Henry Rogers (congregationalist)
Encyclopedia
Henry Rogers was an English nonconformist minister and man of letters, known as a Christian apologist.
, where he was born on 18 October 1806. He was educated at private schools and by his father, of congregationalist views. In his seventeenth year he was apprenticed to a surgeon at Milton-next-Sittingbourne, Kent
; reading John Howe's The Redeemer's Tears wept over Lost Souls diverted his attention from surgery to theology. After study at Highbury College, Middlesex, he entered the congregationalist ministry in June 1829.
His first duty was that of assistant pastor of the church at Poole
, Dorset
. In 1832 he returned to Highbury College as lecturer on rhetoric and logic. In 1836 he was appointed to the chair of English language and literature at University College, London, which in 1839 he exchanged for that of English literature and language, mathematics and mental philosophy in Spring Hill College, Birmingham. That post he held for nearly twenty years. An incurable throat problem compelled him to abandon preaching.
In 1858 he succeeded to the presidency of the Lancashire Independent College, with which he held the chair of theology until 1871. His health failing, he retired to Silverdale
, Morecambe Bay
; in 1873 he moved to Pennal Tower, Machynlleth
, where he died on 20 August 1877. His remains were interred in St. Luke's Churchyard, Cheetham Hill
, Manchester
.
(1834–5), and Edmund Burke
(1836–7) and Robert Boyle
's ‘Treatises on the High Veneration Man's Intellect owes to God, on Things above Reason, and on the Style of the Holy Scriptures.’ In 1836 he issued his first major work, ‘The Life and Character of John Howe’(London), of which later editions appeared in 1863; 1874; and 1879.
In 1837 he edited, under the title ‘The Christian Correspondent,’ a classified collection of four hundred and twenty-three private letters ‘by eminent persons of both sexes, exemplifying the fruits of holy living and the blessedness of holy dying,’ London, 3 vols. In October 1839 he began, with an article on ‘The Structure of the English Language,’ a long connection with the Edinburgh Review
which proved to be durable. In 1850 two volumes of selected ‘Essays’ contributed to it were published, and a third in 1855. Still further selected and augmented, these miscellanies were reprinted at London in 1874 as ‘Essays, Critical and Biographical, contributed to the “Edinburgh Review,”’ 2 vols., and ‘Essays on some Theological Controversies, chiefly contributed to the “Edinburgh Review.”’
In 1852 Rogers issued anonymously, as ‘by F. B.,’ his best-known work ‘The Eclipse of Faith, or a Visit to a Religious Sceptic’ (London,), a dialogue in which the sceptic (Harrington) plays the part of remorseless critic of the various forms of rationalism
then prevalent. In the course of three years it passed through six editions. From Francis William Newman
, who figured in its pages in thin disguise, it elicited a ‘Reply,’ to which Rogers rejoined in ‘Defence of “The Eclipse of Faith,”’ London, 1854 (3rd edit. 1860).
To the Encyclopædia Britannica
(8th edit.) Rogers contributed the articles on Bishop Butler (1854), Gibbon, Hume, and Robert Hall (1856), Pascal and Paley (1859), and Voltaire (1860). He edited the works of John Howe, which appeared at London in 1862–3, 6 vols. He contributed to Good Words
and the British Quarterly (his articles were mostly reprinted).
As a Christian apologist he was influenced by Joseph Butler
. His last work was ‘The Supernatural Origin of the Bible inferred from itself’ (the Congregational Lecture for 1873), London, 1874, (8th edit. 1893). Two volumes of imaginary letters were entitled ‘Selections from the Correspondence of R. E. H. Greyson, Esq.’ (the pseudonym being an anagram for his own name), London, 1857; 3rd edit. 1861.
Besides the works mentioned above, Rogers also published:
Some articles are also understood to be his work: ‘Religious Movement in Germany’ (Edinburgh Review, January 1846), ‘Marriage with the Sister of a Deceased Wife’ (ib. April 1853), ‘Macaulay's Speeches’ (ib. October 1854), ‘Servetus and Calvin’ (British Quarterly Review, May 1849), ‘Systematic Theology’ (ib. January 1866), ‘Nonconformity in Lancashire’ (ib. July 1869).
Rogers's portrait and a memoir by Robert William Dale
are prefixed to the eighth edition of the ‘Superhuman Origin of the Bible,’ 1893.
, who died soon after giving birth to her third child; secondly, in November 1834, her sister, Elizabeth, who died in the autumn of the following year, after giving birth to her first child. As the law then stood his second marriage was not ab initio void, but only voidable by an ecclesiastical tribunal. He married thirdly, in 1842, Emma, daughter of John Watson, of Finsbury Square
, London. She also died in giving birth to her first child. Rogers married fourthly, in 1857, Jane, eldest daughter of Samuel Fletcher, of Manchester; she died in 1891, having endowed scholarships in her husband's memory at the Lancashire Independent College and the Owens College, Manchester.
Life
He was third son of Thomas Rogers, a surgeon of St AlbansSt Albans
St Albans is a city in southern Hertfordshire, England, around north of central London, which forms the main urban area of the City and District of St Albans. It is a historic market town, and is now a sought-after dormitory town within the London commuter belt...
, where he was born on 18 October 1806. He was educated at private schools and by his father, of congregationalist views. In his seventeenth year he was apprenticed to a surgeon at Milton-next-Sittingbourne, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
; reading John Howe's The Redeemer's Tears wept over Lost Souls diverted his attention from surgery to theology. After study at Highbury College, Middlesex, he entered the congregationalist ministry in June 1829.
His first duty was that of assistant pastor of the church at Poole
Poole
Poole is a large coastal town and seaport in the county of Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester, and Bournemouth adjoins Poole to the east. The Borough of Poole was made a unitary authority in 1997, gaining administrative independence from Dorset County Council...
, Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
. In 1832 he returned to Highbury College as lecturer on rhetoric and logic. In 1836 he was appointed to the chair of English language and literature at University College, London, which in 1839 he exchanged for that of English literature and language, mathematics and mental philosophy in Spring Hill College, Birmingham. That post he held for nearly twenty years. An incurable throat problem compelled him to abandon preaching.
In 1858 he succeeded to the presidency of the Lancashire Independent College, with which he held the chair of theology until 1871. His health failing, he retired to Silverdale
Silverdale
-Place names:Australia* Silverdale, New South WalesCanada* Silverdale, British ColumbiaIndia* Silverdale, CoonoorNew Zealand* Silverdale, Auckland* Silverdale, WaikatoUnited Kingdom* Silverdale, Lancashire* Silverdale, Nottingham...
, Morecambe Bay
Morecambe Bay
Morecambe Bay is a large bay in northwest England, nearly due east of the Isle of Man and just to the south of the Lake District National Park. It is the largest expanse of intertidal mudflats and sand in the United Kingdom, covering a total area of 310 km².-Natural features:The rivers Leven,...
; in 1873 he moved to Pennal Tower, Machynlleth
Machynlleth
Machynlleth is a market town in Powys, Wales. It is in the Dyfi Valley at the intersection of the A487 and the A489 roads.Machynlleth was the seat of Owain Glyndŵr's Welsh Parliament in 1404, and as such claims to be the "ancient capital of Wales". However, it has never held any official...
, where he died on 20 August 1877. His remains were interred in St. Luke's Churchyard, Cheetham Hill
Cheetham Hill
Cheetham Hill is an inner city area of Manchester, England. As an electoral ward it is known as Cheetham and has a population of 12,846. It lies on the west bank of the River Irk, north-northeast of Manchester city centre and close to the boundary with the City of Salford...
, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
.
Works
In 1826 Rogers published a volume of verse, ‘Poems Miscellaneous and Sacred;’ and at Poole he began to write for the nonconformist periodical press. On his return to London he contributed introductory essays to editions of Joseph Truman's ‘Discourse of Natural and Moral Impotency,’ the works of Jonathan Edwards, Jeremy TaylorJeremy Taylor
Jeremy Taylor was a clergyman in the Church of England who achieved fame as an author during the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell. He is sometimes known as the "Shakespeare of Divines" for his poetic style of expression and was often presented as a model of prose writing...
(1834–5), and Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke PC was an Irish statesman, author, orator, political theorist and philosopher who, after moving to England, served for many years in the House of Commons of Great Britain as a member of the Whig party....
(1836–7) and Robert Boyle
Robert Boyle
Robert Boyle FRS was a 17th century natural philosopher, chemist, physicist, and inventor, also noted for his writings in theology. He has been variously described as English, Irish, or Anglo-Irish, his father having come to Ireland from England during the time of the English plantations of...
's ‘Treatises on the High Veneration Man's Intellect owes to God, on Things above Reason, and on the Style of the Holy Scriptures.’ In 1836 he issued his first major work, ‘The Life and Character of John Howe’(London), of which later editions appeared in 1863; 1874; and 1879.
In 1837 he edited, under the title ‘The Christian Correspondent,’ a classified collection of four hundred and twenty-three private letters ‘by eminent persons of both sexes, exemplifying the fruits of holy living and the blessedness of holy dying,’ London, 3 vols. In October 1839 he began, with an article on ‘The Structure of the English Language,’ a long connection with the Edinburgh Review
Edinburgh Review
The Edinburgh Review, founded in 1802, was one of the most influential British magazines of the 19th century. It ceased publication in 1929. The magazine took its Latin motto judex damnatur ubi nocens absolvitur from Publilius Syrus.In 1984, the Scottish cultural magazine New Edinburgh Review,...
which proved to be durable. In 1850 two volumes of selected ‘Essays’ contributed to it were published, and a third in 1855. Still further selected and augmented, these miscellanies were reprinted at London in 1874 as ‘Essays, Critical and Biographical, contributed to the “Edinburgh Review,”’ 2 vols., and ‘Essays on some Theological Controversies, chiefly contributed to the “Edinburgh Review.”’
In 1852 Rogers issued anonymously, as ‘by F. B.,’ his best-known work ‘The Eclipse of Faith, or a Visit to a Religious Sceptic’ (London,), a dialogue in which the sceptic (Harrington) plays the part of remorseless critic of the various forms of rationalism
Rationalism
In epistemology and in its modern sense, rationalism is "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification" . In more technical terms, it is a method or a theory "in which the criterion of the truth is not sensory but intellectual and deductive"...
then prevalent. In the course of three years it passed through six editions. From Francis William Newman
Francis William Newman
Francis William Newman , the younger brother of Cardinal Newman, was an English scholar and miscellaneous writer.-Life:...
, who figured in its pages in thin disguise, it elicited a ‘Reply,’ to which Rogers rejoined in ‘Defence of “The Eclipse of Faith,”’ London, 1854 (3rd edit. 1860).
To the Encyclopædia Britannica
Encyclopædia Britannica
The Encyclopædia Britannica , published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia that is available in print, as a DVD, and on the Internet. It is written and continuously updated by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 expert...
(8th edit.) Rogers contributed the articles on Bishop Butler (1854), Gibbon, Hume, and Robert Hall (1856), Pascal and Paley (1859), and Voltaire (1860). He edited the works of John Howe, which appeared at London in 1862–3, 6 vols. He contributed to Good Words
Good Words
Good Words was a 19th-century monthly periodical in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1860 by Scottish publisher Alexander Strahan. Its first editor was Norman Macleod; after his death in 1872, it was edited by his brother, Donald Macleod....
and the British Quarterly (his articles were mostly reprinted).
As a Christian apologist he was influenced by Joseph Butler
Joseph Butler
Joseph Butler was an English bishop, theologian, apologist, and philosopher. He was born in Wantage in the English county of Berkshire . He is known, among other things, for his critique of Thomas Hobbes's egoism and John Locke's theory of personal identity...
. His last work was ‘The Supernatural Origin of the Bible inferred from itself’ (the Congregational Lecture for 1873), London, 1874, (8th edit. 1893). Two volumes of imaginary letters were entitled ‘Selections from the Correspondence of R. E. H. Greyson, Esq.’ (the pseudonym being an anagram for his own name), London, 1857; 3rd edit. 1861.
Besides the works mentioned above, Rogers also published:
- ‘General Introduction to a Course of Lectures on English Grammar and Composition,’ 1837.
- ‘Essay on the Life and Genius of Thomas Fuller;’ reprinted from the ‘Edinburgh Review’ in the ‘Travellers' Library,’ vol. xv. 1856.
- ‘A Sketch of the Life and Character of the Rev. A. C. Simpson, LL.D.;’ reprinted from the ‘British Quarterly Review,’ 1867.
- ‘Essays’ from ‘Good Words,’ 1867.
- ‘Essay’ introductory to a new edition of Lord Lyttelton's ‘Observations on the Conversion of St. Paul,’ 1868.
Some articles are also understood to be his work: ‘Religious Movement in Germany’ (Edinburgh Review, January 1846), ‘Marriage with the Sister of a Deceased Wife’ (ib. April 1853), ‘Macaulay's Speeches’ (ib. October 1854), ‘Servetus and Calvin’ (British Quarterly Review, May 1849), ‘Systematic Theology’ (ib. January 1866), ‘Nonconformity in Lancashire’ (ib. July 1869).
Rogers's portrait and a memoir by Robert William Dale
Robert William Dale
Robert William Dale was an English Congregationalist church leader.-Life:Dale was born in London and educated at Spring Hill College, Birmingham, for the Congregational ministry...
are prefixed to the eighth edition of the ‘Superhuman Origin of the Bible,’ 1893.
Family
Rogers married four times: first, in 1830, Sarah Frances, eldest daughter of W. N. Bentham of Chatham, a relative of Jeremy BenthamJeremy Bentham
Jeremy Bentham was an English jurist, philosopher, and legal and social reformer. He became a leading theorist in Anglo-American philosophy of law, and a political radical whose ideas influenced the development of welfarism...
, who died soon after giving birth to her third child; secondly, in November 1834, her sister, Elizabeth, who died in the autumn of the following year, after giving birth to her first child. As the law then stood his second marriage was not ab initio void, but only voidable by an ecclesiastical tribunal. He married thirdly, in 1842, Emma, daughter of John Watson, of Finsbury Square
Finsbury Square
Finsbury Square is a square in central London. It was developed in 1777 on the site of a previous area of green space to the east of London known as Finsbury Fields, in the parish of St Luke's and near Moorfields. It is sited on the east side of City Road, opposite the east side of Bunhill Fields....
, London. She also died in giving birth to her first child. Rogers married fourthly, in 1857, Jane, eldest daughter of Samuel Fletcher, of Manchester; she died in 1891, having endowed scholarships in her husband's memory at the Lancashire Independent College and the Owens College, Manchester.