Bampton Lectures

The Bampton Lectures at the University of Oxford, England, were founded by a bequest of John Bampton. They have taken place since 1780. On a number of occasions, especially in the 19th century, they attracted great interest and controversy.

Originally a series of lectures was held annually. In 1896 the income from the agricultural estate which formed the original bequest had reduced so much that the year's lectures were cancelled; since then they have usually been every two years. They continue to concentrate on Christian theological topics. It is a condition of the Bampton Bequest that the lectures are published by the lecturer; they have traditionally been published in book form, and recent ones are available as video recordings.

Lecturers (incomplete list)

Links to the text of some of the lectures up to 1920 are available at the Project Canterbury Web site.

1780–1799

1780 – James Bandinel Eight Sermons preached before the University of Oxford

1781 – Timothy Neve Eight Sermons preached before the University of Oxford

1782 – Robert Holmes The Prophecies and Testimony of John the Baptist, and the parallel Prophecies of Jesus Christ

1783 – John Cobb Eight sermons preached before the University of Oxford

1784 – Joseph White Mahometism and Christianity

1785 – Ralph Churton On the Prophecies Respecting the Destruction of Jerusalem

1786 – George Croft Eight Sermons preached before the University of Oxford

1787 – William Hawkins Discourses on Scripture Mysteries

1788 – Richard Shepherd The Ground and Credibility of the Christian Religion

1789 – Edward Tatham Chart and Scale of Truth

1790 – Henry Kett A Representation of the Conduct and Opinions of the Primitive Christians, with Remarks on Gibbon and Priestley

1791 – Robert Morres Eight sermons preached before the University of Oxford

1792 – John Eveleigh Eight Sermons Preached before the University of Oxford

1793 – James Williamson The Truth, Inspiration, Authority, and End of the Scriptures, considered and defended

1794 – Thomas Wintle Expediency, Prediction, and Accomplishment of the Christian Redemption Illustrated

1795 – Daniel Veysie The Doctrine of Atonement illustrated and defended

1796 – Robert Gray Sermons on the Principles Upon Which the Reformation of the Church of England was Established

1797 – William Finch Objections of Infidel Historians and Other Writers Against Christianity

1798 – Charles Henry Hall Fulness of Time

1799 – William Barrow Answers to some Popular Objections against the Necessity or the Credibility of the Christian Revelation

1800–1824

1800 – George Richards The Divine Origin of Prophecy Illustrated and Defended

1801 – George Stanley Faber Horae Mosaicae

1802 – George Frederic Nott Religious Enthusiasm

1803 – John Farrer Sermons on the Mission and Character of Christ and on the Beatitudes

1804 – Richard Laurence An attempt to illustrate those articles of the Church of England, which the Calvinists improperly consider as Calvinistical

1805 – Edward Nares A View of the Evidences of Christianity at the End of the Pretended Age of Reason

1806 – John Browne, Fellow of Corpus Christi College Eight un-named sermons

1807 – Thomas Le Mesurier The Nature and Guilt of Schism

1808 – John Penrose An Attempt to Prove the Truth of Christianity

1809 – John Bayley Somers Carwithen A view of the Brahminical religion

1810 – Thomas Falconer Certain Principles in Evanson's Dissonance of the 'Four generally received Evangelists'

1811 – John Bidlake The Truth and Consistency of Divine Revelation

1812 – Richard Mant An Appeal to the Gospel

1813 – John Collinson A Key to the Writings of the Principal Fathers of the Christian Church who flourished during the first three centuries

1814 – William Van Mildert The General Principles of Scripture-Interpretation

1815 – Reginald Heber The Personality and Office of the Christian Comforter

1816 – John Hume Spry Christian Union Doctrinally and Historically Considered

1817 – John Miller The Divine Authority of Holy Scripture

1818 – Charles Abel Moysey The Doctrines of Unitarians Examined

1819 – Hector Davies Morgan A Compressed View of the Religious Principles and Practices of the Age

1820 – Godfrey Faussett The Claims of the Established Church to exclusive attachment and support, and the Dangers which menace her from Schism and Indifference, considered

1821 – John Jones The Moral Tendency of Divine Revelation

1822 – Richard Whately The Use and Abuse of Party Feeling in Matters of Religion

1823 – Charles Goddard The Mental Condition Necessary to a due Inquiry into Religious Evidence

1824 – John Josias Conybeare An Attempt to Trace the History and to Ascertain the Limits of the Secondary and Spiritual Interpretation of Scripture

1825–1849

1825 – George Chandler The Scheme of Divine Revelation Considered

1826 – William Vaux The Benefits Annexed to a Participation in the Two Christian Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper

1827 – Henry Hart Milman Character and Conduct of the Apostles Considered as an Evidence of Christianity

1828 – Thomas Horne The Religious Necessity of the Reformation

1829 – Edward Burton Inquiry into the Heresies of the Apostolic Age

1830 – Henry Soames An inquiry into the doctrines of the Anglo-Saxon church

1831 – Thomas William Lancaster The Popular Evidence of Christianity

1832 – Renn Dickson Hampden The Scholastic Philosophy considered in its relation to Christian Theology

1833 – Frederick Nolan Analogy of Revelation and Science Established

1834 – Richard Laurence An Attempt to illustrate those Articles of the Church of England which the Calvinists improperly consider as Calvinistical

1836 – Charles Atmore Ogilvie Eight Sermons

1837 – Thomas S. L. Vogan The Principal Objections against the Doctrine of the Trinity

1838 – Henry Arthur Woodgate The Authoritative Teaching of the Church

1839 – William Daniel Conybeare An analytical examination into ... the writings of the Christian Fathers during the Ante-Nicene period

1840 – Edward Hawkins Connected Principles

1841 – Samuel Wilberforce was invited to lecture but withdrew following the death of his wife Emily

1842 – James Garbett Christ, as Prophet, Priest, and King

1843 – Anthony Grant The Past and Prospective Extension of the Gospel By Missions to the Heathen

1844 – Richard Wiliam Jelf An inquiry into the means of grace, their mutual connection, and combined use, with especial reference to the Church of England

1845 – Charles Abel Heurtley Justification

1846 – Augustus Short The Witness of the Spirit with our Spirit

1847 – Walter Augustus Shirley

1848 – Edward Garrard Marsh The Christian Doctrine of Sanctification

1849 – Richard Michell The Nature and Comparative Value of the Christian Evidences

1850–1874

1850 – Edward Meyrick Goulburn The Resurrection of the Body

1851 – Henry Bristow Wilson The Communion of Saints

1852 – Joseph Esmond Riddle The Natural History of Infidelity and Superstition in contrast with Christian Faith

1853 – William Thomson The Atoning Work of Christ viewed in Relation to some Ancient Theories

1854 – Samuel Waldegrave New Testament Millenarianism

1855 – John Ernest Bode The Absence of Precision in the Formularies of the Church of England

1856 – Edward Arthur Litton The Mosaic Dispensation Considered as Introductory to Christianity

1857 – William Edward Jelf Christian Faith, Comprehensive, not Partial; Definite, not Uncertain

1858 – Henry Longueville Mansel The Limits of Religious Thought

1859 – George Rawlinson Historic Evidence for the Truth of the Christian Records

1860 – James Augustus Hessey On Sunday: its Origin, History, and Present Obligation

1861 – John Sandford The Mission and Extension of the Church at Home

1862 – Adam Storey Farrar A Critical History of Free Thought in reference to the Christian Religion

1863 – John Hannah The Relation between the Divine and Human Elements in Holy Scripture

1864 – Thomas Dehany Bernard The Progress of Doctrine in the New Testament

1865 – James Bowling Mozley Miracles

1866 – Henry Parry Liddon The Divinity of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ

1867 – Edward Garbett Dogmatic Faith, an inquiry into the relation subsisting between revelation and dogma

1868 – George Moberly The Administration of the Holy Spirit in the Body of Christ

1869 – Robert Payne Smith Prophecy a Preparation for Christ

1870 – William Josiah Irons Christianity as Taught by St.