Archibald Alexander Hodge (July 18, 1823 – November 12, 1886), an American

Presbyterian minister Presbyterian (or presbyteral) polity is a method of church governance ("ecclesiastical polity") typified by the rule of assemblies of presbyters, or elders. Each local church is governed by a body of elected elders usually called the session (o ...

, was the principal of

Princeton Seminary Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a private school of theology in Princeton, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Established in 1812, it is the second-oldest seminary in the ...

between 1878 and 1886.

Biography

He was born on July 18, 1823, to Sarah and

Charles Hodge Charles Hodge (December 27, 1797 – June 19, 1878) was a Reformed Presbyterian theologian and principal of Princeton Theological Seminary between 1851 and 1878. He was a leading exponent of the Princeton Theology, an orthodox Calvinist theo ...

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. He was named after Charles' mentor, the first principal of Princeton Seminary,

Archibald Alexander Archibald Alexander (April 17, 1772 – October 22, 1851) was an American Presbyterian theologian and professor at the Princeton Theological Seminary. He served for 9 years as the President of Hampden–Sydney College in Virginia and for 39 year ...

. Hodge attended the College of New Jersey (later Princeton University) in 1841 and then

Princeton Theological Seminary Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a Private university, private seminary, school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Establish ...

in 1847. He served as a missionary in

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for three years (1847–1850). He held pastorates at Lower West Nottingham,

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(1851–1855),

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(1855–1861), and

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(1861–1864). In 1864 he accepted a call to the chair of

systematic theology Systematic theology, or systematics, is a discipline of Christian theology that formulates an orderly, rational, and coherent account of the doctrines of the Christian faith. It addresses issues such as what the Bible teaches about certain topics ...

in Western Theological Seminary (later

Pittsburgh Theological Seminary Pittsburgh Theological Seminary (PTS) is a Presbyterian graduate seminary in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1794, it houses one of the largest theological libraries in the tri-state area. History Pittsburgh Theological Seminary was for ...

) in

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. There he remained until in 1877 he was called to Princeton to be the associate of his father, Charles Hodge, in the distinguished chair of systematic theology. He took on the full responsibilities of the chair of systematic theology in 1878. He died on November 12, 1886, in

, from "a severe cold ... which settled in his kidneys".

Influence

At the time of his death, he was a trustee of the College of New Jersey and a leader in the Presbyterian Church. His interests extended beyond religion. He touched the religious world at many points. During the years immediately preceding his death he did not slacken his work, but continued his work of writing, preaching, lecturing, making addresses, coming into contact with men, influencing them, and by doing so widening the influence of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

. Among the most influential was an article titled ''Inspiration'' that began a series in the ''Presbyterian Review'' which established the discipline of

biblical theology Because scholars have tended to use the term in different ways, Biblical theology has been notoriously difficult to define. The academic field of biblical theology is sub-divided into Old Testament theology and New Testament theology. Academic ...

as a historical science. This article was coauthored with B. B. Warfield in 1880.

Characteristics

Hodge's distinguishing characteristic as a theologian was his power as a thinker. He had a mind of singular acuteness, and though never a professed student of

metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of ...

, he was essentially and by nature a metaphysician. His theology was that of the

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confessions. He had no peculiar views and no peculiar method of organizing

theological Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of an ...

dogma Dogma, in its broadest sense, is any belief held definitively and without the possibility of reform. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Judaism, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, or Islam ...

s; in this he may be identified with his father, who claimed at the end of his life that he had taught and written nothing new. Though he taught the same theology that his father had taught before him, he was independent as well as reverent. His first book and that by which he is best known was his ''Outlines of Theology'' (

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, 1860; enlarged ed., 1878; reprinted 1996, ), which was translated into

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modern Greek Modern Greek (, or , ), generally referred to by speakers simply as Greek (, ), refers collectively to the dialects of the Greek language spoken in the modern era, including the official standardized form of the language sometimes referred to ...

, and

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. ''The

Atonement Atonement, atoning, or making amends is the concept of a person taking action to correct previous wrongdoing on their part, either through direct action to undo the consequences of that act, equivalent action to do good for others, or some othe ...

'' (

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, 1867; reprinted 1989, ) is still one of the best treatises on the subject. This was followed by his commentary on the

Westminster Confession of Faith The Westminster Confession of Faith, or simply the Westminster Confession, is a Reformed confession of faith. Drawn up by the 1646 Westminster Assembly as part of the Westminster Standards to be a confession of the Church of England, it becam ...

(1869, ), a very useful book, full of clear thinking and compact statement. He contributed some important articles to encyclopedias – Johnson's, McClintock and Strong's, and the Schaff-Herzog (the Schaff-Herzog encyclopedia furnished the kernel from which this article developed). He was one of the founders of the ''Presbyterian Review'', to the pages of which he was a frequent contributor.

Sermons

In the pulpit, Hodge had few

sermon A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present context ...

s, and he preached them frequently. They were never written nor deliberately planned. They grew from small beginnings and, as he went through the process of thinking them over as often as he preached them, they gradually became more elaborate.

Publications

* The Rule of Faith and Practice * The Protestant rule of faith * *
The Inspiration of the BibleCommentary on the Westminster Confession of Faith
*

*
Outlines of TheologyJustification (Part 1)(Part 2)(Part 3)
*A commentary on the Confession of Faith : with questions for theological students and Bible classes **(1869) https://archive.org/details/commentaryonconf00hodguoft (Robarts - University of Toronto) **(1869) https://archive.org/details/acommentaryonthe00hodguoft (Knox - University of Toronto) **(1869) https://archive.org/details/commentaryonconf00hodg (Princeton Theological Seminary Library) **(1901 printing) https://archive.org/details/commentaryonconf1901hodg (Princeton Theological Seminary Library) *A commentary on the confession of faith f the Assembly of divinesed. by W.H. Goold (1870) **https://archive.org/details/acommentaryonco00hodggoog (Oxford University) *Comentario de la Confesion de fe de Westminster de la Iglesia Presbiteriana (1897) **https://archive.org/details/comentariodelaco00hodg (Princeton Theological Seminary Library) *The atonement (1867) **(1867) https://archive.org/details/theatonement00hodguoft (Trinity College - University of Toronto) **(1867) https://archive.org/details/atonement00hodguoft (Robarts - University of Toronto) **(1867) https://archive.org/details/atonement00publgoog (New York Public Library) **(1867) https://archive.org/details/atonement00hodg (New York Public Library) *Outlines of theology **(1860) https://archive.org/details/outlinesoftheolo1860hodg (Princeton Theological Seminary Library) **(1861) https://archive.org/details/outlinesoftheolo00hodg (Princeton Theological Seminary Library) **(1863) https://archive.org/details/outlinestheolog03hodggoog (Harvard University) **(1863) (ed. by W.H. Goold) https://archive.org/details/outlinestheolog01hodggoog (Oxford University) **(1865) https://archive.org/details/outlinesoftheolo1865hodg (Princeton Theological Seminary Library) **(1866) https://archive.org/details/outlinestheolog02hodggoog (unknown library) **(1876) https://archive.org/details/outlinesoftheo00hodg (New York Public Library) **(1877) https://archive.org/details/outlinesoftheolo00hodguoft (Emmanuel - University of Toronto) **(1878) https://archive.org/details/outlinesoftheolo1878hodg (Princeton Theological Seminary Library) **(1879) https://archive.org/details/outlinesoftheolo1879hodg (Princeton Theological Seminary Library) **(1879) (ed. by W.H. Goold) https://archive.org/details/outlinestheolog00hodggoog (Oxford University) **There is also a companion to this book by William Passmore (1873)A compendium of evangelical theology given in the words of holy Scripture https://archive.org/details/acompendiumevan00unkngoog *The life of Charles Hodge ... professor in the Theological seminary, Princeton, N.J. (1880) **https://archive.org/details/lifeofcharleshodg00hodg (Princeton Theological Seminary Library) **https://archive.org/details/lifeofcharleshod00hodg0 (Princeton Theological Seminary Library) **https://archive.org/details/lifeofcharlesh00hodg (Princeton Theological Seminary Library) **https://archive.org/details/lifeofcharleshod00hodgrich (University of California Libraries) **https://archive.org/details/lifecharleshodg01hodggoog (University of California) **https://archive.org/details/lifecharleshodg02hodggoog (New York Public Library) **(1881) https://archive.org/details/lifecharleshodg00hodggoog (Oxford University) *Popular lectures on theological themes (1887) **https://archive.org/details/popularlectures00hodggoog **https://archive.org/details/popularlectures00publgoog **https://archive.org/details/popularlectures00hodguoft **https://archive.org/details/popularlectureso00hodg *Inspiration (1881) (Reprinted from the Presbyterian review, April, 1881) https://archive.org/details/inspiration00hodg (Princeton Theological Seminary Library) *Westminster doctrine anent holy scripture : tractates by professors A. A. Hodge and Warfield (1891) **https://archive.org/details/westminsterdoct00howi (Princeton Theological Seminary Library) *Manual of forms for baptism, admission to the communion, administration of the Lord's Supper, marriage and funerals : conformed to the doctrine and discipline of the Presbyterian Church (1877) **https://archive.org/details/manualofformsfor00hodg **https://archive.org/details/manualofforms00hodg **(1882 copyright, 1883 published) https://archive.org/details/manualofforms00hodguoft (Emmanuel - University of Toronto) *The system of theology contained in the Westminster shorter catechism opened and explained (1888) https://archive.org/details/systemoftheology00hodg *Questions on the text of the Systematic Theology of Dr. Charles Hodge : together with an exhibition of various schemes illustrating the principles of theological construction (by A. A. Hodge)(1885) **https://archive.org/details/questionsontexto00hodg (Princeton Theological Seminary Library) *Address at the funeral of the Rev. Henry Augustus Boardman, D.D. (1881) **https://archive.org/details/addressatfuneral00hodg (Princeton Theological Seminary Library) *Van Dyke, Joseph Smith (1886) Theism and evolution : an examination of modern speculative theories as related to theistic conceptions of the universe. With an introduction by d Alexander Hodge **https://archive.org/details/theismandevolut00vanduoft (Trinity College - University of Toronto) **https://archive.org/details/theismevolutione00vand (Princeton Theological Seminary Library)

Articles

* * *

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hodge, Archibald Alexander 1823 births 1886 deaths 19th-century American male writers 19th-century American non-fiction writers 19th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians 19th-century American Presbyterian ministers American Calvinist and Reformed theologians American evangelicals American male non-fiction writers American Presbyterians American religious writers Calvinist and Reformed writers Christianity in Pittsburgh Contributors to the Schaff–Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge People from Fredericksburg, Virginia Pittsburgh Theological Seminary faculty Presbyterian Church in the United States of America ministers Presbyterian writers Presidents of Calvinist and Reformed seminaries Princeton Theological Seminary alumni Princeton Theological Seminary faculty Princeton University alumni Religious leaders from Pittsburgh