"When one thinks of the theologians produced by the American Presbyterian Church, the name of James Henly Thornwell must be listed among the most gifted," noted Morton Smith.

Thornwell, regarding Hodge, writes, "Whether it be that Dr. Hodge has never been a Pastor, and knows little of the actual working of our system, or whether his mind is of an order that refuses to deal with the practical and concrete, it so happens that he has never touched the questions connected with the nature and organization of the Church without being singularly unhappy."

This book shows why.