The Bible and the Enlightenment: A Case Study: Alexander Geddes 1737-1802

(Hardback)

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Description

This volume contains the proceedings of a conference held to mark the bicentenary of the death of Alexander Geddes (1737-1802). Geddes, a product of the Scottish and French Enlightenment, was a Roman Catholic priest; a pioneering biblical critic; a poet, some of whose works have been attributed to Robert Burns; and a political radical who studied in Paris before the French Revolution, which provided the background to the chief phase of his activity, ca. 1780-1800. This work is of interest to historians and to students of the Bible and English literature. The international panel of contributors includes Tom Levine on the political social and religious background, A.G. Aulg, Bultmann, C. Coury, J.W. Rogerson, J.L. Ska and M. Vervenne on Geddes's biblical works, and Elinor Shaffer, G. Carruthers and L. McIlvanney on his literary works.

Reviews

'An important contribution to the history of biblical criticism.' Review in International Review of Biblical Studies, vol 51, 2004/05
"This volume of conference papers offers a well-structured and finely executed account of this somewhat mercurial figure, who, alongside his work as a biblical scholar, was an accomplished poet and historian, and the author of a satirical attack on the slave trade." -John Riches, Journal of Ecclesiastical History, October 2007 -- John Riches

Author Bio

William Johnstone is Professor of Hebrew and Semitic Languages and former Head of the Department of Divinity with Religious Studies, University of Aberdeen, Scotland.