The storm passed, and afterward came the still,
small voice. Really sound thinkers throughout England, especially
those who held no briefs for conventional orthodoxy, recognised the
service rendered by the book. It was found that, after all, there
existed even among churchmen a great mass of public opinion in
favour of giving a full hearing to the reverent expression of
honest thought, and inclined to distrust any cause which subjected
fair play to zeal.
The authors of the work not only remained in the Church of England,
but some of them have since represented the broader views, though
not always with their early courage, in the highest and most
influential positions in the Anglican Church.[[348]]
IV. THE CLOSING STRUGGLE.
The storm aroused by _Essays and Reviews_ had not yet subsided when
a far more serious tempest burst upon the English theological world.
In 1862 appeared a work entitled _The Pentateuch and the Book of
Joshua Critically Examined_ its author being Colenso, Anglican
Bishop of Natal, in South Africa.
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