Old Princeton and European Scholarship

Abstract

This chapter discusses Old Princeton in its broad intellectual and historical contexts, especially the engagement of Princeton faculty with European religious scholars. The Princeton professors used German and European scholarship extensively in their work, including in their defences of Calvinism. The chapter addresses some of the challenges that the Princeton professors faced in the context of modernity, and provides details regarding their reliance on a transatlantic community of evangelical scholars who were familiar with the Enlightenment Bible and issues tied to the rise of modern universities. A transatlantic reading supports an examination of scientific theological efforts on the part of Princeton-based scholars, and underscores their links with evangelical European scholars. The chapter shows how current research on the academic work and defence of traditional Calvinist ideas that emerged from Princeton Theological Seminary in the nineteenth century benefits from a broader historical context that includes the influx of European ideas.