Dissent and the Bible in Britain, c.1650-1950. Edited by SCOTT MANDELBROTE and MICHAEL LEDGER-LOMAS.

Abstract

A welcome spin-off from the series of seminars organized by the Dr Williams Centre for Dissenting Studies, this attractive volume pioneers scholarship in dealing with this critical issue, for Scripture was essential to the life of Dissent, given its rejection of the authority of bishops and parliament, and by many of credal subscriptions. Not that one should impute indifference to Scripture to other religious traditions by identifying ‘The perfection of Scripture as a Christian's only rule of faith and practice’ as unique to Dissent: the italicized word here is critical, for other traditions set religious canons and articles and authoritative works such as the Book of Common Prayer alongside Scripture as also determinative of religious life. Nor should such common ground amongst dissenters suggest a simple uniformity of doctrine and practice. Indeed, the range is wide, embracing both women and men, all four British nations, and three centuries of change, together with a denominational spread ranging from Unitarians to High Calvinists. A helpful introduction from the editors explores the authority given to the Bible by dissenters, the controversies fought over the Bible on which a number of the following essays focus, the way in which the role of Scripture in dissenting life necessarily gave support to scholarship, and lastly the significance for Dissent of a declining biblical culture.