Hulsean Lectures

The Hulsean Lectures were established from an endowment made by John Hulse to the University of Cambridge in 1790. At present, they consist of a series of four to eight lectures given by a university graduate on some branch of Christian theology.

History

The lectures were originally to be given by a "learned and ingenious clergyman" from Cambridge, holding the degree of Master of Arts, who was under the age of forty years. The terms for the lectures were quite extensive and particular. The lecturer was

to preach twenty sermons in the whole year, that is to say, ten sermons in the following spring in Saint Mary's Great Church in Cambridge, namely, one sermon either on the Friday morning or else on Sunday afternoon in every week during the months of April and May and the two first weeks of June, and likewise ten sermons in the same church in the following Autumn, either on the Friday morning or else on Sunday afternoon in every week during the months of September and October and during the two first weeks in November ... The subject of five sermons in the Spring and likewise of five sermons in the Autumn shall be to show the evidence for Revealed Religion, and to demonstrate in the most convincing and persuasive manner the Truth and Excellence of Christianity, so as to include not only the prophecies and miracles, general and particular, but also any other proper and useful arguments, whether the same be direct or collateral proofs of the Christian religion, which he may think fittest to discourse upon, either in general or particular, especially the collateral arguments, or else any particular article or branch thereof, and chiefly against notorious infidels, whether atheists or deists, not descending to any particular sects or controversies (so much to be lamented) amongst Christians themselves, except some new or dangerous error either of superstition or enthusiasm, as of Popery or Methodism or the like ... [The lecturer] may at his own discretion preach either more or fewer than ten sermons on this great argument only, provided he shall in consequence thereof lessen or increase the number of the other ten remaining sermons which are hereinafter directed to be on the more obscure parts of Holy Scripture in a due proportion, so as that he shall every year preach twenty sermons on these subjects in the whole. And as to the ten sermons that remain, of which five are to be preached in the Spring and five in the Autumn as before mentioned, the lecturer or preacher shall take for his subject some of the more difficult texts or obscure parts of the Holy Scriptures, such I mean as may appear to be more generally useful or necessary to be explained, and which may best admit of such a comment or explanation without presuming to pry too far into the profound secrets or awful mysteries of the Almighty. And in all the said twenty sermons such practical observations shall be made and such useful conclusions added as may best instruct and edify mankind, the said twenty sermons to be every year printed and a new preacher to be every elected (except in the case of the extraordinary merit of the preacher) when it may sometimes be thought proper to continue the same person for five, at the most for six years together, but no longer term, nor shall he ever afterwards be again elected to the same duty.

As a result of these rather demanding terms and conditions, for some thirty years (1790–1819) no person could be found who would undertake the office of this lectureship. The first to accept was Christopher Benson, who held the post until 1822, at which time he quit, having found the terms and conditions imposed by the lectureship too fatiguing and laborious. For the rest of the decade, only two more lecturers were found, and both in their turn resigned for the same reasons. Finally, in 1830, after the post had remained vacant for three years, the Court of Chancery reduced the number of lectures to be given in a year to eight and extended the deadline for publishing the lectures to one year following the delivery of the last lecture. In 1860 the number of lectures was further reduced to a minimum of four. Also changed at this time was the length of appointment to one year, with the possibility of reappointment after an interval of five years; the lecturer need not be a clergyman, but simply have some higher degree from Cambridge and be at least thirty years of age; and the necessity of printing or publishing the lectures was done away with. The topic was somewhat simplified to something that would show the evidence for Revealed Religion, or to explain some of the most difficult texts or obscure parts of Holy Scripture. Finally, by 1952 the topic was changed to its present wording, "on some branch of Christian Theology", and the office of the lectureship was extended to two years.

The following list of lectures has been compiled from a number of different sources.

Lecturers

1820–1850

1820 – Christopher Benson,
1821 – James Clarke Franks,
1822 – Christopher Benson,
1823 – James Clarke Franks,
1824 – No appointment
1825 – No appointment
1826 – Temple Chevallier,
1827 – Temple Chevallier,
1828 – No appointment
1829 – No appointment
1830 – No appointment
1831 – John James Blunt,
1832 – John James Blunt,
1833 – Henry John Rose,
1834 – No appointment
1835 – Henry Howarth, The truth and obligation of revealed religion, considered with reference to prevailing opinions
1836 – Henry Howarth,
1837 – Richard Parkinson,
1838 – Richard Parkinson,
1839 – Theyre Townsend Smith,
1840 – Theyre Townsend Smith,
1841 – Henry Alford,
1842 – Henry Alford,
1843 – John Howard Marsden,
1844 – John Howard Marsden,
1845 – Richard Chenevix Trench,
1846 – Richard Chenevix Trench,
1847 – Christopher Wordsworth,
1848 – Christopher Wordsworth,
1849 – William Gilson Humphry,
1850 – William Gilson Humphry,

1851–1875

1851 – George Currey,
1852 – George Currey,
1853 – Benjamin Morgan Cowie,
1854 – Benjamin Morgan Cowie,
1855 – Harvey Goodwin,
1856 – Harvey Goodwin,
1857 – Charles Anthony Swainson,
1858 – Charles Anthony Swainson, The Authority of the New Testament, the Conviction of Righteousness, and the Ministry of Reconciliation
1859 – Charles John Ellicott,
1860 – John Lamb,
1861 – Charles Merivale, not published
1862 – John Saul Howson,
1863 – Francis Morse, not published
1864 – Daniel Moore,
1865 – James Moorhouse,
1866 – Edward Henry Perowne,
1867 – Charles Pritchard,
1868 – John James Stewart Perowne,
1869 – John Venn,
1870 – Frederic William Farrar,
1871 – Fenton John Anthony Hort,
1872 – Josiah Brown Pearson, not published
1873 – Stanley Leathes,
1874 – George Martin Straffen,
1875 – Edward Thomas Vaughan

1876–1900

1876 – Edwin Abbott Abbott,
1877 – George Smith Drew,
1878 – William Boyd Carpenter,
1879 – Vincent Henry Stanton,
1880 – Thomas Thomason Perowne, "The Intercession of Christ, or our Lord's present work in Heaven as High Priest of His Church, as it is revealed in Holy Scripture, and in its bearing on the worship of the Church on earth" (not published)
1881 – Joseph Foxley, Secularism, Scepticism, Ritualism, Liberationism
1882 – Frederick Watson,
1883 – John James Lias,
1884 – Thomas George Bonney, The Influence of Science on Theology
1885 – William Cunningham,
1886 – John de Soyres,
1887 – Joseph Hirst Lupton, "Misrepresentations of Christianity," not published
1888 – Henry Major Stephenson,
1889 – Edward George King, The "Asaph" Psalms in their Connexion with the Early Religion of Babylonia
1890 – John Llewelyn Davies,
1891 – Arthur Temple Lyttelton,
1892 – John Bickford Heard,
1893 – Mandell Creighton,
1894 – Alfred Barry,
1895 – William Moore Ede,
1896 – Samuel Cheetham,
1897 – James Edward Cowell Welldon,
1898 – James Wilson,
1899 – Arthur James Mason,
1900 – Fredrick Henry Chase

1901–1925

1901 – Frederick Robert Tennant,
1902 – F. J. Foakes Jackson, Christian Difficulties in the Second and Twentieth Centuries: A Study of Marcion and his Relation to Modern Thought
1903 – William Allen Whitworth, Christian thought on present-day questions
1904 – Charles William Stubbs,
1905 – Henry Joseph Corbett Knight,
1906 – James Pounder Whitney,
1907 – John Howard Bertram Masterman,
1908 – John Neville Figgis,
1909 – W. Edward Chadwick,
1910 – Ernest Arthur Edghill, The Revelation of the Son of God: Some questions and considerations arising out of a study of second century Christianity ISBN 1-4365-0693-X
1911 – Reginald James Fletcher, Dei Christus, Dei verbum
1912 – H. Latimer Jackson, The Eschatology of Jesus
1913 – William Leighton Grane,
1914 – Hugh Fraser Stewart,
1915 – Herbert A. Watson,
1916 – Arthur Stuart Duncan Jones, Ordered Liberty: or, An Englishman's belief in his church
1917 – John Owen Farquhar Murray, The Goodness and Severity of God
1918 – Francis Ernest Hutchinson,
1919 – Alexander Nairne, .
1920 – Philip Napier Waggett, Knowledge and Virtue
1921 – Leonard Elliott Elliot-Binns, Erasmus the Reformer: A Study in Restatement
1922 – Charles Frank Russell, .
1923 – Stewart Andrew McDowall, ISBN 978-1-107-60494-0
1924 – Alan Coates Bouquet, .
1925 – William Ralph Inge ISBN 0-7661-5761-X

1926–1945

1926 – Charles E. Raven, ISBN 0-7661-5044-5
1927 – Edmund Gough de Salis Wood, not published
1929 – Charles Archibald Anderson Scott, ISBN 978-1-107-45098-1
1931 – Allan John Smith Macdonald, Authority And Reason In The Early Middle Ages
1933 – Herbert George Wood, .
1936 – John Martin Creed, ISBN 978-1-107-63606-4
1938 – John Burnaby, ISBN 978-1-55635-501-1
1939 – Stephen Charles Neill, "The Forgiveness of Sins" (not published)
1941 – Election suspended
1942 – Election suspended
1943 – Election suspended
1944 – Election suspended
1945 – Election suspended

1946–1975

1947 – Edward Chisholm Dewick, .
1949 – William Owen Chadwick, "The Early Medieval Doctrine of the Church" (not published)
1950 – Robert Henry Thouless, Authority and Freedom: Some Psychological Problems of Religious Belief
1952 – Laurence Edward Browne, The Quickening Word: A Theological Answer to the Challenge of Islam
1954 – Henry Chadwick, "Origen"
1956 – Hendrik Kraemer, A Theology of the Laity ISBN 1-57383-031-3
1958 – Clifford William Dugmore, "The Doctrine of Grace in the English Reformers" (not published)
1960 – Peter Runham Ackroyd, ISBN 0-334-00409-8
1964 – George Frederick Woods, ISBN 0-521-06859-2
1966 – Peter Richard Baelz, Prayer and Providence ISBN 0-334-01284-8
1967 – David Lawrence Edwards, Religion and Change ISBN 0-19-826673-1
1968 – John Arthur Thomas Robinson, The Human Face of God ISBN 1-85931-016-8
1970 – Kathleen Louise Wood-Legh, "Good Works" (not published)
1973 – Maurice Frank Wiles, The Remaking of Christian Doctrine ISBN 0-664-24217-0

1976–2000

1975–1976 – Peter Bingham Hinchliff, "The Relationship between Mission and Empire in the Nineteenth Century"
1977–1978 – Charles Davis, ISBN 0-521-22538-8
1979–1980 – Alan Malcolm George Stephenson, The Rise and Decline of English Modernism ISBN 0-281-04124-5
1981–1982 – Gordon McGregor Kendal, "The Problem of Pleasure: A Christian Analysis" (not published)
1983–1984 – David Michael Thompson, ISBN 1-84227-393-0
1985–1986 – David Nicholls, ISBN 0-415-01171-X and ISBN 0-415-01173-6
1987–1988 – Ingolf Ulrich Dalferth, "A Grammar of Faith" (not published)
1989–1990 – John Barton, The Spirit and the Letter: Studies in the Biblical Canon. ISBN 0-281-05011-2
1991–1992 – Sarah Coakley, . ISBN 978-0-521-55826-6
1993–1994 – Oliver O'Donovan, ISBN 0-521-66516-7
1994–1995 – David Brown (theologian)
1995–1996 – Nicholas Sagovsky, . ISBN 0-521-77269-9
1997–1998 – Brian Murdoch, . ISBN 0-85991-559-X
1999–2000 – Philip Sheldrake, . ISBN 0-334-02820-5 ISBN 0801868610

2001–

2001–2002 – John de Gruchy, . ISBN 978-0-8006-3600-5
2003–2004 – N. T. Wright, ISBN 0-8006-6357-8
2005–2006 – Ellen F. Davis, Scripture, Culture, and Agriculture: An Agrarian Reading of the Bible. ISBN 0-521-51834-2
2007–2008 – Hugh McLeod, "Religion and the Rise of Sport in Modern England" (not published)
2009–2010 – Alister E. McGrath, ISBN 978-1-4443-3343-5
2011–2012 – Neil MacGregor, "The Cost of the Beauty of Holiness: The spiritual price of the visual tradition in the western church" (not published)
2013–2014 – Richard B. Hays, Reading Backwards: Figural Christology and the Fourfold Gospel Witness. ISBN 978-1481302326
2015–2016 – Rowan Williams, "Christ and the Logic of Creation"
2017–2018 – Marilynne Robinson, "Holy Moses: An appreciation of Genesis and Exodus as Literature and Theology."
2019–2020 – Walter Moberly, "The God of Christian Scripture"
2021–2022 – Judith Wolfe, “The Theological Imagination"

Notes

Cambridge University (1857). . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. .
Cambridge University (1896). . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Cambridge University (1952). Statutes of the University of Cambridge and Passages from Acts of Parliament Relating to the University. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hunt, J. (1896). . London: Gibbings & Co. pp. –38. Includes brief summaries of select lectures from 1820 to 1894.
Hurst, J. F. (1896). . New York: Hunt & Eaton. pp. –34. Includes a fairly complete list from 1820 to 1893.
Stephenson, Alan M. G. (1984). The Rise and Decline of English Modernism. Hulsean Lectures 1979-80. pp. 288–304. ISBN 0-281-04124-5. Includes the fullest list for 1820–1979 in its appendix.
Tanner, J. R., ed. (1917). . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

External links

. Faculty of Divinity, Cambridge.
. Faculty of Divinity, Cambridge.
. . Statute E, Trusts.
. . Ordinances, Chapter XII, Section 2.