THE NINETEENTH CENTURY: STUDIES AND CRITICISM OF SCRIPTURE PRESENTED BY JONATHAN ESTERMAN NOVEMBER 2011
Copyright 2011, Jonathan Esterman. All rights reserved. No portion of this article may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means - electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other - except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Published by Scripted Genius. Visit us online at scriptedgenius.com.
Pre-Note! 4 Introduction! 4 The Religious Impact of a Progressive Philosophy! 5 Schleiermacher and His Impact! 6 Higher Criticism of the Old Testament: Julius Wellhausen! 6 Conclusion! 8 Bibliography! 10
Pre-Note! As the reader examines the rest of this paper, please be advised that His Name is omitted intentionally - Jewish tradition insists that the Creator s name and all related titles be omitted from any potentially printed material. Thus, in this essay, readers will find that G-d will be substituted for respective purposes. Introduction! Much happened in the nineteenth century regarding Christianity. It was a period of conflict between modern thought and Christianity. Traditionally, it was a Catholic viewpoint to stubbornly reject modern ideas. Such is seen in the condemnation of Galileo. 1 Partially as an attempt to avoid this tradition, popular traction for Protestants was to instead attempt to interpret the Christian faith within the new frame of understanding. 2! Historically, the Industrial Revolution reached most of Western Europe and parts of the Americas (or New World) during this timeframe. This impact was not just on financial considerations, but rather on the entire lifestyle of a citizen during this period. Traditional roles such as farming and crop management were giving way to the industrial centers, and family received its own redesign as well. A result of this transition led citizens to interpret living as a personal ordeal, rather than a corporate one. 3 1 Justo L. González, The Story of Christianity, Volume Ii: The Reformation to the Present Day, II vols., vol. I (New York: HarperOne, 2010), 385. 2 Ibid. 3 Ibid.
! This transition to individual living helped birth the philosophy of preoccupation with self and individualism as a whole, which then made its way into popular literature. Another result of the Revolution was a focus on the concept of progress. Innovations were the new novelty, and in many ways, still are today. This is different from the times of the Renaissance, where people returned to ancient faiths after testing the new concepts. Rather, in this industrialized setting, people looked forward to the sunrise instead of back to the sunset. Applied sciences began to take root, including the faith in Darwin s theory of evolution. 4 The Religious Impact of a Progressive Philosophy!! This transition impacted Christianity greatly. Viewing progress as a focus and necessity, philosophers theorized that progress has always occurred, in a sense of the evolution of civilization and rational thought. Humans had not always been as they were at this given time in the nineteenth century - there must have been more neanderthal times. If humans have not always been in the same situation, then it was assumed that their religious views have also received upgrades as well. Thus, doubt was cast on traditional views, which, when applied to Scripture, found a level of incompatibility. 5! This incompatibility, or at least the pre-assumption of it, proved to be a cog in the chain of theological study and examination in this timeframe. Theologians, such as Friedrich Schleiermacher, Julius Wellhausen, and Albrecht Ritschl provided significant criticism to Scripture and Judeo-Christian theology, questioning the very basic tenets of an ancient faith. 4 Ibid., 386. 5 Ibid.
Schleiermacher and His Impact! Schleiermacher, the first in this brief list, attempted to write a defense of faith. His result, however, was a liberal theology. His argument, in Speeches on Religion to the Cultured among Its Despisers, demanded a necessity for religion as an important part of the human life. It was not a form of knowledge, such as what the rationalists suggested, nor a system of ethics and morality, as Kant expected, but rather Gefühl, or feeling. 6! This argument for Christianity doubled quite effectively as a defense of faith and also the foundation of liberalism at its finest. Schleiermacher s influence spread and challenged philosophers beyond him. It spread to the distances of Albert Ritschl, who boldly argued that Christianity is about practical living, taking a step further from Schleiermacher s claims. This required a factual knowledge of events, and overall Ritschl s works influenced Rauschenbusch s Social Gospel. 7! Perhaps the most dangerous efforts made during this time of social upheaval, technological advance, and religious bantering was by that of Julius Wellhausen. Higher Criticism of the Old Testament: Julius Wellhausen! Wellhausen was well-known for his studies of the names of G-d in the Old Testament. His efforts brought a surprise, however, that was not welcomed by the Christian community. Cited as a source for many critical claims against the Old Testament provenance, Wellhausen s works are considered a basic prolegomena to Old 6 Ibid., 389. 7 Ibid., 396-397.
Testament writings and the history of ancient Israel. As defined by Merriam-Webster, prolegomena is a critical or discursive introduction to a book. 8 In this case, Wellhausen s exhaustive efforts solidly fit this case.! Wellhausen s writing, however, was not wholly self-inspired. Based off the Grafian hypothesis, Wellhausen argues than the Levitical law, as well as all of the Pentateuch, was not actually written until after the collapse of the kingdom of Judah. Further, the Pentateuch s current form was not recognized in any official capacity until Ezra s reformation. Prior to Wellhausen s detailed argument of this, Graf s theory was all but dismissed. With Wellhausen s analysis and examination of sources, however, this concept is still utilized widely today in development of contemporary Biblical criticism. 9! Wellhausen s argument is a frightening one. In his same argument he makes for the Pentateuch and the Levitical laws, he states that Daniel could have been written as late as the Maccabean Wars, which does not fit the timeline of the events occurring in Daniel. 10 The traditional Christian viewpoint would have suggested a near-immediate recording of events, to maintain accuracy and truthfulness. However, there are even Bibles that admit the same conclusion which Wellhausen makes: [c]lues scattered through the book indicate that the author...belonged to...militant supporters of the 8 "Prolegomena", http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prolegomena (accessed 11/29/2011). 9 Prof. W. Robertson Smith, "Preface," in Prolegomena to the History of Ancient Israel(New York: Meridian Books, 1965). 10 Julius Wellhausen, Prolegomena to the History of Ancient Israel (New York: Meridian Books, 1965), 1.
Maccabees, 11 and takes it even further to say that the narrative of Daniel found in the first six chapters are concerning a legendary character and are clearly fictitious. 12! The philosophy discussed previously regarding the nineteenth century, as well as cultural scenarios not presented, heavily influenced Wellhausen. While Wellhausen attempts to adopt a nonpartisan stance of examination, his commentary found throughout his writings reveal a leaning stance toward modern thought and the necessity of religious progress over that of traditional religious interpretation of Old Testament Scriptures. In addition, Wellhausen looked to contemporaries such as G.W.F. von Hegel and Charles Darwin as influential intellectuals. 13! During Wellhausen s attempt to date the Pentateuch, he had several motivational factors that would lead him to more strongly oppose traditional dating timeframes. In fact, his decisions for a different date only reassured him of his stance. Further, being heavily anti-institutional, dating times that interfered with the institution would only prove to be yet another motivation. 14 Conclusion!! In all, readers can easily absorb Wellhausen s intended result of his Prolegomena: more of an attack on Judaism via historicity than a fair attempt to textually criticize Scripture. Wellhausen s influence provides apologists with plenty to 11 Ph.D Pamela J. Milne, "Daniel," in The Harpercollins Study Bible: Fully Revised and Updated, ed. Harold W. Attridge(New York: HarperOne, 2006), 1169. 12 Ibid., 1168. 13 David Danzig, "Julius Wellhausen's Biblical Criticism: Influences and Impact," Academia (2011). http:// yale.academia.edu/daviddanzig/papers/855897/ Julius_Wellhausens_Biblical_Criticism_Influences_and_Impact (accessed 11/29/11). 14 Ibid., 8.
disucss, on both sides of the argument. Wellhausen, combined with the overarching theme of the nineteenth century (being that of less religion in the face of science), further proved the inevitable result of the time: that the modern sciences of the nineteenth century would ultimately incompatible with the traditional faiths in Christianity, Catholicism, and Judaism. Inevitably, this would lead to modern assumption that science is still incompatible, despite the turning of centuries and further scientific evidence that instead support, rather than negate, the ultimate truths found in the Scriptures. While many philosophers had quite an impact on modern thought, including the popular Charles Darwin, it seemed that Julius Wellhausen had a devastating impact on the interpretation and dating (in regard to provenance) of Scripture, forever changing how the majority read the Scriptures: as devotion rather than history.!
Bibliography Danzig, David. "Julius Wellhausen's Biblical Criticism: Influences and Impact." Academia (2011). http://yale.academia.edu/daviddanzig/papers/855897/ Julius_Wellhausens_Biblical_Criticism_Influences_and_Impact [accessed 11/29/11]. González, Justo L. The Story of Christianity, Volume Ii: The Reformation to the Present Day. Vol. I. II vols. New York: HarperOne, 2010. Pamela J. Milne, Ph.D. "Daniel." In The Harpercollins Study Bible: Fully Revised and Updated, edited by Harold W. Attridge. New York: HarperOne, 2006. "Prolegomena", http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prolegomena (accessed 11/29/2011). Smith, Prof. W. Robertson. "Preface." In Prolegomena to the History of Ancient Israel, v- x. New York: Meridian Books, 1965. Wellhausen, Julius. Prolegomena to the History of Ancient Israel. New York: Meridian Books, 1965.