Charles Hodge

Charles Hodge (1797-1878) was one of nineteenth-century America's leading theologians, owing in part to a lengthy teaching career, voluminous writings, and a faculty post at one of the nation's most influential schools, Princeton Theological Seminary. Surprisingly, the only biography of this towering figure was written by his son, just two years after his death. Paul C. Gutjahr's book is the first modern critical biography of a man some have called the "Pope of Presbyterianism."
Hodge's legacy is especially important to American Presbyterians. His brand of theological conservatism became vital in the 1920s, as Princeton Seminary saw itself, and its denomination, split. The conservative wing held unswervingly to the Old School tradition championed by Hodge, and ultimately founded the breakaway Orthodox Presbyterian Church.
The views that Hodge developed, refined, and propagated helped shape many of the central traditions of twentieth- and twenty-first-century American evangelicalism. Hodge helped establish a profound reliance on the Bible among Evangelicals, and he became one of the nation's most vocal proponents of biblical inerrancy. Gutjahr's study reveals the exceptional depth, breadth, and longevity of Hodge's theological influence and illuminates the varied and complex nature of conservative American Protestantism.

Paul C. Gutjahr is Associate Professor of English at Indiana University. He also teaches American Studies and Religious Studies. He has written and edited numerous books and articles, including: An American Bible: A History of the Good Book in the United States, 1776-1881; Popular American Literature of the 19th Century; and Illuminating Letters: Typography and Literary Interpretation.

Illustrations Key Events in Hodge's Life Key Figures in Hodge's Life Prologue - The Pope of Presbyterianism Part I 1797-1810 - The Hodges of Philadelphia 1. Andrew Hodge, Family Patriarch 2. Presbyterian Heritage 3. Beauty and the Beast Part II The 1810s - Student Years 4. The Beginnings of Self 5. Prince's Town 6. Witherspoon's Common Sense 7. "Classick Learning" 8. Enlisting under the Banner of King Jesus 9. Happy Jaunts and the "Man of Men" 10. "Give us ministers!" 11. Student Years at the Seminary 12. "Where am I to go?" Part III The 1820s - Young Professor 13. "The Most Eligible Situation for Improvement" 14. New England's Theological Landscape 15. Democratic Christianity 16. The Birth of the Biblical Repertory 17. The Trip to Europe 18. "The Dirtiest, Ugliest, Gloomiest Town" 19. Berlin and the Return Home 20. A Sense of Mission 21. The Repertory Reborn Part IV The 1830s - Crusader 22. The Imputation Controversy 23. Romans 24. Crippled in Body, But not in Mind 25. Hodge's Home: "Sunny, Genial, Kindly and Tolerant" 26. The Coming Storm 27. The Slavery Question 28. The Schism 29. The New School Fights Back 30. Writing History Part V The 1840s - Professor of Theology 31. The Way of Life 32. Didactic Theology 33. Teaching and Preaching 34. The Public Face of the Seminary 35. Moderator of the General Assembly 36. "The Nonsensical Dialect of Transcendentalism" 37. Roman Catholic Baptism 38. Infection of German Idealism 39. "When the will of the wife is the other way" 40. "Covered in Gloom" Part VI The 1850s - Inspired Churchman 41. College Trustee 42. Language and Feeling 43. The Inspiration of Scripture 44. "Graces of the Spirit" 45. The Battle against "Churchianity" 46. Thornwell and "Thus Saith the Lord" 47. The Pauline Commentaries 48. Politics and Conscience Part VII The 1860s - Conflicted Unionist 49. The State of the Country and the Church 50. Hodge's Family at War 51. The Unities of Mankind 52. The Disunities of Mankind 53. Reuniting the Old and New Schools Part VIII 1870s - Systematic Theologian and Scientist 54. The Systematic Theology 55. "The apex of my life" 56. Science and Darwinism 57. "O Death, Where is Thy Sting?" Epilogue - Hodge's Legacy Index