8. Causes and results ought to be closely worked out and classified.[9:2]
9. The continuity of the Church as a great force in the world ought to be ever kept in mind.[9:3]
10. Differentiation ought to be thoughtfully noted through the ages.
11. The unity of history—the influence of the Church upon every other institution—ought to be followed from one transitional period to another.
12. The sympathetic attitude ought to be taken at all times in judging men and movements. The student ought to stand in the centre of the circle so that he may see all points of the circumference—all persons, all events, all parties, all creeds, all sects, all shades of opinion—and see their true historical relations.
Sources
- 1.—Bright, W., The Study of Church History. In Waymarks of Church History. N. Y., 1894.
- 2.—Cave, A., Introduction to the Study of Theology. Edinb., 1885, 421 ff.
- 3.—Collins, W. E., The Study of Ecclesiastical History. N. Y., 1903.
- 4.—Coxe, A. C., Institutes of Christian History. Chicago, 1887.
- 5.—De Witt, J., Church History as a Science, as a Theological Discipline, and as a Mode of the Gospel. Cinc., 1883.
- 6.—Foster, F. H., The Seminary Method of Original Study in the Historical Sciences. N. Y., 1888.
- 7.—Gwatkin, H. M., The Meaning of Ecclesiastical History. Camb., 1891.
- 8.—Hatch, E., An Introductory Lecture on the Study of Ecclesiastical History. Lond., 1885.
- 9.—Hitchcock, R. D. The True Idea and Uses of Church History. N. Y., 1856.
- 10.—Jortin, J., The Use and Importance of Ecclesiastical History. Works, vii., 405-454. Lond., 1772.
- 11.—Lea, H. C., Studies in Church History. Introd. Phil., 1869.
- 12.—McGiffert, A. C., "The Historical Study of Christianity." Bibliotheca Sacra, Jan., 1893, 150-171.
- 13.—Robinson, J. H., Sacred and Profane History. In An. Rep. Am. Hist. Assn. 1899, i., 527.
- 14.—Smith, H. B., "Nature and Worth of the Science of Church History." Bibliotheca Sacra, vol. vii., 1851, 412. See Faith and Philosophy, Edinb. and N. Y., 1877, 49-86.
- 15.—Smyth, E. C., Value of the Study of Church History in Ministerial Education. Andover, 1874.
- 16.—Stanley, A. P., Three Introductory Lectures on the Study of Ecclesiastical History. In History of the Eastern Church. Lond. and N. Y., 1884, 17-76.
See the introductions of the Church histories of Schaff, Gieseler, Alzog, Moeller, Kurtz, Hase, Döllinger, and Hergenröther.
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