One notable instance was John William Colenso (1814–1883), a Cornish missionary who was appointed as the first Anglican Bishop of Natal in South Africa. Colenso was also a mathematician of note, a strong and generous advocate for the Zulu people in their dealings with Britain, and a scholar of their language.
The so-called ‘Colenso controversy’ unfolded during the mid-to-late 19th century when Bishop Colenso ignited a theological dispute. He openly questioned traditional interpretations of the Bible, particularly the Old Testament. His critical appraisal of Biblical texts and his unorthodox perspectives led to divisions within the Anglican Church (then Church of England). It also unleashed many debates and sparked intense conflict concerning the authority and interpretation of Scripture.
Bishop Colenso challenged the Bible’s historical accuracy, its authorship and composition, its accounts of divine intervention, and the understanding of Biblical miracles.
Colenso rejected the historical accuracy of the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, alleging inconsistencies and contradictions. The Pentateuch includes Creation, the Fall, the Flood, and the Exodus.
Colenso embraced polygenism, thinking that the creation of several Adams was needed to account for human races.
Colenso his own deconstruction of the Old Testament. He later wrote:
"There were one or two stories [in the Bible] that presented great difficulties, too prominent to be ignored, and that were brought up in the Church’s Lessons, such as the account of the Creation and the Deluge [the Genesis Flood]."
Colenso left behind some unpublished works on the Book of Revelation. A theological journal under the auspices of a Baptist-affiliated South Korean university published an analysis of these in 2018, concluding:
"… that he invented words that are not in the text, transformed those which are in the text, and conflated some nouns as identical that are syntactically separated. … His calculated attempt to break down the inspiration of the Scripture is one of the biggest ironies regarding his philanthropic services as a missionary."
It is vitally important to have a firm understanding of what we believe and why we believe it. We also need to be able to point to solid, evidence-based answers to challenges to the Bible’s reliability and authority. Today, these are readily available, as amply demonstrated on creation.com and the materials available from its webstore. Scripture encourages us to speak up:
“But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15)."
CMI
