One is reminded of just how fickle a mistress Fame is when considering how the renown of certain historical figures only grows with time while the reputations of countless others fade when exposed to the light of posterity. The luster of Charles Hodge's fame has only dimmed with time. Hodge is remembered now chiefly for his boast that nothing new was ever taught at Princeton Seminary. The wooden prose of his massive three-volume Systematic Theology discourages all comers, and when his name is invoked at all, it is frequently as an object lesson in how conservative Calvinism can make one stand still even as the rest of American life and theology rushes by. Names like Finney, Bushnell, Schaff, and Moody pop to mind when the greats of 19th-century American Protestantism are discussed. Hodge is seldom mentioned in the same conversation, although he kept company with all of these men in print or in person during his lifetime.

Indeed, Hodge absolutely towered as a theological figure throughout the 19th century, not only in the United States but in Great Britain as well. For 56 years he taught at Princeton Theological Seminary, wielding such unparalleled influence among conservative Protestant theologians that he earned himself the nickname, "The Pope of Presbyterianism."

Hodge influenced more than a generation of American pastors and laypeople through a number of channels. During his teaching career, he taught more than 3,000 students, many of whom became memorable and important religious figures in their own right. He showed unusual savvy in his ability to manipulate the growing medium of print in the United States. In 1825 he founded the Princeton Review, a theological journal he would direct for nearly five decades while himself contributing more than 200 articles. By the time Hodge stepped down as editor in 1871, the Princeton Review stood as the second oldest quarterly publication in the United States, and enjoyed such an international reputation that the British Quarterly Review called it "beyond all question the greatest purely theological Review that has ever been published in the English tongue."

Apart from his work on the journal, Hodge completed five biblical commentaries, a major history of the American Presbyterian Church, a landmark critique of Darwinism, the immensely popular devotional The Way of Life, and perhaps his best-known work, the Systematic Theology, which stands as perhaps the first American-authored theological textbook to enjoy wide distribution and usage in the United States.

Perhaps the most vivid testimony to Hodge's immense influence can be seen in 1875, when Princeton Seminary celebrated Hodge's 50th anniversary as teacher. Over 400 former students, friends, and colleagues came from around the world to pay him homage. Princeton Seminary's own 50th-anniversary celebration paled in comparison to the outpouring of love and admiration exhibited for Hodge at this event. Countless others who could not attend sent letters, stating time and again the power he had wielded not only in their own lives but in American religious life in general.

In partial remedy to the neglect that has obscured Hodge's legacy in the 130 years since his death, a group of scholars gathered for a conference at Princeton Theological Seminary in the fall of 1997 to revisit his life and work. The lineup was something of an all-star team, bringing together outstanding scholars of 19th-century American theology, culture, politics, literature, and religious life. Revised versions of the papers offered at this conference have been collected in Charles Hodge Revisited, edited by John W. Stewart and James H. Moorhead.

The bibliography found at the end of this volume—some 40 pages of citations of Hodge's works and works about Hodge—is by itself worth the price of admission. Not only does this bibliography serve as an outstanding reference tool for Hodge's life and thought, but it also provides a window into some of the most critical ebbs and flows of 19th-century American theological discourse. Such a listing further provides the thoughtful reader with a glimpse into numerous areas of Hodge's life and influence that have yet to be examined: his contributions to Presbyterianism in Korea, his involvement in school reforms at a host of educational levels, and much more.

Among the subjects addressed in this volume are Hodge's place in 19th-century American intellectual history, his engagement with science, the important women in his life and his views on gender roles, the symbiotic relationship between Hodge and Princeton Seminary, his spirituality and methods of scriptural interpretation, his engagement with Europe and German theology, and his views on race, slavery and politics. In a review of this length, it is impossible to do justice to the full range of these subjects; three representative essays will suggest why Hodge still matters.

Ronald Numbers reminds us that, from the time he wanted to be a physician in the early days of his college education to the day he died, Hodge was fascinated with science. He spent his life attempting to reconcile his theological views with the ever-changing landscapes of such diverse scientific (and quasi-scientific) fields as medicine, phrenology, astronomy, the development of species and races, geology, and paleontology. Roughly 20 percent of the articles Hodge published while editing the Princeton Review addressed scientific issues.

Of particular note in Numbers' examination of Hodge's engagement with science is how Hodge gradually grew estranged from the science of his day as theologians were marginalized by scientists who declared theology had little bearing on scientific inquiry. Indeed, his evolving views of science and theology had much to do with his growing alienation from science, and this tension significantly influenced the tone, rhetorical strategies, and content of his later—and better known—works. To judge Hodge's view of science simply by reading his Systematic Theology or his important What is Darwinism? is to miss much of the complexity and nuance of Hodge's conflicted engagement with science.

Richard Carwardine does a wonderful job in examining the importance of national politics in many aspects of Hodge's life and thinking. Hodge was a man deeply interested in how one might make sense of political events in light of the sovereignty of an all-knowing, all-powerful, all-good God. He once wrote his brother: "Real politics … when connected with morals and the character and interests of a country, is a subject second only to religion in importance." His views on national politics would filter down and influence more micro levels such as the politics found in the Presbyterian national assembly and even the politics of running a seminary or his own household.

Louise Stevenson's essay on gender roles and women in Hodge's life and thinking breaks new ground in offering a gendered understanding of Hodge's theology. Until now, practically no one has sought to understand Hodge's view of women, the silent majority of both American Presbyterianism in particular and American Christianity more generally throughout the 19th century. But Stevenson shows that his perspective on women deeply influenced his views on church polity, personal spirituality, and various social roles. She ends her essay with a thought-provoking connection between the past and the present, forcing us to think about how much—or how little—has changed in current controversies over the place of women in American religion and society.

Hodge is worthy of greater notice for many reasons, but perhaps the one which jumps out after reading Charles Hodge Revisited is that historians of American religious life decidedly favor theological innovators to those who stand by more time-honored orthodoxies. Hodge may or may not have been out of step with the changing times around him, but his was a step which helped guide thousands in their desire to understand the workings of God in their world.

Paul Gutjahr is associate professor of English, American Studies, and Religious Studies at Indiana University. He is the author of An American Bible: A History of the Good Book in the United States, 1777-1881 (Stanford Univ. Press).

Copyright © 2004 by the author or Christianity Today/Books & Culture magazine.
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