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Rh of the development of the doctrines. It is incorrect, therefore, to represent the discipline as having its general distribution into periods given it by church history.

Symbolics is the historico-comparative study of the dogmatic systems of the various Christian communions, as expressed and involved in their symbolical documents. It treats of the origin, history, and contents, and relations of difference and agreement, of the various creeds and confessions of Christendom. It was preceded by "polemics" and "controversial theology" pre-scientific and anti-scientific kinds of theology. The older so-called systematic theologies and systems of divinity consisted largely of symbolical matter treated in an unscientific and ungenerous spirit. Christian dogmatics will never be properly purified until Christian symbolics receives intelligent and due recognition, and has relegated to it the subjects which properly belong to it. Christian symbolics may be said to have made its appearance as a separate scientific discipline with Marheineke's Symbolik, published in 1810. The chief reason why it appeared thus late was the difficulty of exercising in this sphere the impartiality of the true historical spirit. The arrangement of its material is determined partly by the order of succession in which the churches appeared in history and partly by the historical importance of the different churches. " In some treatises on symbolics the symbolical system of doctrine of each church is treated separately, while in others the several doctrines of the various churches are compared together. Each of these methods has its advantages and disadvantages. Their combination is requisite."

The psychology of Christianity may be held to include Biblical psychology and the psychology of the Christian life. It must be admitted, however, that the right of the former to a place among psychological sciences is doubtful. It is universally admitted that it ought to present what is taught in the Bible as to the origin, nature, faculties, states, processes, and future development of the human spirit, and also elicit the conceptions implied and pre-supposed in the Biblical statements on these points. But if it do this in a merely historical manner, and do nothing beyond this, it must manifestly be regarded as simply a section of Biblical theology. To be entitled to be considered a separate psychologico-theological discipline it must at least also discuss the questions as to the truth of the ideas relative to the human spirit expressed and implied in Scripture, as to their accordance with the facts of mind, and their relationship to the conclusions of ordinary scientific psychology; and even then it may be held to be rather the result of a peculiar combination of history, apologetics, and psychology than a properly psychological discipline. However this may be, the study is an exceedingly interesting one. It has had a lengthened history, for in almost every generation since the 2d century treatises on some of its subjects have appeared. It was inaugurated by Melito and Tertullian, obtained in the 17th and 18th centuries distinct re cognition under the designation of " psychologia sacra" or " psychologia e sacris literis collecta," and acquired fresh life and scientific form from the publication of Beck's Umriss der biblischen Seelenlehre in 1843.

The psychology of the Christian life is a much more comprehensive discipline than Biblical psychology, and one as to the precise place and scope of which no dubiety need be felt. Its work is to elucidate all the distinctively Christian phenomena both of the individual and of the collective life. As to the former it should evolve a theory of personal Christian experience, normal and abnormal, in its purity and in its perversions. As to the latter, it should explain the spiritual experience of Christian society—the development of Christian piety—in different ages, countries, and churches. For the accomplishment of the former task it will find help and material in religious poetry, religious biography and autobiography, and all other expressions and records of personal Christian experience; and for the accomplishment of the latter in all the sources and contents of church history, although these must be used in accordance with the psychological purpose in view. Christian psychology thus understood is a department of theology still to form. And the difficulties in the way of its formation must be allowed to be very great. They will only be overcome by men in whom profound psychological science and insight are combined with a rare susceptibility and richness of spiritual life.

For Christian apologetics, see. For Christian dogmatics, see.

Christian dogmatics and Christian ethics are the two disciplines included in Christian systematic theology. They ought to be separated and cultivated apart, and yet must be recognized to be closely connected, and each the necessary complement of the other. The former sees in Christ the truth and the way thereto; the latter sees in Him the life and the way thereto. Christian ethics is much the more recent discipline of the two, and it has not yet attained the same definiteness and homogeneousness. Alike as to method and distribution there is greater indecision and confusion. Among its earlier cultivators were Daneeus, Calixtus, Perkins, Ames, Colville, Mosheim, Crusius, Staudliu, and Von Ammou. Schleiermacher may justly be regarded as the founder of modern Christian ethics. His superiority to his predecessors was due chiefly to his profounder apprehension of the nature of the problems of philosophical ethics, and to his comprehensive and spiritual conception of the kingdom of God as the highest good, pervasive and regulative of every sphere of human life, industry and art, science and philosophy, family, church and state. The following may be given as a scheme of Christian ethics. I. Determination of the nature, limits, and method of the science, and of its relations to other disciplines, and especially to those which are ethical and theological. II. Presuppositions of the science: these are (1) the ethical idea of God as revealed in nature and in Christ; (2) man as a moral being and in his relation to the law and revelation of God; (3) creation and providence as ethical systems; and (4) the king dom of God in itself, in relation to creation and providence, and as the goal of moral life. III. The fundamental conceptions of the science: these are (1) the Christian ethical law; (2) the Christian conscience; (3) the Christian ethical ideal; and (4) Christian virtue. IV. The reign of sin in the individual and society viewed in the light of Christianity. V. The origin and progress of the kingdom of God in the individual soul, and its manifestation in the virtues and graces of the Christian character. VI. The realization of the kingdom of God in the various spheres of society the family, the church, the nation.

 THEOPHILUS. Nicholas Alemanni, in his notes to the first edition of the Anecdota of Procopius (see ), published in 1623, repeatedly quotes a Life of Justinian, which he attributes to "Theophilus Abbas, prseceptor Justiniani," but without telling us where he found this Life or who Theophilus was. Subsequent writers have continued to quote Theophilus from Alemanni's notes for the facts ascribed to him in those notes, and, among others, for the name Upravda, said to have been the original name of Justinian, and other proper names of members of the family of that emperor. Mr Bryce has, since the article was published, discovered in the Barberini library at Rome what appears to be the MS. of the so-called Life of Justinian used by Alemanni. It is in Latin, and purports to be an extract made by Ivan Tomco Marnavich, a Croatian ecclesiastic (1573–1639), from a Life of Justinian by a certain Bogomil (Græce Theophilus), who is alleged to have been the instructor of Justinian, and abbot of St Alexander at Prisrend (in Macedonia), and afterwards bishop of Sardica (now Sofia, in Bulgaria), the original of which Life, in Slavonic, is stated in the Barberini MS. to exist in the Slavonic monastery of Basilian monks on Mount Athos. No such Slavonic MS. (so far as is known) has ever been discovered in Athos or elsewhere; no Slavonic MS. of the age of Justinian could possibly exist; and the contents of the Latin extract preserved at Rome are of so legendary a character as to throw the greatest doubt on the facts cited from Theophilus by Alemanni, including the name Upravda above referred to, and the Slavonic origin of Justinian. It seems doubtful whether this Theophilus Abbas, whom