Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 01.djvu/433

 BRIGGS.

BRIGGS.

Bridgman '" (Boston, 1879). by Mary Swift Lam- son. She died at the Perkin.s institute, Boston, Mass., where the greater part of her life had been spent. May 24, 1889.

BRIGGS, Charles Augustus, theologian, was born in New York city, Jan. 15, 1841. He was a student at the University of Virginia, 1857-'60; at Union theological seminary, New York, 1861-'63 ; merchant in New York, 1863-'66; student University of Berlin, 1866-'69; and ordained by the pres- bji;ery of Elizabeth, N.J., Jime 30, 1870. He was a soldier in the civil war three months, 1861; pastor at Roselle, N.J., 1870- ■74; professor of He- brew and cognate languages at Union theological seminary N.Y. city from 1875. His reputation as a scholar grew steadily; he was diligent and exact in his investiga- tions, enthusiastic and outspoken in making known the' results of his studies. At the centenary celebration of the University of Edinburgh in 1884, the degi-ee of doctor of divinity was conferred upon him. This dis- tinguished honor — granted to only three Amer- icans besides himself — was a recognition not only of the rank he had attained in his own seminary, but of that also which he held in the estimation of world-renowned theologians. In 1891, by the munificence of Mr. Charles Butler, a chair of biblical theologj^ in the Union theo- logical seminary was endowed, in which Dr. Briggs was installed. While the duties of his position were substantially the same as they had been, yet his investiture as professor of biblical theology gave rise to the veto of the Presby- terian general assembly. Dr. Briggs having for some time provoked the criticism of his feUow- presbyters by his utterances in regard to the verbal inspiration of the Bible. Before the veto there had been indications of conflict. Dr. Briggs was a recognized power; he represented opinions widely held among Presbyterians, and as widely denounced by others of the same sect. Respected as an original thinker and conscienti- ous student, some were disinclined to reject his utterances ; others were more cautious in their acceptance of his judgment. Dr. Briggs, with a dignified self-respect not inconsistent with entire modesty, in reply to strictures made upon him by Dr. Shedd, prior to the meeting of the pres-

bytery of New York, before which he had been summoned, said : " There are two things in which I may claim to be a specialist ; one of them is in the theology of the Old Testament, and the other, the Westminster Confession. I have studied the Westminster documents repeatedly in all the great libraries of Great Britain. I have gathered in the library of the Union theological seminary, the best library of the Westminster divines out- side the British musemn. I have studied these divines with enthusiastic devotion for many years." On the basis of such preparation he asserted his right to si^eak with authority, and he claimed that new doctrines had come into the field, new questions had arisen, with which the Westminster Confe.ssion could not have had any- thing to do, and " The thoughts of men had widened by the process of the sun." Dr. Brigg.s published several works in which his views were presented without hesitation and with vigor. His lectures before his classes made a profound impression, but for some years no vigorous out- spoken protest was made. In January, 1891, Dr. Briggs delivered an inaugural address before the Union theological seminary. In it he declares " there are historically three great foimtains of divine authority — the Bible, the church and the reason." He contended that the "majority of Christians from the apostolic age have found God through the church." He declared reason to be " The Holy of Holies of human nature," in which " God presents himself to those who seek him." He cited Newman as, "finding God in the church, ' ' and Martineau as ' 'one who could not find God in the church or the Bible, but did find him enthroned in his own soul " ; and Spurgeon who "assails the church and reason in the interests of the authority of scripture. " These furnished the three charges brought against him. He was summoned before the New York presbj-tery which dismissed the case. In the general as- sembly, May, 1893, the decision of the presbytery of New York was reversed, and he was suspended from the ministry, but he continued his work at the Union theological seminary. Among his published works are : "Biblical Study, itsMethods and History " (1883); "American Presbyterian- ism, its Origin and Growth " (1885) ; " Messianic Prophecy" (1886); "Study of Higher Criticism with special reference to the Pentateucli " (1883) ; "Hebrew Poems of the Creation" (1884); " Poem of the Fall of Man; Series of Articles on Hebrew Poetry" (1886); "Opening address on Biblical History " (1889) ; " Schaff-Lange Com- mentary on Ezra " (1876) ; " Address on Exeget- ical Theology " (1876) ; article in Encyclopedia Britannica on " Presbyterianism in tlie United States;" the " Right, Duty and Limits of Biblical Criticism" (1881); " Wliither ? A Theological