Excerpt from Christian Doctrine and Systematic Theology The pages of this volume contain the substance of lectures on Systematic Theology which have been given by the writer, for nearly forty years, to successive classes of students at the Moravian College and Theological Seminary of Bethlehem, Pa. It is the first work of this kind written in the English language by a member of the oldest Protes tant Church, founded by the followers of J ohn Hus in 1457. While in no sense an official publication, but entirely inde pendent and personal in its statements and conclusions, it will be found to represent fairly the view - point of the Mo ravian Church or Unitas F ratrum, -as to the leading features of Christian Doctrine and Systematic Theology. Some persons may think it ill advised to publish such a work at this time of theological unrest and of apparently sharp contrasts between traditional and modern theology. But as to all that is really essential in Christian doctrine, it is -as timely now as ever, to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered unto the saints (jude v. The Gospel of Jesus Christ, our blessed Saviour, is as well suited to the needs of the twentieth cen tury of the Christian era as to the first. As for non essentials, such as denominational distinctions, ecclesiastical formulas, dogmatical definitions and historical criticism, it behooves all honest seekers after the truth, whether they call themselves orthodox or liberal, conservative or ad vanced, to acknowledge the limitations of our religious knowledge and understanding. For at best we know in part and we see in a mirror darkly (i Cor. Realizing this truth, we will be prepared to discuss all ques tions that present themselves in the different departments of Christian doctrine, in the spirit of charity, without narrow prejudice or assumption of a monopoly of wisdom, taking into consideration, if possible, all the new light which science, history and Christian experience have shed[preface to the jfirst Ebition. The pages of this volume contain the substance of lectures on Systematic Theology which have been given by the writer, for nearly forty years, to successive classes of students at the Moravian College and Theological Seminary of Bethlehem, Pa. It is the first work of this kind written in the English language by a member of the oldest Protes tant Church, founded by the followers of John Hus in 1457. While in no sense an official publication, but entirely inde pendent and personal in its statements and conclusions, it will be found to represent fairly the view-point of the Mo ravian Church or Unitas Fratrum, as to the leading features of Christian Doctrine and Systematic Theology. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.