A. A. Hodge Books: A Reading Guide to All Five and Where to Start
A. A. Hodge (1823–1886) was a missionary to India, a pastor for thirteen years, and then a professor of theology, first in Pittsburgh and finally at Princeton, where he followed his father, Charles Hodge. He had a gift for making Reformed doctrine plain, and his books have stayed in use for a century and a half. TheWay Library has five of them, all free to read. For his life story, see who was A. A. Hodge.
Where to start
- For most readers: start with A Commentary on the Confession of Faith. It explains the Westminster Confession one section at a time.
- For a full course in doctrine: Outlines of Theology.
- To understand the cross: The Atonement.
- On the Bible's authority: Inspiration, which is short.
- For history and biography: The Life of Charles Hodge.
Every quotation below is checked against the book it comes from. For more, see our collection of A. A. Hodge quotes.
Doctrine for the whole church
A Commentary on the Confession of Faith (1869)
Hodge's section-by-section commentary on the Westminster Confession. It opens with a short history of the church's creeds and of the Westminster Assembly. Then each of the Confession's thirty-three chapters is printed a section at a time, followed by an analysis of what it teaches, the Scripture proofs, and answers to objections and rival views. It covers everything from Scripture and God's decree through the fall, Christ the Mediator, justification, sanctification, faith, repentance, good works, perseverance and assurance, to worship, the church, the sacraments and the last judgment.
As regeneration is an act of God's free grace, so sanctification is a gracious work of God, and eminently of the Holy Spirit.
A Commentary on the Confession of Faith, Of Sanctification
Hodge wrote it for ministers, elders, students and teachers, and it's still a favorite for training church officers and for adult classes. You can read one chapter a week alongside the Confession itself. Read the Commentary on the Confession of Faith.
Outlines of Theology (1860, enlarged 1879)
A complete manual of Reformed theology in numbered questions and answers. Hodge first wrote the chapters as outlines for Sunday-night lectures to his own congregation, then offered them to other pastors for Bible classes and to students as a syllabus. Forty-three chapters cover the proofs of God's existence, the sources of theology, the inspiration of the Bible, God's attributes, the Trinity, the decrees and predestination, creation and providence, sin and the fall, the covenant of grace, the person and work of Christ, effectual calling, regeneration, faith, justification, sanctification, the last things and the sacraments.
The God whom nature veils while it reveals him, stands before us unveiled in all the perfection of wisdom, holiness, and love in the person of Christ.
Outlines of Theology, The Origin of the Idea of God and Proof of His Existence
The question-and-answer form makes it easy to find what you need and to use it for teaching. Read Outlines of Theology.
The cross and the Bible
The Atonement (1867)
Hodge's defense of the doctrine that Christ died as the true substitute for His people and bore the penalty of their sin. First written as newspaper articles for a Presbyterian paper, it argues step by step: from God's justice and His unchanging law, from Adam as the head of the race, from the sacrifices and priesthood of the Old Testament, from the union between Christ and His people, and from what Scripture says about justification. He answers the main objections and the rival "moral influence" and "governmental" theories. The second part asks for whom Christ died, and argues that He came to save His people surely and definitely.
As between God and the Mediator and sinful man, it is all free and amazing grace.
The Atonement, Statement of Doctrine
It's closely argued, so take it slowly. For more on this subject, see our guide to the best Christian books on the atonement. Read The Atonement.
Inspiration (1881)
A short, famous essay written with B. B. Warfield. Hodge wrote the first half, which sets out what inspiration is, how God and the human writers worked together over sixteen centuries to produce the Bible, the doctrine that the original texts are inspired in their very words, and the proof from the claims of Christ and the apostles. Warfield wrote the second half, which argues that the burden of proof lies on those who claim the Bible has errors, and that none has been proved.
Thoughts are wedded to words as necessarily as soul to body.
Inspiration, Statement of the Doctrine
You can read it in an evening. Read Inspiration, and see our guide to B. B. Warfield's books for more from his co-author.
Biography
The Life of Charles Hodge (1880)
A son's life of his father, the Princeton theologian. The first two chapters are Charles Hodge's own account of his childhood and his widowed mother's sacrifices. A. A. Hodge then continues the story from letters and journals: his father's training under Archibald Alexander, his study in France and Germany, fifty years of teaching at Princeton, the division of the Presbyterian Church in the 1830s, the Civil War years, the celebration of his fiftieth year as a professor, and his last days. It closes with tributes to him as teacher, preacher, theologian and Christian man.
Much of the book is in Charles Hodge's own words and those of his friends, so it reads as a portrait of a whole era at Princeton. Read The Life of Charles Hodge.
A note on these editions
Several of these books were restored from scans of old printings. Outlines of Theology, The Atonement and Inspiration have scattered misread letters and words, and some page headings left in the text. The arguments are easy to follow, but you'll see the odd slip.
Why read Hodge today
Hodge gives you a whole, connected picture of Christian doctrine, and he gives it in short, clear steps. Begin with the Commentary on the Confession of Faith, keep Outlines of Theology near for reference, and read The Atonement when you want to go deeper. All five books are on the A. A. Hodge author page.