Knowledge of the ideas of the theologian Emanuel V. Gerhart is essential for understanding nineteenth-century American theology. Gerhart was one of the first to introduce a complete systematic Christocentric theological system to Americans. His Institutes of the Christian Religion developed the ideas of European theologians and promoted the effort to systematize Mercersburg theology. Gerhart embraced German idealism rather than Scottish philosophy in his scholarship. As a mediating theologian, he attempted to reconcile historical Christianity with modern culture. His lectures, essays, and texts addressed the religious challenges and intellectual issues of his day from a Christocentric perspective. Together they were a major contribution to the Mercersburg Movement in particular and American theology in general from the antebellum period to the progressive era. His publications were devoted to a range of disciplines that included education, philosophy, and theology. This volume portrays Gerhart's core theological ideas as found in his main texts and offers introductory commentaries and gives the historical background for his intellectual contributions.

Annette G. Aubert is Lecturer and Visiting Scholar in Church History at Westminster Theological Seminary. She is the author of The German Roots of Nineteenth-Century American Theology (2013). She has published various book chapters and journal articles on modern and historical theology.
Emanuel V. Gerhart (1817-1904) was a nineteenth-century German Reformed theologian in America. He served as president and professor at Heidelberg College, Franklin & Marshall College, and Mercersburg Seminary. His books include Institutes of the Christian Religion, Prolegomena to Christian Dogmatics, and An Introduction to the Study of Philosophy.