Essays and Reviews

A sensation upon its publication in 1860, this collection remains an invaluable source for readers interested in Victorian theological debates.

A sensation upon its publication in 1860, this collection led to a heresy prosecution for two of its seven contributors. Questioning belief in miracles, Old Testament prophesies and literal biblical history, whilst embracing geology and Darwinism, the work remains an invaluable source for readers interested in Victorian theological debates.Comprising seven essays by learned contributors and controversially advocating a rationalist Christianity, this work became a sensation upon publication in 1860. Frederick Temple (1821–1902), later Archbishop of Canterbury, wrote on the cultural contributions of non-Christians; Roland Williams (1817–70), Professor of Hebrew at Lampeter, questioned Old Testament prophesies; Baden Powell (1796–1850), Oxford Professor of Geometry, challenged belief in miracles and embraced Darwinism; Henry Bristow Wilson (1803–88) questioned literal biblical history; the only lay contributor, Egyptologist Charles Wycliffe Goodwin (1817–78), embraced geology; Mark Pattison (1813–84), tutor at Lincoln College, wrote on the history of rationalist theology; and Benjamin Jowett (1817–93), Oxford Professor of Greek, advocated a historical reading of the Bible. Wilson and Williams were later found guilty of heresy by a Church court, though this was overturned on appeal. For readers interested in the theological controversies of the Victorian era, these essays remain invaluable.