Charles Hodge's Era and Influence

Charles Hodge lived during an era of great crisis in the United States. Living for most of the nineteenth century, he would witness the abolition tumult of pre-war America, the bloody War Between the States, and the ongoing struggle of Reconstruction. His own Presbyterian Church would experience its greatest division during his lifetime. Though a peacemaker by demeanor, he understood that there was also a time to take a stand. This he did, battling against a rising tide that was beginning to erode the sacred shorelines of historic Christianity.

Hodge's Legacy

Charles Hodge was one of the most learned and influential Presbyterians in an era when Presbyterianism in America was known for its leaning and influence. He remains important because his theology became the norm for much of later conservative Presbyterianism. Donald Fortson's brief biography provides a nice window into Hodge's life and thought.