WILLIAM KELLY (1821-1906): BIBLICAL LITERALIST, CONSERVATIVE INTELLECTUAL, AND MYSTIC. A thesis submitted to the University of Manchester for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Humanities 2015 ANNE-LOUISE CRITCHLOW SCHOOL OF ARTS, LANGUAGES AND CULTURES 2 LIST OF CONTENTS Chapter One: William Kelly in his Context page 6 Chapter Two: William Kelly – A Conservative Intellectual of the Evangelical Tradition page 32 Chapter Three: William Kelly as a Conservative Intellectual – his Relationship with Nineteenth- Century English Theologians page 57 Chapter Four: William Kelly as a Biblical Literalist – his Teaching about the After-life page 84 Chapter Five: William Kelly as a Biblical Literalist – the Atonement page 113 Chapter Six: William Kelly and Mystic Spirituality page 137 Chapter Seven: William Kelly’s Mysticism Revealed in his Typology and Understanding of Language page 159 Conclusion: an Assessment of William Kelly’s Contribution to Theology page 183 Bibliography page 191 Word Count: 79,890 3 ABSTRACT In this thesis I consider the life and work of William Kelly, a Brethren theologian who was a leader of the Moderate Exclusive Brethren movement. I have analysed his beliefs and his influence amongst the Brethren and the wider Victorian Christian world. In particular, I have used articles, both those by other Brethren writers which Kelly edited, and the many articles he wrote himself as contributions to The Bible Treasury, a published monthly magazine which he edited between 1856 and 1906. I have considered his books of Biblical exegesis and his tracts and pamphlets on other subjects. While Kelly also edited the work of John Nelson Darby (1880-1882), I have contended that Kelly was an independent theologian in his own right and not just an indiscriminate follower of Darby’s teaching. I have examined Kelly’s lively and scholarly appraisal of the German ‘School of Higher Criticism’ and its commentary on Anglican and non-conformist theologians of his period with whom he disagreed. Kelly’s work is worthy of study because his Biblical exegesis was meticulous and scholarly and demonstrated his understanding of each book within the context of the wider Biblical text. In keeping with the title of my thesis, I propose that Kelly’s teaching was nuanced and cannot easily be stereotyped. In describing him as a Biblical literalist, I have chosen to focus on the key topics of ‘the Atonement’ and ‘the After-Life’, as these were considered to be controversial topics amongst Victorian theologians and Kelly referred to them throughout his teaching. In defining him partly as a conservative intellectual, I examine his broader understanding of Biblical language and literary form, his assessment of the philosophical foundations of criticism, and his response to German and English trends in Biblical criticism. I also consider his mystic theology with regard to the church and the teaching of the Epistles and the way his own writing encapsulates his interpretation of the Biblical text. Finally, I have come to some overall conclusions about how we can assess William Kelly the characteristics of his theology and his place within the continuum of Brethren theology and of a broader Christian tradition. 4 Declaration I confirm that no portion of the work referred to in the thesis has been submitted in support of an application for another degree or qualification of this or any other university or other institute of learning. 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Such Intellectual Property and Reproductions cannot and must not be made available for use without prior written permission of the owner(s) of the relevant Intellectual Property and/or Reproductions. iv Further information on the conditions under which disclosure, publication and commercialisation of this thesis, the Copyright and any Intellectual Property and/or Reproductions described in it may take place is available in the University IP Policy (see http://documents.manchester.ac.uk/DocuInfo.aspx?DocID=487), in any relevant Thesis restriction declarations deposited in the University Library, The University Library’s regulations (see http://www.manchester.ac.uk/library/aboutus/regulations) and in The University’s policy on Presentation of Theses. 5 Acknowledgement I would like to acknowledge with gratitude the patient help and advice from my supervisor, Professor Jeremy Gregory who has been unfailingly encouraging and perceptive in his comments during the last six years. I also owe a debt of gratitude to Dr Graham Johnson of the Christian Brethren Archives at the University of Manchester Library for his generously shared knowledge, expertise and enthusiasm. I am grateful too to Ms. Jenny Parker, librarian at the reference section of the Central Library, Middlesbrough, for opening the room containing the Kelly library and showing me the index of the books. My thanks also go the Women’s Continuing Ministerial Education Trust (part of the Church of England), for providing me with a bursary to enable me to undertake this research. Lastly I would like to record my gratitude to my husband, Dr Mark Critchlow, for his kindness and support during these years of study. Preface Rev. Anne-Louise Critchlow, who is presenting this thesis, is a stipendiary vicar of the Church of England in Eccles, Manchester. She holds B.A. (hons.) and M.A. degrees in English Literature from London University, a M. es Lettres from the University of Grenoble in France and a M.A. in Theology and Pastoral Studies from the University of Leeds. She has written research dissertations on the poetry of W.B. Yeats and the history of the church in Algeria and has written an article for the Brethren Historical Review (vol. 6, 2010) on William Kelly and the Inspiration of Scriptures. She has presented a paper on Kelly’s mysticism at the Ecclesiastical History Society postgraduate symposium 2013 and at the International Brethren Conference, 2013. 6 Chapter One: William Kelly in his Context Introduction William Kelly (1821-1906) was born in County Down, Ireland. He studied Classics and Hebrew at Trinity College, Dublin from 1836 till 1841 and he graduated with first-class honours. As he was too young to be ordained in the Church of Ireland, he obtained a tutorial post in Sark for a year, where he experienced an ‘evangelical conversion’ and joined the Brethren movement, which had begun as early as 1827-8, when John Nelson Darby (1800- 1882), an ordained Anglican clergyman, was experiencing internal conflict about his beliefs and the nature of the established Church. Kelly spent the years 1842-71 in Guernsey, establishing his reputation as a Bible teacher and writer.1 While Kelly had only met Darby briefly and ‘by chance’ in Plymouth in 1845, he had already been influenced by Darby’s writing.2 However, while Darby, John Gifford Bellett (1795-1864), Benjamin Wills Newton (1807-1899) and other early Brethren leaders were debating ecclesiology in Dublin, Oxford and Plymouth, Kelly, a generation younger than these three, was living peacefully in Guernsey, meeting with only a few like-minded Christians according to Brethren principles, rather than being involved in early Brethren debates. While in Guernsey he started to edit first The Prospect (1848-50) and then The Bible Treasury (1856-1906), both of which were religious magazines, wrote biblical exegeses, and took part in Brethren conferences in London. In 1871, Kelly moved to Blackheath, London, where he was a revered and published teacher and author until his death in 1906. In this thesis I will be concerned with Kelly’s reputation as a teacher and writer both amongst the Brethren and a wider Christian public. In particular, Kelly edited and contributed many of the articles in The Bible Treasury. George Anthony Denison (1805-1896), Archdeacon of Taunton and High Church Anglican, spoke of it as, ‘the only religious magazine any longer worth reading.’3 Kelly took up controversial topics of the day such as the issues raised by ‘Higher Criticism’, the inspiration of Scripture and the Atonement, and in my thesis I will 1 Edwin N. Cross, The Irish Saint and Scholar. A Biography of William Kelly 1821-1906 (London: Chapter Two, 2004), 23. 2 Henry W. Pontis, Preface to Index to the Bible Treasury. A monthly Magazine of Papers on Scriptural Subjects edited by William Kelly, June 1856–July 1920, 3rd ed. (Winschoten, Netherlands: H.L. Heijkoop, 1969), ix. Between June and December 1856 the magazine was edited by Professor Wallace. Between 1906 and 1920 it was edited by F.E. Race. Cf. bibliography for first edition which is exactly the same in page numbers as the 3rd edition, except that in the 1st edition each volume is bound separately. 3 Henry Y. Pickering, Chief Men Among the Brethren, a Series of Brief Records of Brethren Beloved (Glasgow: Pickering and Inglis, n/d), 108. 7 analyse his magazine articles and reviews, as well as his major works, in order to explore his position with regard to these controversies.