National Apostasy

Keble, John, 1792-1866Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.0

Word count: 31K words
Chapters: 4

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.National Apostasy by John KebleAuthor: Keble, John, 1792-1866,Language: English, Class: BX: Philosophy, Psychology, Religion: Christianity: Churches, Church movements, Release Date: Jun 2, 2015

Editor's review

National Apostasy is a famous sermon by the English clergyman John Keble, generally regarded as one of the important starting points of the nineteenth-century Oxford Movement. The text is short but tightly focused: it discusses the relationship between church and state and the public nature and authority of faith, in a solemn tone with arguments bearing the clear concerns of its time. For readers studying English religious history, Victorian intellectual history, or the Oxford Movement, it is a short yet weighty primary source. It should be read not as a systematic theological treatise but in the political and ecclesiastical context of its day, so as to understand its specific target. The Gutenberg edition is an English-language e-text convenient for searching and citation, but generally contains no modern annotations. Best read together with a relevant historical introduction—understanding the background first makes the reading more rewarding.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Scholars and students of English religious history and nineteenth-century church history
Readers interested in the Oxford Movement and Victorian intellectual history
Religious studies readers who need to consult original English sources
Readers who enjoy classic sermons and care about the relationship between faith and public life

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking a systematic theology textbook or a complete historical narrative
General readers with no interest in religious history or church institutions
Learners with limited English reading ability who would struggle with nineteenth-century religious prose

Reading tips

Read a brief introduction to the Oxford Movement first, then the text, to grasp the argument's target more quickly.
Pay attention to the sermon's structure and rhetoric as you read; it addresses a congregation rather than being purely academic writing.
Read it alongside other Oxford Movement documents to understand its historical position.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Why is this sermon important?

It is generally regarded as one of the important starting points of the nineteenth-century Oxford Movement, and it concentratedly reflects the anxieties of churchmen of the time over the relationship between state and church and the authority of faith. It is a key short document for understanding the historical context of the movement.

Does this edition include annotations?

The Project Gutenberg e-edition consists mainly of the original English text and generally includes no modern scholarly annotations or introduction. For background explanations, consult separate research materials on the Oxford Movement and John Keble.

Can I understand it without a religious background?

Yes, but some preparation is needed. The text deals with specific nineteenth-century debates over the relationship between the Church of England and the state; it is advisable to learn the basic historical background before reading the text, otherwise it is easy to stay at the literal level.

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About the author

Keble, John, 1792-1866 Author · British · 1792–1866

John Keble (1792–1866) was an English Anglican priest and poet, and one of the leaders of the Oxford Movement. His National Apostasy, a sermon, is generally regarded as marking the opening of the Oxford Movement; his other representative work, The Christian Year, offers verse meditations on faith following the church calendar, written in plain and devout language and widely read in Victorian England. Public information is limited, so his biographical details should not be overstated; judged by the works available, his writing centers on the life of faith, church tradition, and personal devotion. Its style is solemn and restrained, combining a pastor's earnestness with a poet's discipline, and it influenced nineteenth-century English religious literature and the renewal of thought within the Church of England. Two of his works are held in this collection.