Charles Hodge: Guardian of American Orthodoxy
Paul C. Gutjahr
Abstract
One is reminded of just how fickle a mistress Fame can be when considering how the renown of certain historical figures only grows with time, while the reputations of countless others fade in the light of posterity. The luster of Charles Hodge’s fame has dimmed since his death in 1878. Whatever judgements exist, the truth remains that in the life of Charles Hodge one finds a stunning panoramic view of nineteenth-century Protestantism. His story touches many, if not all, of the most critical developments in American Christianity of his era, and it is impossible to deny that he exercised a profo ... More
One is reminded of just how fickle a mistress Fame can be when considering how the renown of certain historical figures only grows with time, while the reputations of countless others fade in the light of posterity. The luster of Charles Hodge’s fame has dimmed since his death in 1878. Whatever judgements exist, the truth remains that in the life of Charles Hodge one finds a stunning panoramic view of nineteenth-century Protestantism. His story touches many, if not all, of the most critical developments in American Christianity of his era, and it is impossible to deny that he exercised a profound influence in his day with lasting consequences after his death. American Presbyterianism, American Calvinism, and much of twentieth-century Protestant Fundamentalism are deeply indebted to Hodge’s theological thinking. This book offers the first biography of Hodge to appear in one hundred and thirty years. Thus, this work stands as the only modern synthetic work of his entire life and thought, and it is built upon the conviction that few Americans can match the depth, breadth, and longevity of Hodge’s theological influence. There are few figures better able to help one appreciate the immensely powerful and hugely complex nature of conservative American Protestantism in the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries than the deeply pious, keenly intelligent, and yet largely forgotten Charles Hodge.
Keywords:
Charles Hodge,
Biography,
American Presbyterianism,
American Calvinism,
American Protestant Fundamentalism,
modern synthetic work,
nineteenth-century Protestantism
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2011 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780199740420 |
| Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: May 2011 |
DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199740420.001.0001 |
