Tuesday, August 22, 2023

It is the 22nd of August, 2023. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org, I’m Dan van Voorhis.

All the fuss and the Hurricane/Tropical Storm just kinda grazed us. At least people now have all the water for the impending Earthquake here in these last days.

Do you know who else was fascinated with nature, weather, and Biblical prophesy? William Whiston, that’s who. He was one of the more curious characters in the Anglican Church in the 1700s- a Newtonian, an Apologist, and, well… something of a heretic.

William was born in 1667 to Josiah, a Presbyterian minister in Leicestershire, and Katherine, whose father proceeded to Josiah as a minister in that same parish. William was homeschooled such that he could also serve as a secretary for his father, who had gone blind. After his father’s death, William attended Clare College Cambridge as a form of student aide, which made it possible. There he excelled at Math (or “maths” as they call it) and received his BA in 1690 and his MA in 1693 and was made a Senior Fellow. He was ordained into the Anglican Church in 1693 [it’s worth noting that the Anglican Church at the time, especially coming out of Cambridge, was especially “latitudinarian;” that is, theological disagreements and innovations were common and acceptable].

William was a keen student, especially of his professor Isaac Newton. Whiston would become one of the first proponents of Newton in popular literature and would become Newton’s self-selected successor in 1702. With the Copernican worldview being accepted and advances in the new field of archaeology and textual criticism, theological innovation was common- and Whiston would be one of those who stressed the limits of theological innovation. There was also the rise of Deism- that is, God as a kind of Blind Watchmaker.

It was important for Whiston that he defend the reliability of the Bible and the creation story. In 1696 he published “A New Theory Of the Earth”- he claimed that the earth was created by God, who used a comet and six years (not days) of creation. Another comet, he argued, caused the flood and the world as we know it today. He claimed, to the consternation of many, that another comet would cause the end of the world in 1736. When this didn’t happen, he pushed the date to 1866 (it’s safer to pick a date after your lifetime). Newton himself also predicted the end of the earth- sometime around the year 2000.

As Whiston compared the Masoretic Hebrew text of the Old Testament with the Septuagint and the Samaritan Pentateuch, he claimed that the chronology was off by some 500 years. This skepticism with regard to the established texts of the church led him to read pseudo-graphical and other lesser-known ancient texts. He wanted to find the truth of Scripture to use against the Deists to show the harmony between nature and the Bible, but his obsession (similar to Newton's) led him to heterodox views on biblical prophecy (he didn’t believe the Messianic prophecies could have fulfillment in other events in the life of the Israelites) and more importantly he came to ascribe to Arianism- the denial of the Trinity. He and Newton would have a falling out because Whiston did his writing and arguing in public and in English. He tried to draw Newton out, who had similar views but knew enough not to teach them publicly.

He would be taken to court in a case that would become important as the court refused to try a clergyman. But Whiston would begin holding meetings in the newly fashionable coffeehouses with his “Society for Primitive Christianity.” He was more tolerated than accepted by the likes of John Locke, Edmund Halley, and those pushing the boundaries of science, philosophy, and Christianity. He had his reputation as Newton’s successor but was also barred from the Royal Society by Newton for his lack of decorum in dealing with touchy subjects. He was described by one man as “of very quick and ardent spirit, tall and spare, with a pointed chin and wore his own hair. In looks, he greatly resembles Calvin. He is very fond of speaking and argues with great vehemence.”

While he remained nominally an Anglican, his rejection of the Athanasian Creed led him to join the General Baptists, who did not have creedal requirements. Along with his end-times predictions, he also caused a stir when he claimed to have discovered that the Eastern European Tartars were the 10 lost tribes of Israel. William Whiston, a curious Newtonian and erstwhile theologian, would die on this, the 22nd of August in 1752. He was 84 years old.

The last word for today comes from the daily lectionary and Isaiah 43- certainly, a prophecy Whiston worked with:

“You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord,
    “and my servant whom I have chosen,

so that you may know and believe me

    and understand that I am he.

Before me no god was formed,

    nor will there be one after me.

I, even I, am the Lord,

    and apart from me there is no savior.

I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—

    I, and not some foreign god among you.

You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “that I am God."

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 22nd of August 2023, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man “of very quick and ardent spirit, tall and spare, with a pointed chin and wears his own hair.” He is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who survived the California Hurri-quake and wonders how the end times fit in with that —I’m  Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.