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

255 Pages·2013·2.341 MB·English

by  Michael J. Lee

The Erosion of Biblical Certainty

The Erosion of Biblical Certainty
Battles over Authority and
Interpretation in America
Michael J. Lee
the erosion of biblical certainty
Copyright © Michael Lee, 2013
All rights reserved.
First published in 2013 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN® in the United States— a
division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by
Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England,
company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS.
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Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United
Kingdom, Europe and other countries.
ISBN: 978- 1- 137- 29965- 9
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Lee, Michael J. (Michael Jeehoon)
The erosion of Biblical certainty : battles over authority and interpretation in
America / Michael J. Lee.
pages cm
ISBN 978- 1- 137- 29965- 9 (alk. paper)
1. Bible— Evidences, authority, etc. 2. Bible— Criticism, interpretation, etc.— United
States— History. 3. United States— Church history. I. Title.
BS480.L4155 2013
220.1’3— dc23 2013018209
A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library.
Design by Scribe Inc.
First edition: October 2013
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To Heidi

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
I The Eighteenth Century: The Battle against
Skepticism and Rationalizing the Bible
Prologue The European Background: Radical Critics 11
and Rational Defenders of the Bible
1 American Puritans, Rationalism, and Revelation: 25
Cotton Mather Naturalizes the Supernatural
2 Defending the Bible and Unintended Consequences: 53
Jonathan Edwards and Jonathan Dickinson Battle the
Deists
3 The Triumph of Rational Religion in America: Revealed 87
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, 111
and the End of the Textus Receptus in America in the
Nineteenth Century
5 The Historical Bible: The Unitarians Grapple with the 141
Bible’s Past
Epilogue The Orthodox Reconcile with the Past 173
Conclusion 181
Notes 185
Index 239

Acknowledgments
I have incurred many debts in the writing of this book. I would like to thank
the history department of the University of Notre Dame for generously sup-
porting the research and writing of my book, which began as a dissertation. I
would also like to thank the graduate school of the University of Notre Dame
and the Friends of the Princeton University Library for providing grants,
which allowed me to conduct the archival research. The libraries of Prince-
ton, Yale, Harvard, Andover Newton Theological School, The American
Antiquarian Society, and the Massachusetts Historical Society allowed me to
use their archives for which I am grateful. I also want to thank Linda Smith
Rhodes, editor of The New England Quarterly, for permission to reprint por-
tions of my article and for her remarkable editorial skill. The anonymous
reviewer also made some extremely helpful suggestions. My dissertation
committee, James Turner, George Marsden, Brad Gregory, Mark Noll, and
Thomas Slaughter, made insightful and helpful comments. I would especially
like to thank my advisor James Turner. He has been encouraging, kind, and
patient. He is a model of an erudite scholar and a gracious mentor. My col-
leagues at Eastern University helped create an encouraging environment in
which I could write my book. I am grateful to Gary Jenkins, Beth Doriani,
and Kent Sparks for helping provide a course release. Finally, I must thank
my wife, Heidi Oberholtzer Lee. No words can fully express my gratitude for
her sacrifice, help, encouragement, and support.