In the nineteenth century, most people assumed that the "modern spirit" and Catholicism, the great "religion of authority," were irreconcilably opposed. However, some tried to combine the two in a reformed and modernized Catholicism. These efforts, and the reaction of the institutional Church against them, precipitated the Modernist Crisis. Alfred Loisy (1857--1940) was at the center of this dramatic conflict between advocates and opponents of "modernity." Loisy believed that his adoption of scientific methods to study the Bible and the history of Christianity necessarily committed him to a campaign to modernize Catholicism as a whole. In this book, Harvey Hill describes the emergence, articulation, and ultimate fate of Loisy's reform program as he interacted with allies and opponents of his modernizing agenda. By tracing Loisy's early intellectual and religious development in more detail than have previous scholars, Hill shows how Loisy self-consciously placed his historical scholarship at the service of a positive reform agenda from the very beginning of his ecclesiastical career and that he viewed this reform agenda as an intrinsic part of his critical work. Drawing on some of Loisy's unpublished writings and little-known articles, Hill goes on to demonstrate that Loisy's efforts to reform Catholicism presupposed a new view of the nature and limits of Church authority in relation to the secular state as well as to modern scholarship. Hill uses Loisy's political views to illustrate the more general challenge to ecclesiastical authority that was, again, an intrinsic part of the modern scientific study of religion as Loisy understood it. Hill's interpretation of Loisy and the theology and politics of the scientific study of religion will interest students of Catholic Modernism, the history of modern religion, and the emergence of religious studies as an academic discipline. Harvey Hill is Assistant Professor of Religion at Berry College. He is the coeditor of Personal Faith and Institutional Commitment: Roman Catholic Modernist and Anti-Modernist Autobiography and author of numerous essays, articles, and reviews. Praise for the book: "One is unlikely to find in any language a clearer, better written introduction to the neuralgic career of Alfred Loisy than Harvey Hill's. In addition to its clarity, what sets it apart from the many studies of Loisy is its well-argued conception of the historical integrity of Loisy's mature modernist works as growing out of ideas he formulated in the 1870's and the 1880's to which other scholars have paid scant attention. . . . Out of an artful rehearsal of the conflicts with church authorities over Loisy's historical criticism of Scripture and tradition with implications for doctrine, what emerges is a clarification of the role of Loisy's political interests--thus the book's title. . . . Far from taking sides in the conflict between Loisy and the church authorities, Hill maintains aesthetic distance."--David G. Schultenover, S.J., Catholic Historical Review " A] much needed book on the role of Loisy and the scientific study of religion. This is a valuable study of an important individual and time in the contemporary history of the Catholic Church. It is also most relevant, as it addresses an actual dilemma for many Catholic intellectuals today. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in the contemporary history of the Church and for those searching for an adequate relation of faith and reason."--Lucien J. Richard, OMI, Catholic Library World "Harvey Hill has succeeded in breaking new ground in this study, in which he insightfully sets forth issues underlying Loisy's writings, and tests his judgments against the secondary literature. . . . More than previous scholars Hill clarifies the extent of Loisy's political interests. . . . Hill's ability to co

Modern biblical scholarship is often presented as analogous to the hard and natural sciences; its histories present the developmental stages as quasi-scientific discoveries. That image of Bible scholars as neutral scientists in pursuit of truth has persisted for too long. Modern Biblical Criticism as a Tool of Statecraft (1700-1900) by Scott W. Hahn and Jeffrey L. Morrow examines the lesser known history of the development of modern biblical scholarship in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. This volume seeks partially to fulfill Pope Benedict XVI’s request for a thorough critique of modern biblical criticism by exploring the eighteenth and nineteenth century roots of modern biblical scholarship, situating those scholarly developments in their historical, philosophical, theological, and political contexts. Picking up where Scott W. Hahn and Benjamin Wiker’s Politicizing the Bible: The Roots of Historical Criticism and the Secularization of Scripture 1300-1700 left off, Hahn and Morrow show how biblical scholarship continued along a secularizing trajectory as it found a home in the newly developing Enlightenment universities, where it received government funding. Modern Biblical Criticism as a Tool of Statecraft (1700-1900) makes clear why the discipline of modern biblical studies is often so hostile to religious and faith commitments today.

For far too long the Bible has been studied as just one among many historical and cultural documents from ancient history. That it is a foundational text for Western civilization is clear. What is too often forgotten or ignored in academic discussions, however, is that the Bible has also inspired the lives of countless saints throughout history; men and women who sought to love God and love neighbor to the point of offering heroic sacrifices, sometimes giving up their very lives. Much of biblical scholarship over the past two centuries, however, has reduced the Bible to a dead historical document with little-to-no relevance for today, beyond intellectual curiosity. This, in part, lies at the root of the tragic separation of theology from biblical studies. That theology and biblical exegesis are at an impasse has become a commonplace in academic discourse. Liturgy and Sacrament, Mystagogy and Martyrdom is an attempt to bridge the gap between theology and exegesis. It seeks to develop a theological interpretation of Scripture relying upon the best of traditional Christian exegesis and modern biblical scholarship, so that the Bible can serve, once again, as the wellspring of Christian life.

This book covers the evolution of the New Testament and, according to the author, shows how the formation of the Canon was conditioned by the evolution of Christian propaganda. The author asserts that some later additions to the Bible were required by "the needs of the moment," and closely examines the work of editors in each gospel.

This monograph studies the professionalization of History of religions as an academic discipline in late 19th and early 20th century France and Europe. Its common thread is the work of the French Modernist priest and later Professor of History of religions at the Collège de France, Alfred Loisy (1857-1940), who participated in many of the most topical debates among French and international historians of religions. Unlike his well-studied Modernist theology, Loisy’s writings on comparative religion, and his rich interactions with famous scholars like F. Cumont, M. Mauss, or J.G. Frazer, remain largely unknown. This monograph is the first to paint a comprehensive picture of his career as a historian of religions before and after his excommunication in 1908. Through a contextual analysis of publications by Loisy and contemporaries, and a large corpus of private correspondence, it illuminates the scientification of the discipline between 1890-1920, and its deep entanglement with religion, politics, and society. Particular attention is also given to the role of national and transnational scholarly networks, and the way they controlled the theoretical and institutional frameworks for studying the history of religions.

For much of the history of both Judaism and Christianity, the Pentateuch—first five books of the Bible—was understood to be the unified work of a single inspired author: Moses. Yet the standard view in modern biblical scholarship contends that the Pentateuch is a composite text made up of fragments from diverse and even discrepant sources that originated centuries after the events it purports to describe. In Murmuring against Moses, John Bergsma and Jeffrey Morrow provide a critical narrative of the emergence of modern Pentateuchal studies and challenge the scholarly consensus by highlighting the weaknesses of the modern paradigms and mustering an array of new evidence for the Pentateuch’s antiquity. By shedding light on the past history of research and the present developments in the field, Bergsma and Morrow give fresh voice to a growing scholarly dissatisfaction with standard critical approaches and make an important contribution toward charting a more promising future for Pentateuchal studies.