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Editorial note: This is the first in a planned series of articles by Rev. Dylan Rowland, Pastor of Covenant Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) in Mansfield, Ohio, about the life and legacy of Dr. Charles Hodge.
Charles Hodge (1797-1878) was an American Presbyterian theologian and prolific theological commentator. Some have even gone so far as to refer to Hodge as being the so-called, “Pride of Princeton,” and this not without good reason [1]. Having studied theology at Princeton Seminary and graduating in 1819, Hodge was soon called to be the third professor at the seminary along with Presbyterian luminaries such as Archibald Alexander and Samuel Miller. There, Hodge began what would become more than 50 years of educating and preparing men for Christian ministry. During his theological career, Hodge produced a variety of works including his popular The Way of Life, numerous articles for The Biblical Repertory and Princeton Review, his three-volume systematic theology, and much more. Due to his theological vigor, Hodge is recognized by many as being one of the most important American Presbyterian theologians of the nineteenth century.
However, it ought not merely be Hodge’s academic prowess which awards him this status, but also the quality of person he was. I contend that Hodge is worth spending hours reading, not only because of his intellectual brilliance, but also because of the man himself. Hence, this article is the first of many exploring the personal life of Charles Hodge. In studying Hodge’s personal life, readers will find what kind of man God had raised up to teach subsequent generations of pastors and theologians. Prayerfully, a study concerning Hodge’s personal life will demonstrate to a greater degree the value of Hodge’s theological ministry at Princeton Seminary.
To begin this study, it is necessary to begin at the end, after Hodge had gone to be with the Lord. The following is a testimonial concerning the life and work of Hodge printed in the National Repository, a Methodist magazine. The editor’s words set the stage for understanding better Charles Hodge, the man:
Timothy Dwight, Nathaniel Emmons, Samuel Hopkins, Edwards A. Park, Moses Stuart, Nathaniel W. Taylor, Albert Barnes, the Alexanders, Francis Wayland, Tayler Lewis, Bishop McIlvaine, Bangs, Fisk, McClintock, Whedon, Bledsoe, Dr. True, whose loss we have just been called on to mourn also, and a hundred others have shed lustre on the American name since the era of independence opened; but none of these can, in grandeur of achievement, compare with Charles Hodge, who recently died at Princeton, an octogenarian. He was not only par excellence the Calvinistic theologian of America, but the Nestor of all American theology, and though we differ widely with him in many things, we yet accept this master mind and beautifully adorned life as the grandest result of our Christian intellectual development. He produced many valuable writings, but above all stands his ‘Systematic Theology,’ a work which has only begun its influence in moulding the religious thought of the English-speaking world. We could wish that its fallacy of dependence on the Calvinistic theology were not one of its faults. But what is this slight failing compared to the masterful leading of a thousand, lost in speculation, from the labyrinth of doubt and despair to the haven of heavenly faith and angelic security? We may say of this now sainted man, ‘With all thy faults we love thee still.’ Princeton has lost its greatest ornament, the Presbyterian Church its most precious gem, the American Church her greatest earth-born luminary [2].
[1] See the insightful biography of Charles Hodge written by W. Andrew Hoffecker, Charles Hodge: The Pride of Princeton (2011, Phillipsburg, New Jersey: P&R Publishing).
[2] A.A. Hodge, The Life of Charles Hodge D.D. LL.D. (1880), pp. 585-586.
