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1 - The general picture

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 December 2009

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Summary

There was a real conflict between science and religion throughout the nineteenth century in Britain, and it was passed on by the nineteenth as a legacy to the twentieth century. Religious belief was defended by appeals to natural theology and the authority of the Bible, but the defence failed in both respects, while at the same time massive developments took place in the natural sciences. While scientific methods registered one success after another, it became increasingly evident that the popular natural theology was invalid and the Bible fallible. Scientific statements about the natural world were sometimes at variance with biblical assertions, and this shattered the simple and straightforward view of the Bible, that God had spoken to the inspired writers much as a father addresses his children, conveying truths to them which otherwise they could never discover but which are essential to their health and welfare. If God had conveyed untruths to his children then he lost face, just as a deceitful or careless earthly father does; but with the significant difference that a fallible God is no longer God, and the Scriptures no longer possess their unique character and authority.

Sometimes children play games which involve setting aside a given spot as ‘safe’, a kind of sanctuary where you cannot be caught or ‘tigged’. Without wishing to overstress the analogy one could say that British biblical scholars and theologians adopted a similar tactic in the later nineteenth century, deliberately limiting their work to the religious-cum-moral area of life and conceding the right of scientists to explore the natural world and come to their own legitimate conclusions.

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Philosophy and Biblical Interpretation
A Study in Nineteenth-Century Conflict
, pp. 4 - 21
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 1991

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  • The general picture
  • Peter Addinall
  • Book: Philosophy and Biblical Interpretation
  • Online publication: 23 December 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511557514.003
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  • The general picture
  • Peter Addinall
  • Book: Philosophy and Biblical Interpretation
  • Online publication: 23 December 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511557514.003
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • The general picture
  • Peter Addinall
  • Book: Philosophy and Biblical Interpretation
  • Online publication: 23 December 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511557514.003
Available formats
×