dure is to concentrate the
attention on the theological and philosophical points of dogma, and
either neglect or put a new construction on the most concrete and
important, the expression of the religious faith itself. Rationalism has
been reproached with "throwing out the child with the bath," but this is
really worse, for here the child is thrown out while the bath is
retained. Every advance in the future treatment of our subject will
further depend on the effort to comprehend the history of dogma without
reference to the momentary opinions of the present, and also on keeping
it in closest connection with the history of the Church, from which it
can never be separated without damage. We have something to learn on
this point from rationalistic historians of dogma.[45] But progress is
finally dependent on a true perception of what the Christian religion
originally was, for this perception alone enables us to distinguish that
which sprang out of the inherent power of Christianity from that which
it has assimilated in the course of its history. For the historian,
however, who does not wish to serve a party, there are two standards in
accordance with which he may criticise the history of dogma. He may
either, as far as this is possible, compare it with the Gospel, or he
may judge it according to the historical conditions of the time and the
result. Both ways can exist side by side, if only they are not mixed up
with one another. Protestantism has in principle expressly recognised
the first, and it will also have the power to bear its conclusions; for
the saying of Tertullian still holds good in it; "Nihil veritas
erubescit nisi solummodo abscondi." The historian who follows this
maxim, and at the same time has no desire to be wiser than the facts,
will, while furthering science, perform the best service also to every
Christian community that desires to build itself upon the Gospel.

After the appearance of the first and second editions of this Work,
Loofs published, "Leitfaden fuer seine Vorlesungen ueber
Dogmengeschichte," Halle, 1889, and in the following year, "Leitfaden
zum Studium der Dogmengeschichte, zunaechst fuer seine Vorlesungen,"
(second and enlarged edition of the first-named book). The work in its
conception of dogma and its history comes pretty near that stated above,
and it is distinguished by independent investigation and excellent
selection of material. I myself have published a "Grundriss der
Dogmengeschi