Maurice Wiles
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199245918
- eISBN:
- 9780191600814
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199245916.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
Arianism is a fourth‐century heresy, which affirmed Christ to be divine, but not in the same full sense in which God the Father is divine. Traditional Trinitarianism, with its classical expression in ...
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Arianism is a fourth‐century heresy, which affirmed Christ to be divine, but not in the same full sense in which God the Father is divine. Traditional Trinitarianism, with its classical expression in the Nicene Creed, emerged out of controversy with Arianism and defined Christ as being of one substance with the Father. The overall aim of the book is to trace when and where beliefs of an Arian nature have recurred in the subsequent history of Christianity. It begins with an account of the main findings of recent scholarship on fourth‐century Arianism, which involve substantial revision of the traditional picture of the faithful orthodox defending sacred truth against the evil heretics. It goes on to provide survey accounts of Gothic Christianity, of references to Arianism in the Middle Ages, and of the resurgence of Arian‐type beliefs in the continental Reformation. There is a major concentration on eighteenth‐century Britain, where many leading intellectual figures favoured a view of the Trinity close to that of early Arianism. In particular, there are detailed studies of the theological beliefs of Isaac Newton, William Whiston, and Samuel Clarke. The collapse of these views (and the similar views of many leading heterodox dissenters) into Unitarianism is traced out, and reasons for that development offered. The final chapter looks at the development of the historical study of Arianism in Britain from John Henry Newman to Rowan Williams, with special regard for the relation between the scholars’ faith and scholarly judgement. Finally a brief epilogue asks about the implication of this historical study for contemporary Trinitarian faith.Less
Arianism is a fourth‐century heresy, which affirmed Christ to be divine, but not in the same full sense in which God the Father is divine. Traditional Trinitarianism, with its classical expression in the Nicene Creed, emerged out of controversy with Arianism and defined Christ as being of one substance with the Father. The overall aim of the book is to trace when and where beliefs of an Arian nature have recurred in the subsequent history of Christianity. It begins with an account of the main findings of recent scholarship on fourth‐century Arianism, which involve substantial revision of the traditional picture of the faithful orthodox defending sacred truth against the evil heretics. It goes on to provide survey accounts of Gothic Christianity, of references to Arianism in the Middle Ages, and of the resurgence of Arian‐type beliefs in the continental Reformation. There is a major concentration on eighteenth‐century Britain, where many leading intellectual figures favoured a view of the Trinity close to that of early Arianism. In particular, there are detailed studies of the theological beliefs of Isaac Newton, William Whiston, and Samuel Clarke. The collapse of these views (and the similar views of many leading heterodox dissenters) into Unitarianism is traced out, and reasons for that development offered. The final chapter looks at the development of the historical study of Arianism in Britain from John Henry Newman to Rowan Williams, with special regard for the relation between the scholars’ faith and scholarly judgement. Finally a brief epilogue asks about the implication of this historical study for contemporary Trinitarian faith.
Maurice Wiles
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199245918
- eISBN:
- 9780191600814
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199245916.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
Looks briefly at anti‐Trinitarian tendencies in sixteenth‐ and seventeenth‐century Britain (with special attention to Ralph Cudworth and John Locke), but concentrates on the eighteenth century, when ...
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Looks briefly at anti‐Trinitarian tendencies in sixteenth‐ and seventeenth‐century Britain (with special attention to Ralph Cudworth and John Locke), but concentrates on the eighteenth century, when Arianism was a significant feature of the ecclesiastical scene, especially among leading intellectual figures both in the Church of England and among the Presbyterian churches. Detailed studies of the theologies of Isaac Newton, William Whiston, and Samuel Clarke. Traces the collapse of this Arian‐style anti‐Trinitarianism in the Church of England and the tendency of heterodox dissenters, such as Joseph Priestley, to adopt a Unitarian view. Suggests that the diminishing acceptance in the wider culture of belief in a transcendental spirit world was an important factor in that tendency, leading to a third death of Arianism.Less
Looks briefly at anti‐Trinitarian tendencies in sixteenth‐ and seventeenth‐century Britain (with special attention to Ralph Cudworth and John Locke), but concentrates on the eighteenth century, when Arianism was a significant feature of the ecclesiastical scene, especially among leading intellectual figures both in the Church of England and among the Presbyterian churches. Detailed studies of the theologies of Isaac Newton, William Whiston, and Samuel Clarke. Traces the collapse of this Arian‐style anti‐Trinitarianism in the Church of England and the tendency of heterodox dissenters, such as Joseph Priestley, to adopt a Unitarian view. Suggests that the diminishing acceptance in the wider culture of belief in a transcendental spirit world was an important factor in that tendency, leading to a third death of Arianism.
Peter R. Anstey
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199589777
- eISBN:
- 9780191725487
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199589777.003.0006
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy, Philosophy of Science
This chapter examines Locke's discussions of specific speculative hypotheses: Newton's arguments against the Cartesian vortex theory; Thomas Burnet's and William Whiston's theory of the deluge; and ...
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This chapter examines Locke's discussions of specific speculative hypotheses: Newton's arguments against the Cartesian vortex theory; Thomas Burnet's and William Whiston's theory of the deluge; and Jakob Bernoulli's ether theory of cohesion.Less
This chapter examines Locke's discussions of specific speculative hypotheses: Newton's arguments against the Cartesian vortex theory; Thomas Burnet's and William Whiston's theory of the deluge; and Jakob Bernoulli's ether theory of cohesion.
Peter Harrison
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199934409
- eISBN:
- 9780199367740
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199934409.003.0006
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology
In this chapter, Peter Harrison first shows that the Cambridge Platonists accepted Descartes's emphasis on the fundamental laws of nature, but rejected many of the details of his account on several ...
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In this chapter, Peter Harrison first shows that the Cambridge Platonists accepted Descartes's emphasis on the fundamental laws of nature, but rejected many of the details of his account on several grounds: They did not approve of Descartes’ speculative method, favoring more experimental procedures; they were concerned about the potentially heretical theological consequences of Descartes's position; finally, on scientific grounds they rejected Descartes's aetherial matter and vortices, positing a “spirit of nature” or “plastic nature” instead that serves as an intermediary between God and the creation. Harrison then notes that the Cambridge Platonists’ position was viewed by their successors as problematic, since it seemed to be asserted more as a hypothesis than as something based on empirical evidence. As a result, Harrison argues, several Newtonianscame to the position that the laws of nature are basic explanatory principles that cannot be deduced from the nature of God, but rather must be discovered and justified through experience.Less
In this chapter, Peter Harrison first shows that the Cambridge Platonists accepted Descartes's emphasis on the fundamental laws of nature, but rejected many of the details of his account on several grounds: They did not approve of Descartes’ speculative method, favoring more experimental procedures; they were concerned about the potentially heretical theological consequences of Descartes's position; finally, on scientific grounds they rejected Descartes's aetherial matter and vortices, positing a “spirit of nature” or “plastic nature” instead that serves as an intermediary between God and the creation. Harrison then notes that the Cambridge Platonists’ position was viewed by their successors as problematic, since it seemed to be asserted more as a hypothesis than as something based on empirical evidence. As a result, Harrison argues, several Newtonianscame to the position that the laws of nature are basic explanatory principles that cannot be deduced from the nature of God, but rather must be discovered and justified through experience.
Philip Connell
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780199269587
- eISBN:
- 9780191820496
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199269587.003.0006
- Subject:
- Literature, 16th-century and Renaissance Literature, 17th-century and Restoration Literature
Moving forward into the early Hanoverian era, this chapter analyses the political significance of Newtonian apologetic as it found expression in the poetry of James Thomson. The heterodox ...
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Moving forward into the early Hanoverian era, this chapter analyses the political significance of Newtonian apologetic as it found expression in the poetry of James Thomson. The heterodox inclinations of leading Newtonian divines, such as Samuel Clarke, William Whiston, and Thomas Rundle, compromised whiggish attempts to enlist the new science in the service of Hanoverian panegyric, despite Queen Caroline’s well-publicized Newtonian enthusiasms. But for those whigs—both court and opposition—who were disturbed by Robert Walpole’s alliance with the heresy-hunting bishop of London, Edmund Gibson, the ‘latitudinarian’ associations of Newtonian religion could hold a strong political appeal. This latter possibility is shown to inform the blend of Shaftesburean enthusiasm and Newtonian physico-theology in Thomson’s The Seasons (1730).Less
Moving forward into the early Hanoverian era, this chapter analyses the political significance of Newtonian apologetic as it found expression in the poetry of James Thomson. The heterodox inclinations of leading Newtonian divines, such as Samuel Clarke, William Whiston, and Thomas Rundle, compromised whiggish attempts to enlist the new science in the service of Hanoverian panegyric, despite Queen Caroline’s well-publicized Newtonian enthusiasms. But for those whigs—both court and opposition—who were disturbed by Robert Walpole’s alliance with the heresy-hunting bishop of London, Edmund Gibson, the ‘latitudinarian’ associations of Newtonian religion could hold a strong political appeal. This latter possibility is shown to inform the blend of Shaftesburean enthusiasm and Newtonian physico-theology in Thomson’s The Seasons (1730).
