." The controversy was epitomized by a nineteenth-century British critic who wrote that his theory "makes of Christianity a thing of purely natural origin, calls in question the authenticity of all but a few of the New Testament books, and makes the whole collection contain not a harmonious system of divine truth, but a confused mass of merely human and contradictory opinions as to the nature of the Christian religion." The contributors to this volume, however, regard Baur as an epoch-making New Testament scholar whose methods and conclusions, though superseded, have been mostly affirmed during the century and a half since his death. This collection focuses on the history of early Christianity, although as a historian of the church and theology Baur covered the entire field up to own time. He combined the most exacting historical research with a theological interpretation of history influenced by Kant, Schelling, and Hegel. The first three chapters discuss Baur's relation to Strauss, Mohler, and Hegel. Then a central core of chapters considers his historical and exegetical perspectives (Judaism and Hellenism, Gnosticism, New Testament introduction and theology, the Pauline epistles, the Synoptic Gospels, John, the critique of miracle, and the combination of absoluteness and relativity). The final chapters view his influence by analyzing the reception of Baur in Britain, Baur and Harnack, and Baur and practical theology. This work offers a multi-faceted picture of his thinking, which will stimulate contemporary discussion.

Ferdinand Christian Baur and the History of Early Christianity

History

World

Hegel and Christian Theology: A Reading of the Lectures on the Philosophy of Religion

Peter C. Hodgson engages the speculative reconstruction of Christian theology that is accomplished by Hegel's Lectures on the Philosophy of Religion, and provides a close reading of the critical edition of the lectures. He analyzes Hegel's concept of the object and purpose of the philosophy of religion, his critique of the theology of his time, his approach to Christianity within the framework of the concept of religion, his concept of God, his reconstruction of central Christian themes, and his placement of Christianity among the religions of the world. Hodgson makes a case for the contemporary theological significance of Hegel by identifying currently contested sites of interpretation and their Hegelian resolution.

This is an analysis of the interpretation of Christian theology that is found in G. W. F. Hegel's Lectures on the Philosophy of Religion. Hodgson argues that these lectures are among the most valuable resources from the nineteenth century for theology as it faces the challenges of modernity and postmodernity. The author is also editing and translating the critical edition of the lectures, which are being published concurrently by Oxford University Press.

Peter C. Hodgson explores Hegel's bold vision of history as the progress of the consciousness of freedom. Following an introductory chapter on the textual sources, the key categories, and the modes of writing history that Hegel distinguishes, Hodgson presents a new interpretation of Hegel's conception of freedom. Freedom is not simply a human production, but takes shape through the interweaving of the divine idea and human passions, and such freedom defines the purpose of historical events in the midst of apparent chaos. Freedom is also a process that unfolds through stages of historical/cultural development and is oriented to an end that occurs within history (the 'kingdom of freedom'). The purpose and the process of history are tragic, however, because history is also a 'slaughterhouse' that shatters even the finest human creations and requires a constant rebuilding. Hegel's God is not a supreme being or 'large entity' but the 'true infinite' that encompasses the finite. History manifests the rule of God ('providence'), and it functions as the justification of God ('theodicy'). But the God who rules in and is justified by history is a crucified God who takes the suffering, anguish, and evil of the world into and upon godself, accomplishing reconciliation in the midst of ongoing estrangement and inescapable death. Shapes of Freedom addresses these themes in the context of present-day questions about what they mean and whether they still have validity.

Shapes of Freedom: Hegel's Philosophy of World History in Theological Perspective

Theology, if it is to be a dynamic force in the world and not a lifeless relic, needs to be a continual process of reinterpretation, says Peter Hodgson. This sweeping reconstruction of theology in the postmodern period is a return to the process of continual theological revisioning through a systematic theology that has seemingly been abandoned by postmodern thinkers.

Winds of the Spirit: A Constructive Christian Theology

SCM Press

George Eliot was a deeply religious thinker, despite having abandoned orthodox forms of Christian belief, and religious themes and figures appear in all her novels. This study focuses on that religious part of her life and writings.

Theology in the Fiction of George Eliot: The Mystery Beneath the Real

Literature & Fiction

In this unique introduction, Peter Hodgson rethinks central Christian themes in relation to three sets of issues that confront humankind with increasing urgency: the struggle for justice; cultural and religious pluralism; and ecological and cosmological awareness. Hodgson assumes both the possibility and necessity of revisioning Christian faith under ever-changing circumstances, and notes that such reconstruction has occurred since the beginning of the Christian faith. He invites readers to actually participate in this theological revisioning, and he encourages the process by including practical exercises--critical thinking problems, collaborative projects, and interactions with contemporary challenges--in every chapter.

Christian Faith: A Brief Introduction

Westminster/John Knox Press

Theology, if it is to be a dynamic force in the world and not a lifeless relic, needs to be a continual process of reinterpretation, says Peter Hodgson. This sweeping reconstruction of theology in the postmodern period is a return to the process of continual theological revisioning through a systematic theology that has seemingly been abandoned by postmodern thinkers.

This book explores and affirms the religious dimension of education. Peter Hodgson argues that the passage of knowledge from teacher to student is in many ways analogous to God's method of imparting divine wisdom by leading the human spirit into its widest range of possibilities.

God's Wisdom: Toward a Theology of Education

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Hodgson, Peter C.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Hodgson, Peter C.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Hodgson, Peter C.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

History of Christian Dogma

Ferdinand Christian Baur and the History of Early Christianity

Hegel and Christian Theology: A Reading of the Lectures on the Philosophy of Religion

Hegel and Christian Theology: A Reading of the Lectures on the Philosophy of Religion

Shapes of Freedom: Hegel's Philosophy of World History in Theological Perspective

Winds of the Spirit: A Constructive Christian Theology

Theology in the Fiction of George Eliot: The Mystery Beneath the Real

Christian Faith: A Brief Introduction

Winds of the Spirit: A Constructive Christian Theology

God's Wisdom: Toward a Theology of Education