§ 2. Since Dogmatics is a theological discipline, and thus pertains solely to the Christian Church, we can only explain what it is when we have become clear as to the conception of the Christian Church.
Note.—Cf. the Brief Outline, Introduction, §§ 1, 2, 5, 22, 23; and in the First Part, Introd., §§ 1, 2, 3, 6, 7; First Section, §§ 1, 2. Also Sack’s Apologetik, Introd., §§ 1–5. 1. The expression ‘theological discipline’ is here taken in the sense which is explicated in the first of the above-mentioned passages. From this it follows that the present work entirely disclaims the task of establishing on a foundation of general principles a Doctrine of God, or an Anthropology or Eschatology either, which should be used in the Christian Church though it did not really originate there, or which should prove the propositions of the Christian Faith to be consonant with reason. For what can be said on these subjects by the human reason in itself cannot have any closer relation to the Christian Church than it has to every other society of faith or of life.
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Granted, then, that we must begin with a conception of the Christian Church, in order to define in accordance therewith what Dogmatics should be and should do within that Church: this conception itself can properly be reached only through the conception of ‘Church’ in general, together with a proper comprehension of the peculiarity of the Christian Church. Now the general concept of ‘Church,’ if there really is to be such a concept, must be derived principally from Ethics; since in every case the ‘Church’ is a society which originates only through free human action and which can only through such continue to exist. The peculiarity of the Christian Church can neither be comprehended and deduced by purely scientific methods nor be grasped by mere empirical methods.1 For no science can by means of mere ideas reach and elicit what is individual, but must always stop short with what is general. Just as all so-called a priori constructions in the realm of history come to grief over the task of showing that what has been in such-and-such wise deduced from above is actually identical with the historically given—so is it undeniably here also. And the purely empirical method, on the other hand, has neither standard nor formula for distinguishing the essential and permanent from the changeable and contingent. But if Ethics establishes the concept of the ‘Church,’ it can, of course, also separate, in that which forms the basis of these societies, the permanently identical from the changeable elements, and thus by dividing up the whole realm it can determine the places at which the individual forms could be placed as soon as they put in an appearance historically. And the task of thus exhibiting in a conceptually exhaustive way, according to their affinities and gradations, the totality of all those ‘Churches’ which are distinguished from each other by peculiar differences of basis—this task would be the business of a special branch of historical science, which should be exclusively designated Philosophy of Religion; just as, perhaps, the name Philosophy of Right would best be reserved for an analogous critical study which, as bearing on the general conception of the State as developed in Ethics, would have to do the same thing for the different individual forms of civic organization. The performance of this task of the Philosophy of Religion has, of course, been attempted in a variety of ways; but these attempts do not rest upon a sufficiently universal scientific method, nor do they sufficiently maintain the balance between the historical and the speculative, for us to be able to appeal to them in our theological studies as admittedly satisfactory. To begin with, these results of the Philosophy of Religion would have to be accepted by Apologetics, which, starting from that point, would lay down as foundation a description of the peculiar essence of Christianity and its relation to other ‘Churches.’ If, however, it were duly recognized that Apologetics is a theological discipline which needs to be refashioned for these present times, it would not be advisable to defer its appearance until the arrival of a satisfactory exposition of the Philosophy of Religion. Rather would Apologetics have to strike out in the interval upon an abbreviated course of its own. It would then begin at the same point as the Philosophy of Religion, and take the same road, but would leave aside, without working it out, all that does not directly contribute to the purpose of ascertaining the nature of Christianity. But now, since this discipline of Apologetics is only just beginning to come to life again, the following exposition has to perform this task for itself.
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Thus this first part of our Introduction has only to collate and apply borrowed propositions, i.e. propositions which belong to other scientific studies, in this case to Ethics, Philosophy of Religion, and Apologetics. Of course, the results of an investigation which is put together out of such component parts cannot lay claim to any general recognition, except when that form of Ethics and of the Philosophy of Religion which underlies the investigation is likewise recognized. From this it is clear that even here at the very beginning there is plenty of opportunity for very diverse definitions and conceptions of Dogmatics, each of which can only regard itself as preparatory for a future one when the scientific studies of which it has to take account will be more firmly established, while, nevertheless, Christianity itself remains entirely the same.
Postscript 1.—In this connexion it is by no means intended to assert that these propositions must, in the independent treatment of the sciences to which they belong, occur in the same form in which they are here set forth. That is in itself improbable, since in this work we have before us none of the matter which would in those sciences lead up to the propositions.
Postscript 2.—By Ethics is here understood that speculative presentation of Reason, in the whole range of its activity, which runs parallel to natural science. By Philosophy of Religion is understood a critical presentation of the different existing forms of religious communion, as constituting, when taken collectively, the complete phenomenon of piety in human nature. The expression Apologetics is explained in the Brief Outline, § 39.
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Footnotes
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Cf. Brief Outline, Introd., § 22; Phil. Theol., § 1. ↩