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Harnack: History of Dogma, Vol. 7

Adolf von Harnack · translated by Neil Buchanan and others · translation 1894–1899

The most influential history of doctrine of its age. Its thesis, that dogma grew from the Greek spirit working on the gospel, has been much debated and widely criticized; read it as a landmark of liberal Protestant scholarship.

Edition: Internet Archive · archive.org

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From the opening: The Threefold Issue of the History of Dogma

Third Book

The Threefold Issue of the History of Dogma

*' Also haben die Sophisten Christum gemalet, wie er Mensch und Gott sei, zählen seine Beine und Arm, mischen seine beiden J^aturen wunderlich in einander, welches denn nur eine sophistische Erkenntuiss des Herrn Christi ist. Denn Christus ist nicht darumb Christus genennet, dass er zwo Naturen hat. Was gehet mich dasselbige an? Sondern er traget diesen herrlichen und tröstlichen Namen von dem Ampt und Werk, so er -auf sich genommen hat; dasselbige giebt ihm den Namen. Dass er von Natur Mensch und Gott ist, das hat er für sich; aber dass er sein Ampt dahin gewendet und seine Liebe ausgeschüttet, und mein Heiland und Erlöser wird, das geschieht mir zu Trost und zu Gut." (Luther, Erlang. Ausg. XXXV. S. 207 f.)

" Adversarii, quum neque quid remissio peccatorum, neque quid fides neque quid gratia neque quid justitia sit, intelligant, misere contaminant locum de justificatione et obscurant gloriam et beneficia Christi et eripiunt piis conscientiis propositas in Christo consolationes." (Apologia confessionis IV. [ll.] init.)

Chapter I

Historical Situation

In the fourth section of Chapter IV., Vol. V. (p. 222 ff.), it has been shown that by Augustine the traditional dogma was on the one hand strengthened, i.e., the authoritative force of it, as the most important possession of the Church, was intensified, while on the other hand it was in many ways expanded and recast. That dogma which, in its conception and its construction, was a work of the Hellenic spirit on the soil of the Gospel (see Vol. I., p. 17 ff.), continued to exist; in thinking of dogma one thought of the knowledge of a supernatural world and history, a knowledge that was revealed by God, that was embodied in unalterable articles of doctrine, and that conditioned all Christian life; but into its structure there were interwoven by Augustine in a marvellous way the prhiciples of Christian life-experience, of the experience which he had passed through as a son of the Catholic Church and as a disciple of Paul and the Platonists, while the Roman Church thereafter gave to dogma the force of a great divine system of law for the individual and for Christian society.

By these foregoing steps, of which the influence continued to be fundamental, the inner history of Western Christianity in the Middle Ages was determined. We have seen that no substantially new element can be pointed to in the period of a

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Contents (46 sections)

  1. Opening
  2. Title page
  3. Translator's Note
  4. Development of Ecclesiastical Dogma. Book III
  5. The Threefold Issue of the History of Dogma
  6. History of Dogma. Chap
  7. Chap. I. Historical Situation
  8. Chap. I. Historical Situation (continued)
  9. Chapters II–IL
  10. Chapters IL–IL
  11. Chapters IL–IL (continued)
  12. Chapters II–II
  13. Chapters II–II (continued)
  14. Chapter II — Codification of Mediaeval Doctrines
  15. Chap. II. Codification of Mediaeval Doctrines
  16. Chap. II. Codification of Mediaeval Doctrines (continued)
  17. Chap. II. Codification of Mediaeval Doctrines (continued)
  18. Chapters II–II
  19. Chapters II–II (continued)
  20. Chapters IL–IL
  21. Chap. II. Catholic Dogma from to
  22. Chap. II. Catholic Dogma from to (continued)
  23. Chap. II. Catholic Dogma from to (continued)
  24. Chap. II. Catholic Dogma from to (continued)
  25. Chapters IL–II
  26. Chapters IL–III
  27. The Issues of Dogma in Antitrinitarianism and Socinianism
  28. The Issues of Dogma in Antitrinitarianism and Socinianism (continued)
  29. The Issues of Dogma in Antitrinitarianism and Socinianism (continued)
  30. The Issues of Dogma in Antitrinitarianism and Socinianism (continued)
  31. Chapter IV
  32. Chapter IV (continued)
  33. M (continued)
  34. M (continued)
  35. Chapters IV–IV
  36. Chapters IV–IV (continued)
  37. Chapters IV–IV (continued)
  38. Chapter IV — Luther's Criticism of Dogma
  39. Chapters IV–IV
  40. Chapter IV — Luther's Criticism of Dogma (continued)
  41. Chapter IV — Luther's Criticism of Dogma (continued)
  42. Chapter IV — Concluding Observations
  43. Chapters IV–IV
  44. General Index for Vols. I.-Vil
  45. Letter of Holy Scripture, III
  46. Letter of Holy Scripture, III (continued)

How to cite it

Chicago
Adolf von Harnack. Harnack: History of Dogma, Vol. 7. Translated by Neil Buchanan and others. Internet Archive, translation 1894–1899. https://archive.org/details/historyofdogma07harn
MLA
Adolf von Harnack. Harnack: History of Dogma, Vol. 7. Translated by Neil Buchanan and others, Internet Archive, translation 1894–1899. https://archive.org/details/historyofdogma07harn
APA
Adolf von Harnack (translation 1894–1899). Harnack: History of Dogma, Vol. 7 (Neil Buchanan and others, Trans.). Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/historyofdogma07harn

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