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This electronic thesis or dissertation has been downloaded from the King’s Research Portal at https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/ Evangelical theology : 1857-1900. Culbertson, Eric Malcolm The copyright of this thesis rests with the author and no quotation from it or information derived from it may be published without proper acknowledgement. END USER LICENCE AGREEMENT Unless another licence is stated on the immediately following page this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ You are free to copy, distribute and transmit the work Under the following conditions: Attribution: You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work). Non Commercial: You may not use this work for commercial purposes. No Derivative Works - You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work. Any of these conditions can be waived if you receive permission from the author. Your fair dealings and other rights are in no way affected by the above. Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact [email protected] providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 10. Oct. 2021 ýýv) 1. -, - )? ý UNIVERSITY OF LONDON EVANGELICAL THEOLOGY 1857-1900 A THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY BY ERIC XALCOLX CULBERTSON KING'S COLLEGE DEPARTLBBTOF THEOLOGYAND RELIGIOUS STUDIES 1991 ý. .,, ý ,.. ,.. ABSTRACT OF THESIS This thesis deals with Evangelical theology in the Church of England between the years 1857 and 1900. It relates, evaluates and analyses how Evangelicals employed their theology in answering controversially rationalist and ritualist theories and new ideas regarding the after-life, and also how Evangelicals expressed their theology positively concerning God, creation and evolution, scripture, the last things, the atonement, and the church, sacraments and the liturgy. In the course of this analysis the present low evaluation of Evangelical theologians, especially T. R. Birks and Nathaniel Dimock, is questioned and their reputation enhanced. The assumption that their position was unimaginative and almost uniformly ultra-conservative is shown to be untenable. The lack of scholarly study of these thinkers is remedied. In an introduction previous scholarship is reviewed, and the iaportance and relevance of the subject is shown. In chapter one, it is related how Evangelicals replied to Essays and Reviews, Colenso, Renan and Seeley and evolutionary thought by relying on a high, though not uniformly verbal theory of Biblical inspiration. Chapter two deals with rationalism from 1879-1900 and notes a growing breadth in Evangelical scholarship. Chapter three concerns the after-life, and shows how some Evangelicals accepted that the pains of hell were less severe than traditionally believed. Chapter four notes the Evangelical view of baptismal regeneration, confession, the real presence and eucharistic presence. Chapter five contrasts Garbett and Birks in the 1860s and Xoule and Litton in the 1890s on God and creation and describes Birks' impressive assault on evolutionary philosophy. Chapter six shows how scriptural views varied from the conservative Birks to the liberal Lias. Chapter seven is on the Last Things and the Atonement and chapter eight considers the remarkable liturgical scholarship of Dimock. In the conclusion Evangelical theology is contextualised and the implications of its importance considered. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE 7 INTRODUCTION 8 THE CONTROVERSIES 27 1. RATIONALISM 1857-1878 28 1.1 Introduction 28 1.2 Essays and Reviews 31 1.3 Colenso 52 1.4 Renn 64 1.5 Seeley 65 1.6 Geology and Evolution 67 2. RATIONALISM 1879-1900 91 2.1 Introduction 91 2.2 The Revised Version of the Bible 94 2.3 Wellhausen 101 2.4 Lux Xundi 113 2.5 Genesis and Science 117 2.6 T. H. Huxley and Mrs Humphry Ward 122 3. THE AFTER-LIFE 135 3.1 Introduction 135 3.2 Passive Contemplation and Conditionalism 137 3.3 Farrar, Pusey, and Xoule 142 4. RITUALISM 147 4.1 Introduction 147 5 4.2 Baptismal Controversy 152 4.3 Athanasian Creed and Prayer Book revision 158 4.4 Confession 163 4.5 Real Presence and Eucharistic Sacrifice 172 4.6 Ritualism 1857-74 185 4.7 Ritualism 1874-1900 191 THE THEOLOGICAL YRITINGS 203 5. GOD, CREATION, AND EVOLUTION 204 5.1 Introduction 204 5.2 Creation 206 5.3 Evolution 213 5.4 Evolutionary philosophy 215 6. SCRIPTURE 224 6.1 Introduction 224 6.2 Inspiration 227 6.3 Exegesis 234 7. THE LAST THINGS AND THE ATONEMENT 247 7.1 Introduction 247 7.2 The Future State 249 7.3 The Atonement 258 8. CHURCH,SACRAMENTS, AND LITURGY 264 8.1 Introduction 264 8.2 Apostolic Succession 267 8.3 Sacerdotium and Ministry 273 8.4 Real Presence 275 8.5 Eucharistic Sacrifice 282 CONCLUSION 290 BIBLIOGRAPHY 299 7 PREFACE Ny thanks-are due to several people. Firstly they are due to Dr Judith Champ, lecturer in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at King's College, London, for supervising my research. Secondly to Dr. Christoph Schwoebel, lecturer in the same department, who assisted me with final revision. I an also grateful for the advice of Revd. Dr. Peter Toon, Dr. Kenneth Hylson-Smith, and the Revd J. S. Reynolds, on the feasibility of this subject for research. However all errors and mistakes in this thesis remain my own. I an grateful to the librarians of King's College library, the British Library, the Bodleian library, Oxford, the Cambridge University Library, The National Library of Scotland, the Lambeth Palace library, the Evangelical library, and New College library, University of Edinburgh, for allowing me to use their facilities and for helping me. I also thank my wife Kay, who helped me with some final checking, and who has given me such excellent support over the several years I have been writing this thesis. I dedicate this thesis with affection to my parents. Deo gratias. INTRODUCTION The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate and analyse the theology of Evangelicals of the Church of England in the late nineteenth century and to investigate how they employed it in responding controversially to rationalist, ritualist, and eschatologically revisionist theories. The exciting possibility of investigating the thought of these theologians was in part a product of the writer's personal Anglican Evangelical tradition. It is hoped that this will not prejudice his judgement, but it provides an immediate interest and sympathy with these thinkers. More particularly a historical interest in the Victorian period has been of help, as was the experience of reading a glowing tribute to these largely and unjustly forgotten figures by Prof. J. I. Packer, in lb& Oxford Evangelicals by J. S. Reynolds. That was the immediate spur to find out why this galaxy of theological stars has passed from the firmament unloved and unregarded. In December 1860 Lord Shaftesbury wrote that many had fallen spiritually under the "Juggernaut of Rationalism, which enlarged, elevated and emancipated the intellect"' and many more under the "Juggernaut of 'Shaftesbury, Broadlands XSS, SHA/XIS/3, cited by G. B. A. H. Finlayson, The Seventh Earl of Shaftesbury. 1801-188 (London: Eyre and Methuen, 1981), p. 515 9 Ritualism which pleased the fancy, made religion easy and lulled the conscience"' The two Juggernauts were, as he wrote two months later, "rife, ready and riotous"2. Peter Toon in his book Evangelical Theology 1833-56 has related how in the preceding twenty years Evangelical theologians had responded to Tractarianism and if hardly stemming its tide they had at least demonstrated the tradition and credentials of Evangelical Protestants within the Church of England. After 1856 the theological crisis grew with the well-known rationalist controversies involving Darwin, Jowett, Colenso and Seeley. And a counterpoint was played by liturgical Tractarianism. The name of the Evangelical theologian William Goode who played a particularly distinguished role in the Gorham controversy is known and recognised. However he had less renowned and unjustly neglected followers and successors who were men of quality if not as outstanding thinkers as Together he. they responded at length to the issues of the day and also wrote more theoretically. It is time for a revaluation of, and in some cases a first verdict on these Evangelical theologians of the Church of England. Their opinions and their response to the issues confronting them deserve investigation. Owen Chadwick is right that "Throughout the mid-Victorian age the Evangelical movement was the strongest religious force in British life "3. Such a movement cannot be evaluated, nor can the Evangelical mind be traced throughout Victorian society, as Chadwick bids us to, unless its theological underpinning is delineated. The range of theological opinion among 'Ibid. 2Shaftesbury, Broadlands MSS, SHA/PD/8, cited by Finlayson, The. Seventh Earl of Shaftesbury 1801-1885, p. 515 30wen Chadwick, The Victorian Church,, (London: Adam and Charles Black, 1966,1970) I, p. 5 10 Evangelicals needs to be described, as well as the development of their views during the rest of the century. The relationship between Evangelical and non-Evangelical theology requires investigation. But is Evangelical theology between these dates susceptible to scholarly investigation in depth? It seems wise, before turning over the first clod, to ascertain the fertility of the soil. Is there novelty of subject matter to be found here?. Would there be newly discovered facts? It is generally acknowledged that this field has not been over tilled in times past. In his book Evangelical Theology 1833-1856 Peter Toon writes: ' "A further book needs to be written showing how they [the Evangelicals] reacted to the "Liberal" theology - that is to new views about the Bible, revelation, creation, miracles and related subjects which gained popularity in England from about 1850.0 J.