HUTCHINSONIANS. A school of theologians which came into evidence at the beginning of the eighteenth century. The founder was John Hutchinson (1674-1737), who was for some time steward of the household of the Duke of Somerset. The Duke procured him a sinecure office as purveyor of the royal stables of George L. which provided him until his death with a salary of about £200 a year. This enabled him to devote much of his time to the writing of books. He was a skilful mechanic, and invented an improved timepiece for determining longitude. He had some acquaintance with natural science, and acquired a knowledge of Hebrew. Hutchin son's main purpose seems to have been to prove that the Bible is supreme not only in the field of religion, but also in the sphere of science and theology. A number of eminent men became known as Hutchinsonians. though some of them were not inclined to acknowledge their indebtedness to the founder of the school. Hutchinson attached great imp6rtance to the study of the original Hebrew of the Bible. " He had embraced, in a very dogmatic spirit, some extraordinary doctrine about the perfection of the Scriptures, that is, the original Script ures in the Hebrew language. He found deep meanings in recondite etymologies, and supposed that the Hebrew Bible contained all knowledge, human and divine. Hutchinson was also a zealous student of nature, and found the fact of Noah's Deluge proved by chinks in the earth, and sea-shells on the tops of mountains. The rise of Paganism he traced to the neglect of the Hebrew language. The heathen worshipped the air instead of the Deity. The same, or similar idolatry, is very preval ent now, through our language being Pagan, and partly through the influence of Greek and Roman learning. The Bible was written to cure the madness of the naturalists and the star-gazers. Modern philosophers. as, for instance, Sir Isaac Newton and Dr. Samuel Clarke, are • idiots in respect of languages, and in respect of things ignorant.' Newton's doctrine of a vacuum in nature
with the laws of gravitation are continual subjects of condemnation; and especially a theory to which Newton seems to have given some countenance, that in nature God sometimes works without the mediation of a second cause. Hutchinson found in the Hebrew Elohim the name of the Trinity, who agreed together that if man fell, one of them would become incarnate. This Trinity has its emblem in the elements which constitute nature— light, fire, and air. The persons in the Godhead are made so distinctly three intelligent agents that Unitarians, or such as believe in the absolute personal unity of the Deity, are said not to worship the God of the Christian revelation " (John Hunt). The Hutc]iinsonian theology was thought to be a convenient weapon to use against liberal churchmen who were supposed to be under the influence of such writers at Matthew Tindal (1653?-1733), author of the rationalistic work " Christianity as 01(1 as the Creation" (1730), and John Toland (1670-1722), author of " Christianity not Mysterious " (1696). It was adopted for this purpose by Julius Bate (1711-1771), Rector of Sutton; by George Horne (1730-1792), after wards Bishop of Norwich, who published " A Fair, Candid, and Impartial Statement of the Case between Sir Isaac Newton and Mr. Hutchinson "; and by William .Jones (1726-1800), commonly known as "Jones of Nay land," who wrote a tract " An Essay on the First Prin ciples of Natural Philosophy " with the object of refuting Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) and Samuel Clirke (1675 1729). The works of Hutchinson himself include Moses' Principle, 1724, and Glory Mechanical, or the Agent of Nature, and Manner of their Agency Explained. See John Hunt: J. H. Blunt: and the D.N.B.