and pre-eminently of man, to him? The result of the action of the human mind attaining and declaring the answers to these questions, so far as possible within the limits of the human mind and the extent of God's revelation of himself, is called Doctrinal Theology, or Theological Doctrine. It is sometimes called Dogmatics and the doctrines, dogmas. But, because these are misleading and opprobrious words denoting formulas of belief prescribed and enforced by authority, they cannot be fairly applied to doctrines which claim assent only as the result of careful investigation and on reasonable evidence. Therefore conformity with truth requires the use of the other designations, Theological Doctrine, or Doctrinal Theology. What is called in the schools Systematic Theology includes both Fundamental Theology and Doctrinal. Because theology in its generic meaning is the product of the human mind ascertaining all that may be known of God through the various lines of his self-revelation, it must include not only systematic theology, but also the critical, exegetical, and historical study of the Bible, the study of the history of the Christian religion and of the kingdom of Christ in its development through the ages, the comparative study of the religions of the world and their sacred books and of the relation of all religions to the history and progress of man, and the study of the practical applications of the knowledge of God to the right development of the individual and to the progressive transformation of human society. into the kingdom of God. Here is the basis of the several departments of theological study recognized in the schools. They may seem too scholastic, complicated, and far-reaching to be compatible with "the simplicity that is in Christ" (2 Cor. xi. 3). But it is evident, on a moment's thought, that they are merely the different lines of investigation of what may be known of God through the various lines of the divine action in which he has revealed himself and is evermore revealing himself to men. Since God has given us a revelation of himself so grand and varied, we greatly dishonor him if, so far as we have opportunity, we do not use diligence to ascertain its meaning and its practical applications.

In our theological investigation religion with its spontaneous beliefs is presupposed. In the investigations of theological doctrine to ascertain what we know of God as revealed, we presuppose also, as already ascertained in our investigations in

Fundamental Theology, the existence of God and the reality of his revelation of himself in the various lines of divine action already mentioned, and pre-eminently in the reality of his revelation of himself in his action in human history developing his kingdom and culminating in Christ and the Holy Spirit, the God in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, as recorded in the Bible; and continued through all generations in the Holy Spirit. At this point in the progress of our investigations we are not atheists nor disbelievers, but Christian theists. We are to become as little children in order to enter into the kingdom of God (Matth. xviii. 3). In the same spirit, with teachableness and openness of mind and willing trustfulness in the divine teaching and leading, we seek to ascertain what God is, what we are and may become in our relations to God, what are our duties and privileges as related to him and our consequent duties to our fellow-men, and what hopes of promoting their perfection and well-being we are justified in cherishing. At the same time, I am sure that the right presentation of what we know of God and of man through God's various revelations of himself, and pre-eminently through his revelation of himself in Christ, both commends itself to man's reason, and meets his moral and spiritual needs. The results of God's revelation of himself in Christ, rightly apprehended and applied in the development of spiritual life, meeting man's spiritual needs and promoting the progress of man through all the ages since Christ, are decisive proof of the reality of the revelation as the true revelation of God.

Here we meet the objection that religion is not theology, it is life. But life manifests itself in intellectual action as really as in the feelings and in the determinations of the will directing and exerting the energies. And the intellectual apprehension of reality stimulates and guides in every sphere of human action as really as in religion. The danger, therefore, is not in the exercise of the intellect respecting God and his revelations of himself, but in the misuse of it. The danger is twofold. One tendency is to regard truth with merely a speculative interest, dissociating it from its practical applications to conduct and the formation of character. Another tendency is to push inquiries beyond the scope and limits of the human mind, or to insist disproportionately on the remoter and minor ramifications of thought. In former times these tendencies have been obtrusive in theological

thought. In studying the history of the Christian church we are saddened at the waste of intellectual and spiritual power in controversies on such questions, and often the insistence of each party on the acceptance of its peculiar ramification of doctrine or ritual as a condition of Christian fellowship. In the present reaction from them are indications that thought is swinging to the opposite extreme. The present demand for religious life seems to call for life excluding theological truth, instead of life. enlightened, quickened, and guided by it. It seems to overlook the necessity of carefully ascertaining the truth respecting God as he has revealed himself, which is essential alike to the quickening and guiding of right spiritual life.

1

Froude says: "Thus the religion of Christ was exchanged for the Christian religion. God gave the gospel; the father of lies invented theology." Sentiments of similar import, though not always expressed with the same rudeness, have appeared in popular magazines and newspapers, and have been uttered by Christian ministers. The demand is for "religion," "the Bible," "the gospel," without theology. Therefore I am constrained to devote this first chapter to the consideration of the real significance and practical importance of theological doctrine or doctrinal theology.

I. We must define doctrinal theology in its true significance in distinction from misconceptions on which the objection is founded.

1. The objection as often presented implies that theological doctrine is essentially dogma and inseparably connected with bigotry and intolerance. The first requisite, therefore, is to define the words. Truth is the correct statement of the intellectual apprehension of reality, whether the reality be a being, a fact, or a rational principle, law, or ideal. Doctrine is what a person believes and teaches as truth. Dogma is a doctrine, not only held for true, but authoritatively declared as true and the belief of it to be enforced by penalties for disbelief; therefore to be believed in unquestioning obedience to authority and not after free inquiry and conviction in the light of reasonable evidence. Such was the requirement of the church of Rome before the

1 History of England, vol. ix. pp. 304, 305.

Reformation; and this belief on authority without investigation was commended as faith.

In the history of the Christian church dogmas have been thus imposed with the assumption of authority. The spirit of dogmatism, bigotry, and intolerance has sometimes shown itself even among those who disclaim the infallible authority of the church. It is therefore legitimate to expose and rebuke the error; but not in so doing to identify theological doctrine with dogma, bigotry, and intolerance.

The object investigated in theological study is not dogmas, nor doctrines, nor even truths, but God himself in his relation to the universe and pre-eminently to man; and the universe and man in their relation to God. The special object of the distinctively Christian theology is "God in Christ reconciling the world unto himself." So Paul declared, “ I determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and him crucified."

It is therefore the object of theology to attain the fullest possible knowledge of God through his various lines of revelation, and of the universe and of man as related to him. Though dogmatism, bigotry, and intolerance have been at times historical facts in the history of the church, they are no parts of theology. Christian theology does not consist of dogmas declared by authority and enforced by penalties for non-conformity. It consists of doctrines expressing the convictions of prayerful and thoughtful minds, to be received on evidence according as they are found to accord with the principles, laws, and ideals of reason, and with the revelation of God through Christ, the apostles, and prophets, as recorded in the Bible, and to meet the demands of the spiritual life. Theology, therefore, has no essential connection with bigotry, dogmatism, and intolerance. Truth is not responsible for the mistakes and errors of those who seek it. Comte, in his "Politique Positive," presented a scheme of social organization under the reign of complete Positivism. A committee of savans were to determine what should be believed as scientific knowledge in every sphere of human thought. Whoever should refuse to believe any declaration of this committee must be subjected to pains and penalties, and be no longer tolerated in the community. Hence Professor Huxley described this scheme of polity as Romanism with the religion left out. But we should not be justified, on account of Comte's error, in identifying all

science with dogma, and characterizing all scientists as bigoted and intolerant.

If the doctrines which express the beliefs of men thus attained by prayerful and earnest investigation are to be identified with dogmas, it would logically imply that all earnest conviction, propagation, and defence of any truth are inseparable from the spirit of dogmatism, bigotry, and intolerance. It would consign all the great reformers, and all who have died as martyrs in maintenance of truth, to the category of bigoted and intolerant dogmatists. It would be incompatible with the recognition of man as a rational person; or, if he is such, it would logically imply that the Christian religion, and in fact any religion, will not bear the scrutiny of human reason. It even implies that the real knowledge of any truth by man is impossible; that all the action of the human intellect can attain no more than a Perhaps, and that we are not justified in holding any doctrine as truth with such full conviction as to devote our energies to its defence and propagation. The total result of all the activity of the human intellect would be written in an interrogation point. It is also in contradiction to the fact evident through all history that all ages of reformation and progress have been ages of intense conviction and heroic faith. It is impossible to divorce life from intellectual belief; and this, when expressed in words, is doctrine. As Phillips Brooks says, "No exhortation to a good life that does not put behind it some truth as deep as eternity, can seize and hold the conscience."

It is sometimes said that any creed of a church is a dogmatic assertion of authority to command belief. But a creed is simply a statement of doctrines held for true by persons united in an association for a specified purpose. A church declares the Christian belief of its members; that is, it declares itself to be a Christian church. The one essential criterion of Christian fellowship in the church is credible evidence of Christian character and life. Doctrinal belief constitutes a part of such criterion only so far as it is essential to Christian character. But the simplest possible statement of what Christian experience and character are, involves a very considerable amount of Christian doctrine. It involves, for example, belief in God and knowledge of what he is and of his relations to man, the possibility of trusting and obeying him, obtaining his favor, communing with him in worship, the Christian law of love, and many other Christian doctrines. Recognition of