Second report of the commissioners appointed by his Majesty William IV November 23rd 1836 and re-appointed by her Majesty Victoria I October 2d 1837 for visiting the Universities of King's College and Marischall College, Aberdeen / presented to both Houses of Parliament by Command of Her Majesty.

  • Great Britain. Parliament. Commission for Visiting the Universities of King's College and Marischal.
Date:
1839
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Second report of the commissioners appointed by his Majesty William IV November 23rd 1836 and re-appointed by her Majesty Victoria I October 2d 1837 for visiting the Universities of King's College and Marischall College, Aberdeen / presented to both Houses of Parliament by Command of Her Majesty. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.

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    Universities of fall wrong, and would be carried consecutively forward in a consecutive train of subjects. I Aberdeen. would have the Junior Professor of Theology to devote his first class to Natural Theology and Evidence taken be ^e Evidences of Christianity : then the second class, which I would set apart wholly for Bib- fore Commissioners. ^ca^ Literature, would present a most interesting course for Students of the second year who have previously studied the Evidences of Christianity. And what subjects would they now Rev .Dr. Chalmers, meet with ? The inspiration of Scripture, the Canon of Scripture, everything connected with the origin, the Authors, and the external History of the Books, the collation and correction of the Manuscripts of these Books, which would enable the Professor fully to overtake one great branch of Scripture Criticism, that which is called the Emendatory part of it, and which has for its object to fix the right readings of Scripture. But I would not be satisfied with that. The most important part of all would be a general view of the contents of the Bible, compris- ing the analysis and the subject matter of every separate Book in it. The last I consider as far the most useful object of a class on Biblical Literature. There is only one part of Scrip- ture Criticism not fully provided for in this second class of the Junior Theological Professor, that is the Interpretive part. The object of the Emendatory is to ascertain the right readings; the object of the Interpretive is to ascertain the right renderings, or to secure that the Scrip- tures should be properly translated. Now how by our scheme is the interpretive part to be provided for? By a Professorship ready made to our hand. The Hebrew Professor might be made Professor of the Original Languages of Scripture, that is, both of Hebrew and Hellenistic Greek. In this way you would avoid certain great hazards which I think attend the separate institution of a class of Scripture Criticism ; and besides, a most important benefit would be conferred on the general system of Theological Education. After the Junior Pro- fessor has fulfilled his courses, I would have the Senior Professor to take the Students from him on their third year, and to begin with systematic Theology. This subject, I allow, is a most ponderous one for one year, so that he could scarcely acquit himself of it during the third session of Theology, but in the fourth session he might, and finish off by what were properly denominated parish Economics, and the pastoral care. I may mention, that ten years ago or more, I was examined on the subject of Theological Education by the Royal Commissioners of Scotch Colleges. I then drew up a brief scheme of Theological Education. If you think it worth your acceptance, I will make some emendations and supply some marginal additions to it. The following- is the scheme alluded to as amended: That there shall be four Professors in the Theological Faculty with the following titles. 1. Senior Professor of Theology, 2. Junior Professor of Theology. 3. Professor of Church History. 4. Professor of Hebrew and Scripture Criticism. That the Junior Professor of Theology shall teach two classes of one hour a-day each, one for the Students of the first, and another for the Students of the second year. That the Hebrew Professor shall teach two classes of an hour a-day each, one for Hebrew and the Oriental languages to Students of the first, and another for Biblical Criticism, to Students of the second year. That the Church History Professor shall teach two classes of an hour a-day each, one for Students of the third, and another for Students of the fourth year. That the Senior Professor of Theology shall teach two classes of an hour a-day each, one for Students of the third, and another for Students of the fourth year. We should thus have eight distinct classes in constant operation, attended in twos by the Students of each distinct year, whose education would be carried regularly forward through separate classes, and in a consecutive order of subjects. The present Professor of Theology would have his unwieldy sub jects divided into manage- able parts; and he would be saved from the monstrous inconvenience of either delivering the elementary part of his course to last year's Students, or of receiving first year's Students at the middle and towards the termination of it. To avoid this completely, he would need, if he delivered a four years' course, to have four distinct classes. But the better way is to cut down the whole into separate courses of two years each. The Junior Professor, on whom the first of these courses should be devolved, might teach Natural Theology, the Christian Evidences, and the whole of that. Biblical Literature which is connected not with Philological Criticism, but with the formation of the Canon of Scripture, with the question of its Inspira- tion, with the external History of our Sacred Books, such as the evidence for the date and Authors ; for the genuineness and authenticity of the respective pieces, the principal versions of each, and the rules or method of proceeding in the examination and collation of Manu- scripts. He might farther dissert on the Chronology of Scripture, and above all, he should present the Students with a general view of the contents of the Bible, by means of an analysis and outline of the subject matter of each separate book. On these latter subjects, the Junior Professor of Theology would have to do with Students of the second year; and the Biblio- graphy which they received from him would syncronise with the Biblical Criticism which they studied the same year at the second class of the Hebrew Professor. The Students, at the commencement of their third year, would be well prepared for enter- ing a two years' course of Church History, and a two years' course of more advanced Theo- logy with the Senior Professor, who would find superabundant materials for a lectureship to the third and fourth year Students on Systematic Theology, and the Ministerial duties. If a fifth professorship could be endowed, I would have it to be wholly a professorship of Biblical Literature, which would leave room for the Hebrew Professor to teach the Oriental languages more thoroughly in his two classes. But if only one additional Professor can be