The German Roots of Nineteenth-Century American Theology

By exploring the significant influence of German theology, especially mediating theology, on American religious thought, this book sheds new and welcome light on nineteenth-century American Reformed theology. It is the first full-scale examination of that influence on the Mercersburg theology of Emanuel V. Gerhart and the Princeton theology of Charles Hodge. Annette Aubert shows that in the development of their works, Gerhart and Hodge took into account both the tradition of the church and the contemporary theological developments in Europe, especially Germany. Aubert masterfully incorporates the German sources of Schleiermacher, Ullmann, Tholuck, Hagenbach, Dorner, Hengstenberg, and other nineteenth-century German scholars to show that the work of Gerhart and Hodge is much better appreciated when interpreted in a wide intellectual and religious context. Aubert's organic and transatlantic approach offers a deeper understanding of the American Reformed theology of two influential thinkers and illuminates the extent of the cross-fertilization between American and German thought.