The Erosion of Biblical Certainty : Battles Over Authority and Interpretation in America

According to conventional wisdom, by the late 1800s, the image of Bible as a supernatural and infallible text crumbled in the eyes of intellectuals under the assaults of secularizing forces. This book corrects the narrative by arguing that in America, the road to skepticism had already been paved by the Scriptures' most able and ardent defenders. Historians commonly agree that the understanding of the Bible as a supernatural text conveying both spiritual and historical truths came under devastating assaults from the natural sciences and German historical critics in the 1800s. According to this account, by the latter years of that century, the image of the Bible as a supernaturally inspired and infallible text eventually crumbled in the eyes of many intellectuals under the relentless opposition of secularizing forces. This book corrects this narrative by arguing that in America, the road to skepticism was unintentionally paved by the Scriptures' most able and ardent defenders. From the eighteenth to the first half of the nineteenth century, theologically conservative Americans defended the Bible from critical attacks. However, the Bible's defenders altered their conceptions of revelation to preserve their faith in light of changing standards of plausibility. In doing so, they gradually yet radically undermined their traditional understanding Holy Writ by denuding it of its supernatural nature. Thus, skeptics were not responsible for knocking the Bible off of its pedestal; the fault lies with the Scriptures' orthodox apologists The Erosion of Biblical Certainty: Battles over Authority and Interpretation in America 4 Contents 8 Acknowledgments 10 Introduction 12 Part I: The Eighteenth Century: The Battle against Skepticism and Rationalizing the Bible 20 Prologue: The European Background: Radical Critics and Rational Defenders of the Bible 22 La Peyrère, Hobbes, Spinoza, Simon, Le Clerc, and the Bible 25 Deists 33 1 American Puritans, Rationalism, and Revelation: Cotton Mather Naturalizes the Supernatural 36 Cotton Mather Responds to Deism 39 Manuductio ad Ministerium 46 "Biblia Americana" 50 The Bible and Natural Philosophy 51 Prisca Theologia, the Bible, and Pagan Mythologies 53 Chronology and the Problem of China 55 History and Philology 57 Mosaic Authorship 59 Conclusion 61 2 Defending the Bible and Unintended Consequences: Jonathan Edwards and Jonathan Dickinson Battle the Deists 64 Jonathan Dickinson's Empirical and Rational Defense of the Bible 65 Probability and Certainty 66 The Reasonableness of Christianity 68 History and the Bible 72 The Familiar Letters 76 Jonathan Edwards 82 The Historical Accuracy of the Bible 86 The Spiritual Sense 92 Conclusion 95 3 The Triumph of Rational Religion in America: Revealed and Natural Religion at Eighteenth-Century Harvard 98 The Controversy between Revealed and Natural Religion 101 The Lectures on Revealed Religion 103 The Lectures on Natural Religion 110 The Death of Deism and the Rise of Unitarianism 117 Part II: The Early Nineteenth Century: German Biblical Critics and the Betrayal of History 120 4 Blindsided by Germany: Buckminster, Textual Criticism, and the End of the Textus Receptus in America in the Nineteenth Century 122 The Development of Textual Criticism in Europe 123 Reactions to Textual Criticism 126 Early Encounters with Textual Criticism in Eighteenth-Century America 128 Buckminster and European Textual Scholarship 130 Buckminster's Review of Thomson's Septuagint 135 An American Griesbach 141 Conclusion 147 5 The Historical Bible: The Unitarians Grapple with the Bible's Past 152 Historical Examination of the Bible in Europe 153 European Historical Criticism 155 Buckminster, Historical Contextualization, and Paul 162 Andrews Norton 164 "A Science of Interpretation" 169 "The Modern School of German Infidelity" 176 Proving the Authenticity of the Bible 177 The Limits of History 180 Conclusion 183 Epilogue: The Orthodox Reconcile with the Past 184 Conclusion 192 Notes 196 Introduction 196 Prologue 198 Chapter 1 203 Chapter 2 212 Chapter 3 220 Chapter 4 227 Chapter 5 237 Epilogue 245 Conclusion 247 Index 250 As This Fascinating Study Shows, The Road To Rational Skepticism Was Unintentionally Paved By The Scriptures' Most Able And Ardent Defenders. As Theologically Conservative Americans Defended The Bible, They Were Forced To Alter Their Concept Of Revelation To Preserve Their Faith While Meeting New Standards Of Plausibility. -- Back Cover I. The Eighteenth Century : The Battle Against Skepticism And Rationalizing The Bible -- Prologue : The European Background : Radical Critics And Rational Defenders Of The Bible -- 1. American Puritans, Rationalism, And Revelation : Cotton Mather Naturalizes The Supernatural -- 2. Defending The Bible And Unintended Consequences : Jonathan Edwards And Jonathan Dickinson Battle The Deists -- 3. The Triumph Of Rational Religion In America : Revealed And Natural Religion At Eighteenth-century Harvard -- -- Ii. The Early Nineteenth Century : German Biblical Critics And The Betrayal Of History. 4. Blindsided By Germany : Buckminster, Textual Criticism, And The End Of The Textus Receptus In America In The Nineteenth Century -- 5. The Historical Bible : The Unitarians Grapple With The Bible's Past -- Epilogue : The Orthodox Reconcile With The Past. Michael J. Lee. Includes Bibliographical References (pages [185]-237) And Index.