The Henson Journals

[186]

Tuesday, September 27th , 1921.

In 1861 – sixty years ago – the first Church congress was held, and Convocation condemned "Essays and Reviews". "Certainly every age has its fiery trials of faith" wrote Dean Church to D. Moberly on Sept. 14th 1860 when the storm raised by "Essays and Reviews" was beginning to blow hard. His judgement on the Book & the Storm it caused is given in a letter to D. Asa Gray, March 28th 1861:–

"It is not wonderful that this book should have caused much consternation. It seems to me, with many good and true things in it, to be a reckless book; and several of the writers have not got their thoughts and theories into such order and consistency as to warrant their coming before the world with such revolutionary views. But there has been a great deal of unwise panic, and unjust and hasty abuse; and people who have not an inkling of the difficulties which beset the questions, are for settling them in a summary way, which is perilous for everyone".

Temple regretted having "done anything which would encourage these boys (sc. at Rugby) to plunge into critical speculations before their time", but he did not differ from the substance of the book sufficiently to feel bound to repudiate it, & outcry against it moved his scorn. "Toleration", he said to the Rugby masters, "is a word which to me has no meaning, unless it means to tolerate what we don't like and not only what we do like" (Life. p. 225). But "Essays & Reviews" never really touched more than the outworks. These "modern Churchmen" are dealing with the very assumption of Christian discipleship.

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Among other efforts to champion orthodoxy in the University D. Pusey "commenced at his own house a series of informal meetings of undergraduates and Bachelors of Arts to discuss difficulties which had been raised about the Old Testament". His guests were invited to send in difficulties which they felt, & these were dealt with. The range of Christian perplexity at that time is sufficiently disclosed by the subjects which were chosen e.g. 'the mosaic account of the Creator', 'the Deluge', 'the Plagues of Egypt', 'the hardening of Pharaoh's heart', 'the influence of Egypt on the Mosaic system', Dr Colenso’s work on the Pantateuch', and 'the date of the Book of Joel'. The first of these meetings was held on November 4th 1863. (iv. 75)

Bishop Hampden of Hereford told the Bishops that "Essays & Reviews" 'was a question between Infidelity & Christianity, and that we ought to 'prosecute: a question of Christianity or no Christianity' (Life of Wilberforce vol. iii. p.3.). Bp. Wilberforce composed the Declaration 'signed by both Abps and 24 bishops dated Feb:12th:1861. It contains the following statement:– "We cannot understand how these opinions can be held consistently with an honest subscription to the formularies of our Church with many of the fundamental doctrines of which they appear to us essentially at variance".

In Bishop Wilberforce's Diary, January 28th 1862, is the statement that he rode with Carlyle who was "against the essayists on dishonesty ground and atheistic". In April 1864 a Synodical condemnation of "Essays & Reviews" was adopted by Convocation.

"For the first time since 1711 the Church of England had pronounced synodically upon a question of Doctrine".

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Hort, writing to Westcott on Jan. 9th 1890, gave the following estimate of Bishop Lightfoot:–

"Lightfoot's mental interests lay almost exclusively in concrete facts or written words. He never seemed to care for any generalisation. No one can with advantage be everything: & he gained much by what was surely a limitation. He gained by it in clearness & force of thought and word: & he gained by it enormously in ready access to English people of all sorts, owing to its correspondence to the prevalent English habit of mind. But would it not be a pity to seem to suggest that the region which had little attraction for him is, in itself, a barren cloudland, as so many people assure us it is".

Hort was disgusted with the action of the Bishops in respect of "Essays and Reviews":– "Surely", he wrote, "this wretched paltering with great questions must soon come to an end, or else the Church itself" (v.Life.vol.i.p.443). He viewed with apprehension the union of fanaticks against theological liberty:–

"A league is forming between the Evangelicals and the High Churchmen to crush all belief not founded solely on tradition, and, if possible, to drive from the Church all who, whether orthodox or not, value truth above orthodoxy. The danger seems to me great and immediate" (Letter to Westcott. Feb 15th 1861).

I do not think the danger is any the less today, but now public opinion, like Gallio, "cares for none of these things".

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