The place of Christ in modern theology

Front matter

y-

THE PLACE OF CHRIST IN MODERN THEOLOGY

SMrrrks Jbg the same Author.

Preface

TREATISES in Systematic Theology are not so common as they once were, nor are they so easy either to write or to read. Criticism has become so much a mental habit and has changed so many things that we find it hard to be patient with any process that is not critical, or to agree with any principle or method that professes to be constructive. Construction, indeed, without criticism is sure to be invalid ; but the criticism which does not either end in construction or make it more possible, is quite as surely without any scientific character or function. Hence, though modern criticism, philosophical, literary, and historical, has made systematic treatises of the old order impossible, it has only made a new endeavour at construction the more necessary. This book does not profess or claim to be a system of theology, but it is an attempt at formulating the fundamental or material conception of such a system ; or, in other words, it is an endeavour through a Christian doctrine of God at a sketch of the first lines of a Christian Theology. This endeavour is due to the feeling that criticism

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Vlll PREFACE.

has placed constructive thought in a more advantageous position than it has ever before occupied in the history of the Christian Church. It has done this by making our knowledge more historical and real, and so bringing our thought face to face with fact. But, for the Christian theologian, the most significant and assured result of the critical process is, that he can now stand face to face with the historical Christ, and conceive God as He conceived Him. What God signified to Jesus Christ He ought to signify to all Christian Churches ; and here all can find a point from which to study themselves and their systems. Theology as well as astronomy may be Ptolemaic ; it is so when the interpreter's Church, with its creeds and traditions, is made the fixed point from which he observes and conceives the truth and kingdom of God. But theology may also be Copernican ; and it is so when the standpoint of the interpreter is, as it were, the consciousness of Jesus Christ, and this consciousness where it is clearest and most defined, in the belief as to God's Fatherhood and His own Sonship. Theology in the former case is geocentric, in the latter heliocentric ; and only where the sun is the centre can our planetary beliefs and Churches fall into a system which is but made the more complete by varying degrees of distance and differences of orbit.

Of the two Books into which this work fills, the

PRE FACE. IX

first is concerned with historical criticism, the second with theological construction ; but the critical process is an integral part of the constructive endeavour. We must understand the factors and forces that have moved and shaped the theologies of the past before we can, even in rudest outline, draw the ground-plan of a theology for the present. Hence came the necessity for the discussion, even within our narrow limits, of so large and complex a question as the evolution of theology and the Church. The origin and action of elements alien to the consciousness of Christ had to be discovered, and the development of those native to it traced. Then, it was no less necessary that we should follow the course of the speculation and criticism that have compelled the Churches, often against their wills and in spite of their own inherent tendencies, to return to Christ. The two histories — the evolution of theology on the one hand, and the return through criticism to Christ on the other — raise the question of the Second Book : the significance for theological thought of the Christ who has been, as it were, historically recovered. And here the Author regrets that he has been forced to move within limits which have prevented more detailed discussions and elucidations. The omission of these, especially in the third division of the Second Book, has been to him a real, though possibly a necessary, act of self-denial.

It remains for him only to thank certain friends

X PREFACE.

who have helped him not only by kindly reading the proofs, but with various criticisms and suggestions as well as corrections ; and among these he would name, in particular, the Rev. Dr. Mackennal, of Bowdon ; Mr. P. E. Matheson, M.A., Fellow of New College ; and Mr. Vernon Bartlet, M.A., Tutor of Mansfield College. In a very special degree he has to thank Mr. J. Gordon Watt, B.A., of Mansfield College, for two careful and excellent pieces of work — the Table of Contents and the Index.

Introduction

THE RETURN TO CHRIST.

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i. The New Element in Theology.

The growth of the historical spirit .3

Its interpretation of Christ and revivifying of theology . . 6 ii. Theology as the Historical Spirit found it.

Schools in theology : the Evangelical and the Anglican . . 9 The theological library as it was.

Its wealth of apologetics 11

Biblical exegesis and dogmatics 13

But lack of any history of Christ 17

iii. The Recovery of the Historical Christ.

The theological library as it is 18

The revivification of the New Testament 19

The significance of the change for theology .... 20

Book I. Historical And Critical

Div. I.— THE LAW OF DEVELOPMENT IN THEOLOGY AND

THE CHURCH

Chapter I. The Doctrine Of Development

i. On the History of the Doctrine.

Introduction of term and idea into English theology by Newman 25 History of the doctrine in Protestant and Catholic controversy 27 Newman's theory of development 32

ii. The Idea of Development.

Its character dependent on its field of activity . . . 34 Historical development must be biological . . . • 35 Newman's theory merely logical 36

XII TABLE OF CONTENTS.

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in Development in the Church.

Its environments : how these affected the interpretation of

Christ 38

iv. The Realm of the Law.

Christ equally for all Churches the test of development . . 42 The law universal and impartial in its scope .... 44

Chapter II

DEVELOPMENT OF THE ANCIENT CHURCH, i. The Creative Organism.

Jesus Christ the creative and normative Person ... 47 His religion, priestly in character, yet priestless ... 48 ii. The Primitive Environments.

Originally Judaic, but soon Gentile 50

Judaism the enemy of Christianity, yet medium for its interpretation 52

iii. The Immediate Result.

The sub-Apostolic age guided by vulgar tradition rather than

by Apostolic thought 55

Chapter III. New Factors And New Lines Of Development

Summary of Positions Determined 58

i. The New Factors: the External.

1. Greek philosophy 59

2. Roman polity 60

3. Popular religion 61

Interpreted through these, Christianity became Catholicism . 62

ii. Ancient Philosophy and Theology.

Two internal factors : Hebrew religion and Christian history . 63 Hebrew religion, through Philo, changes philosophy into

theology 64

iii. Christian History and Theology.

Christian history creates the problems of Christian theology . 66 Theology Eastern and soteriology Western .... 70

Chapter IV

THE GREEK MIND AND THEOLOGY, i. Two Minds and Two Churches.

Greek philosophy and Roman law in the Greek and Roman

Churches . 71

Contrast of thought and systems 73

TABLE OF CONTEXTS.

The Greek and Latin Fathers.

The Greek metaphysical and speculative .

The Latin political and forensic ....

The Greek Theology.

It continues, completes, and reflects Greek philosophy

Sketch of ante-Xicene development of theology The Terminology.

Derived from Greek philosophy ....

Elaborated and defined through controversy . The Merits and the Defects of the Theology.

God a unity, more metaphysical than ethical .

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75 76

78 81

85 86

Chapter V. The Latin Theology And Church

i. Their Distinctive Factors.

Organization and thought 93

Imperial Church and legal theology 94

ii. Tertullian.

His Stoic philosophy 95

His Roman jurisprudence 98

His sacerdotalism and forensic soteriology . . . .100

iii. The Old Religions and the New.

The Church at its origin without an official priesthood . . 101

The sacerdotal tendency in Tertullian and Cyprian . . . 104

Its Hebrew and Gentile causes 105

iv. Thought and Organization in the Western Church.

The Church supersedes and inherits Roman Imperialism . 107

Summary and Conclusion no

Chapter VI. Scholasticism

The New Races and the Old.

The seat of the Church in Rome 1 1 1

Scholastic philosophy provincial, the work of the new Northern

peoples . .112

The New Races and the Old Probi

The problems Augustine's : his innate dualism . . .115

The transitional period significant for polity . . . .117 xiv TABLE OF CONTENTS.

PAGE

iii. Scholasticism.

A theological period : Anselm and Aristotle . . . .118

1. The religious question : the relation of Reason and Faith 119

2. The theological question : the Atonement . . .122

3. The philosophical question : Nominalism and Realism . 124

Chapter VII. The Renaissance And The Reformation

i. The Time and the Men.

The decay of Mediaevalism 127

The Italian and Teutonic Humanisms 130

ii. The Renaissance in Christian Literature: Erasmus.

Contemporary comparison of primitive Christianity and

Catholicism 131

Erasmus: his labours on the New Testament . . . .132 His criticism of Catholic doctrines and practices . . .134 iii. The Reformation : Luther.

Protestantism and Humanism 137

Luther, a reformer by necessity : his doctrine of grace . .138 The new movement : its leaders and its failures . . . 141 iv. Calvin and Geneva.

Calvin and Luther contrasted 144

His doctrine of God ; his unconditionalism in theology and

polity 145

Calvinism the conscious and constructive antithesis to Rome . 148 The influence of Geneva 1 50

Chapter VIII. The Modern Churches And Their Theologies

The Return to the Religion of the Sources . . .152

i. Relation of Church to Theology.

Institutional Theologies and theological Churches . . . 154

The material conceptions of the modern Churches . . . 155

ii. Catholicism and Theology.

Catholic theology political and polemical 156

Tradition and Scripture 158

iii. The Lutheran Theology.

Its determinative idea : justification by faith . . . 159

The Scriptures and the Sacraments . . . . . . 161

The communicatio idiomatum and scientific Christology . . 161

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The Reformed Theology.

Its determinative idea : the sovereignty of God . .162

1. The supralapsarian school 163

Its affinity to Stoicism and Pantheism .... 164

2. The sublapsarian school 168

The double criticism of Calvinism.

A. The Arminian : its conditionalism .... 169

B. The Socinian , 172

Consequent modifications in soteriology and theology . .173 The modern evangelical theology 175

Theology and the English Church.

The institutional schools, the High Church and the Broad . 176 The theological schools, the old Puritan and the modern

Evangelical 179

Puritan and Anglican ideals compared 180

Anglican theology 182

Its apologetic and antiquarian character 183

Retrospect and Conclusions.

The modern return to the historical Christ . . . .186 Note to p. 182 188

Div. II.— HISTORICAL CRITICISM AND THE HISTORY OF CHRIST.

Chapter I. Through Literature And Philosophy To Criticism

The Anglican Revival and German Criticism . . .191 i. The Beginnings of Historical Criticism : Literature.

1. Lessing, its founder : on revelation and religion . . . 192

2. Schiller 195

3. Goethe 196

ii. Historical Criticism : Romanticism and Theology.

Herder's influence on theology and Biblical study . . . 199

iii. Philosophy and Historical Criticism.

1. Philosophy English and German 203

2. Kant's ethical Theism . 205

3. Jacobi's Intuitionalism 206

4. Fichte's Idealism : his Johannean theology .... 207

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PAGE

iv. Philosophy and the Incarnation : Schelling.

His speculative Christianity 209

The Incarnation, the Church, Redemption . . . .211

v. Philosophy and Historical Christianity: Hegel.

His philosophy historical, but not critical .... 214 The absolute religion, one with the absolute philosophy . .217 Philosophy transfigures dogmatic 221

vi. Historical Criticism and Theology : Schleiermacher.

His versatility and enthusiasm 223

The feeling of dependence in religion 224

The consciousness of Christ and the Christian consciousness . 226

Chapter II. Philosophical Criticism And The History Of Jesus

The Beginnings of Criticism of the Gospels . . . 230 i. Strauss and his Masters.

Strauss in Berlin 232

The influence of Hegel and Schleiermacher .... 233

ii. The " Leben Jesu."

Strauss a speculative philosopher 235

The mythical theory 240

iii. The Counter Criticism.

The criticism of panic 242

Relevant criticism 245

iv. Concessions and Conclusion.

His irenical attitude 247

Jesus the religious genius 248

Withdrawal of concessions 252

Chapter III. Literary Criticism.— The Tubingen School

i. The Critical Problem and Christology.

Historical criticism corrects speculation 254

The new Christologies 257

ii. Ferdinand Christian Baur.

His mental history 259

His conversion to Hegelianism 261

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iii. How Baur came to his Problem.

His speculative Christology ....... 263

To him the historical problem positive 265

The Pauline and Petrine antitheses 267

iv. How Baur solved his Problem.

The Catholic Church the synthesis of these antitheses . 269

The theory of tendencies and the Gospels .... 270

The Tubingen School .272

v. Where the Tubingen Criticism failed, and why.

The criticism subjective and one-sided 273

Its want of historical veracity 275

Chapter IV. The Newer Historical Criticism And The Historical Christ

i. Through Criticism to History.

Histories of Christ, French, English, and German . . 278

•« Vie de Jesus " 278

"EcceHomo" 279

The New Strauss and other German works .... 280

ii. Through History to Theology.

1. Contemporary history more fully studied . . 286

2. Constructive historical criticism 28S

3. The newer literary criticism 291

4. Biblical theology 292

iii. Results and Inferences.

1. The recovery of the historical Christ .... 294

2. The new feeling for Him in literature 294

3. 4. He is the norm for all Churches 295

5. 6. And the starting-point for criticism and theology . . 296

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Book II. Theological And Constructive

Div. I.— THE NEW TESTAMENT INTERPRETATION OF CHRIST.

Chapter I. The Expository Books

PAGE

The Interpretation of Christ in the New Testament . 302 i. The Pauline Christology.

A. Historical relations and characteristics .... 303

B. I. The theology.

Jesus, the Messiah 306

His Divine Sonship 307

II. The soteriology.

1 . The system of the earlier Epistles . . . .310

Christ, the Second Adam 310

The Pauline philosophy of history ; the old order

and the new 314

2. The later system 317

The Son, alike Creator and Saviour ; His cosmical

relations 318

ii. The Christology of Hebrews.

A. Its specific character 320

B. Its theology : Jesus the Son of God 322

The essential relation of the Son to the Father . . 323 The finality of the New Covenant : a series of contrasts . 324

iii. The Minor Christologies.

A. The Jacobean 32*>

B. The Petrine 33°

C The Apocalyptic . . 332

Chapter II. The Historical Books

i. The Synoptic Gospels.

A. Mark 334

B. Matthew 335

C. Luke 337

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ii. The Fourth Gospel.

A. Relations and characteristics of the Gospel . . 338

B. Christology : the Word and the Son 341

The history symbolical of the ideal 342

iii. The Ideal Person and the Real History.

Jesus supernatural, yet human 346

The Temptation : the normal humanity of Christ . . 34S

His supernatural office and work 353

Chapter III

THE CHRISTOLOGY OF CHRIST, i. Significance of His Names.

A. The Christ 358

B. The Son of God 359

C. The Son of man : its personal and its official sense . . 361 ii. The Names and the Mission.

The double Sonship 364

Correlation of the terms in the Fourth Gospel .... 365

Sonship and Fatherhood 368

ii. His Person and Place.

His message to man — the interpretation of Himself. . 369

The necessary, sufficient, and accessible Mediator . . .371

Chapter IV

THE RELATIONS AND THE REASON OF THE CHRISTOLOGIES. i. Comparison of the Apostolic Christologies with Christ's.

Affinities, historical, religious, philosophical, and theological . 373

ii. CONCLUSORY AND TRANSITIONAL.

The Apostolical and naturalistic interpretations of Christ . 377 The verdict of history on the Person and His work . 378

The vindication of the Apostolical theology . . . .381 Its influence on the thought and life of men .... 3S2

Div. II.- CHRIST THE INTERPRETATION OF GOD.

Chapter I

THE GODHEAD, i. The Doctrine of the Godhead and Revelation.

God and the Godhead 385

Revelation changes idea of God into knowledge of the Godhead 386

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IV.

The Doctrines of God and the Godhead.

Their history and function in Christian theology Consequent conceptions of the sonship of man

Christ and the Godhead.

Father and Son in the Godhead .

The Christian Trinity and ethnic parallels

The Godhead as a Doctrine.

The Sonship of Christ and the sonship of humanity The essential distinctions in the unity of God .

388 390 in.

Chapter II. The Godhead And The Deity Of Natural Theology

i. God in Theism and Theology.

The philosophical and the religious conceptions of God . The Godhead and the Character of God.

Unethicized conceptions of God

The Christian conception completely ethicized The Godhead as it affects the Notions of Creator and the Creation.

Theistic difficulties : the relation of God to the world

How mitigated by the conception of the Godhead .

The eternal love of God the motive of the creative act The Godhead and Providence.

Deism and Pantheism

Deity transcendent, yet immanent ....

The Godhead and the External Relations of God.

The instrumental and the personal worlds

Nature a middle term between God and man .

The personal world alone real to God

The creative Will, eternal and universal .

Resultant ethicized conception of the universe .

406 408 410

414 415

417 419 421 421 423

Chapter III. The Godhead And The Deity Of Constructive Theology

\ i. The Theistic Conception and Theology.

A communicatio idiomatum between God and the Godhead . 426 ii. The Juridical Deity.

In Catholicism, as political and legal 429

In Calvinism, as the sovereign Will 430

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XXI iii. Whether and in what Sense God is a Sovereign.

Dr. Candlish's position examined 432

Paternity and sovereignty indissoluble 434

iv. The Sovereignty of Law and of God.

Legal v. paternal sovereignty 436

God in the filial consciousness of Christ 439

v. God as Father and as Sovereign.

The unity of love and righteousness 441

Both necessary to God 443

vi. Paternity and Sonship.

Fatherhood primary and determinative of sovereignty . . 444

The sonship of nature and the sonship of grace . . . 446

Div. III.— A. GOD AS INTERPRETED BY CHRIST THE DETERMINATIVE PRINCIPLE IN THEOLOGY.

Chapter I. The Fatherhood And Sin

i. The Formal and the Material Principle of Theology.

The formal, the consciousness of Christ 449

The material, the Fatherhood of God 451

ii. The Doctrine of Sin.

Sin how defined and conceived . . . . -452 The peculiar creation of Christianity 454

ii. The Permission and Diffusion of Sin.

Sin and obedience as related to sonship 456

Original sin and heredity 45^

v. Sin Common and Transmitted.

The sin of nature 459

The unity and solidarity of the race 460

v. Sin and the Regal Paternity.

The Father wills the salvation of man 463

The Sovereign wills the expulsion of sin 465

Neither annihilation nor compulsory salvation .... 466

Chapter II

THE FATHERHOOD AND SOTERIOLOGY. i. The Incarnation.

Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God 470

The two natures : Sonship involves their affinity . .472

The attributes of God and the fcenoszs 475

The relation of the natures within the incarnate Person . . 478 xxil TABLE OF CONTENTS.

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ii. The Atonement.

The condemnation of sin the ground t)f salvation . . . 479

The sacrifice of the Son and the revelation of the Father. . 483

A new consciousness of God and of sin 485

Principles deduced 486

iii. The Holy Spirit.

The immanent presence of God in man 487

The Spirit in the teaching of Christ and the Church . . 488 The Holy Spirit, the renewer and revealer . . . .491

Chapter III

REVELATION AND INSPIRATION. i. Religion and Revelation.

Revelation a necessity to religion 493

The place of an historical revelation 495

ii. Revelation and Inspiration.

Their correlation and functions 496

The Scriptures and the Church 498

iii. The Scriptures and Criticism.

Catholic and rationalist polemic 500

The legitimacy of the higher criticism 502

The authority of the Scriptures as a revelation. . . . 504

iv. The Bible as the Authority in Religion.

Function of canonization 506

Authority attribute not of book but of revelation . . . 508

v. Whether a Constructive Doctrine be Possible.

The essentials and the accidents of revelation and religion . 509 The Spirit and the Word 510

B.— GOD AS INTERPRETED BY CHRIST THE DETERMINATIVE PRINCIPLE IN THE CHURCH

Chapter I

THE DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. i. The Conceptions of God and the Church.

The Monotheism of Jesus Christ 513

ii. Christ and the Idea of the Church.

The kingdom of God 515

Its ministry not sacerdotal 517

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iii. The Apostolic Idea of the Church.

The Church or ecclesia 519

Local ecclesiae: their autonomy 520

The universal ecclesia, the body of Christ 522

The mystical Church, the spouse of Christ .... 525

iv. The Church as the Kingdom and People of God.

Ideas of Church and kingdom 528

The Church the filial society 529

v. The Church and its Organization.

Apostolic succession 531

The priesthood 533