Chapter I: Front Matter

Systematic Theology

A Compendium and Commonplace-Book

Designed For The Use Of Theological Students

By

Augustus Hopkins Strong, D.D., LL.D.

President and Professor of Biblical Theology in the Rochester Theological
Seminary

Revised and Enlarged

In Three Volumes

Volume 1

The Doctrine of God

The Judson Press

Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, St. Louis, Los Angeles, Kansas City,
Seattle, Toronto

1907

CONTENTS

Preface
Part I. Prolegomena.
Chapter I. Idea Of Theology.
I. Definition of Theology.
II. Aim of Theology.
III. Possibility of Theology.
1. The existence of a God.
2. Man’s capacity for the knowledge of God
3. God’s revelation of himself to man.
IV. Necessity of Theology.
V. Relation of Theology to Religion.
1. Derivation.
2. False Conceptions.
3. Essential Idea.
4. Inferences.
Chapter II. Material of Theology.
I. Sources of Theology.
1. Scripture and Nature.
2. Scripture and Rationalism.
3. Scripture and Mysticism.
4. Scripture and Romanism.
II. Limitations of Theology.
III. Relations of Material to Progress in Theology.
Chapter III. Method Of Theology.
I. Requisites to the study of Theology.
II. Divisions of Theology.
III. History of Systematic Theology.
IV. Order of Treatment in Systematic Theology.
V. Text-Books in Theology.
Part II. The Existence Of God.
Chapter I. Origin Of Our Idea Of God’s Existence.
I. First Truths in General.
II. The Existence of God a first truth.
1. Its universality.
2. Its necessity.
3. Its logical independence and priority.
III. Other Supposed Sources of our Idea of God’s Existence.
IV. Contents of this Intuition.
Chapter II. Corroborative Evidences Of God’s Existence.
I. The Cosmological Argument, or Argument from Change in Nature.
II. The Teleological Argument, or Argument from Order and Useful
Collocation in Nature.
III. The Anthropological Argument, or Argument from Man’s Mental and
Moral Nature.
IV. The Ontological Argument, or Argument from our Abstract and
Necessary Ideas.
Chapter III. Erroneous Explanations, And Conclusion.
I. Materialism.
II. Materialistic Idealism.
III. Idealistic Pantheism.
IV. Ethical Monism.
Part III. The Scriptures A Revelation From God.
Chapter I. Preliminary Considerations.
I. Reasons _a priori_ for expecting a Revelation from God.
II. Marks of the Revelation man may expect.
III. Miracles, as attesting a Divine Revelation.
1. Definition of Miracle.
2. Possibility of Miracle.
3. Probability of Miracles.
4. Amount of Testimony necessary to prove a Miracle.
5. Evidential force of Miracles.
6. Counterfeit Miracles.
IV. Prophecy as Attesting a Divine Revelation.
V. Principles of Historical Evidence applicable to the Proof of a
Divine Revelation.
1. As to documentary evidence.
2. As to testimony in general.
Chapter II. Positive Proofs That The Scriptures Are A Divine
Revelation.
I. Genuineness of the Christian Documents.
1. Genuineness of the Books of the New Testament.
1st. The Myth-theory of Strauss (1808-1874).
2nd. The Tendency-theory of Baur (1792-1860).
3d. The Romance-theory of Renan (1823-1892).
4th. The Development-theory of Harnack (born 1851).
2. Genuineness of the Books of the Old Testament.
II. Credibility of the Writers of the Scriptures.
III. The Supernatural Character of the Scripture Teaching.
1. Scripture teaching in general.
2. Moral System of the New Testament.
3. The person and character of Christ.
4. The testimony of Christ to himself—as being a messenger from
God and as being one with God.
IV. The Historical Results of the Propagation of Scripture Doctrine.
Chapter III. Inspiration Of The Scriptures.
I. Definition of Inspiration.
II. Proof of Inspiration.
III. Theories of Inspiration.
1. The Intuition-theory.
2. The Illumination Theory.
3. The Dictation-theory.
4. The Dynamical Theory.
IV. The Union of the Divine and Human Elements in Inspiration.
V. Objections to the Doctrine of Inspiration.
1. Errors in matters of Science.
2. Errors in matters of History.
3. Errors in Morality.
4. Errors of Reasoning.
5. Errors in quoting or interpreting the Old Testament.
6. Errors in Prophecy.
7. Certain books unworthy of a place in inspired Scripture.
8. Portions of the Scripture books written by others than the
persons to whom they are ascribed.
9. Sceptical or fictitious Narratives.
10. Acknowledgment of the non-inspiration of Scripture
teachers and their writings.
Part IV. The Nature, Decrees, And Works Of God.