RATIONALISM (Lat. ratio, reason), strictly signifies that method of thought which in matters of religion not only allows the use of reason, but considers it indispensable. The term has now, however, acquired a wider meaning, and stands in opposition to taipernaturalism, or the belief in that which either transcends, or, as others view it, con tradicts, both nature and reason—as, for example. miracles. To comprehend rightly the struggle between rationalism and supernaturalism, in modern Protestant theology, one must look at it from a historical point of view. The German and Swiss divines, in maintaining their polemic against Roman Catholicism (after the original enthusiasm of the reformation had cooled down), took their stand on the absolute authority of the Bible as a purely divine hook, containing no admixture of error of any kind, either in form or substance—the very vowel-points of the Hebrew (an innovation. long posterior even to Christianity) being expressly held to be inspired. This, the oldest and most stringent kind of Protestant orthodoxy, gradually fell to pieces, partly on account of its unscien tific character, and partly because it was demonstrated that the Bible itself put forth no pretensions to such infallibility. The first concessions to rationalism were the admis sions that the biblical writers differed in regard to their style and literary merit; net (as a logical inference from the foregoing), that they exercised a certain amount of inde pendent power in the composition of their works. But gradually other points were assailed, some of which have been surrendered, while others are still tenaciously held; as that, in matters of physical science, the sacred writers spoke according to the con ceptions and beliefs prevalent in their age, and not according to any supernatural enlightenment; that, on historical points, their information might be either erroneous or defective, or both; that they might err in anything except religious doctrine or senti ment: finally, that they might err in such, too, and that the Bible is not the "word of God," but only contains that " word." which it is the province of human reason to dis
cover, and to separate from whatever accretions of fable, myth. symbolism, or error have grown over it through the agency of man or the lapse of time.. This is properly the theological rationalism of modern times, and is held in Germany, Fiance, Holland, England. and America by many divines, who, nevertheless, look upon themselves as essentially Christian in their creed. But as most investigators that proceed so far, take yet a further step, and deny the presence of any element other than human in the Bible. or that there is Any satisfactory evidence of the truth of its alleged supernaturalism, the word rationalism has, in vulgar parlance, come to be synonymous with infidelity. It may also be added that the term rationalism is also employed in a restricted sense to denote the method of substituting for the miraculous and supernatural in Scripture, something considered reasonable—e.g., the miracle of the crossing of the Red sea is explained by the hypothesis that the Israelites crossed when the tide was out, while the Egyptians, hurriedly pursuing them, were taken in the returning waters. The leader of this school was Paidus (q.v.), whose system, after a time, gave way to the more scientific mythical theory of Strauss (q.v.).