MARLPIT PRESSIndependent PublisherHow The Approach to Christianity Was Received in 1926
The first reviews immediately recognized what made Selwyn’s book distinctive: Anglo-Catholic theology engaging modern criticism, psychology, and the supernatural.
The Journal of Theological Studies
J. M. Creed reviewed The Approach to Christianity in the April 1926 issue of The Journal of Theological Studies.
The review’s appearance in a major academic theological journal within months of publication shows that Selwyn’s book entered the serious scholarly discussion rather than remaining only a popular apologetic.
The Churchman and “Anglo-Catholic Philosophy”
The Churchman reviewed Selwyn together with H. Maurice Relton under the heading “Anglo-Catholic Philosophy.”
The reviewer identified both writers as leaders of the Anglo-Catholic movement and treated their books as substantial contributions even from a journal that did not share all of their churchmanship.
The London Quarterly Review
The London Quarterly Review connected the lectures directly with Friedrich von Hügel and highlighted Selwyn’s postwar critique of confidence in progress and science.
It also singled out the chapter on the Christ of History, summarizing Selwyn’s attempt to integrate historical evidence with the Christ confessed by the Church.
How Longmans positioned the book
Longmans advertised The Approach to Christianity as a defense and exposition of Christianity from a Catholic standpoint in light of modern criticism and psychology.
That publisher’s description is remarkably accurate SEO language a century later because it names the book’s distinctive niche more precisely than a generic label such as “Christian apologetics.”
What the early reception tells us
The early notices agree on the basic location of the book: Anglo-Catholic, modern in method, serious about criticism, and unwilling to surrender the supernatural.
That combination explains both its historical interest and its relevance to contemporary readers searching for a critical but orthodox Anglican theology.
Research basis
This note draws on The Approach to Christianity, its index and Marlpit Press edition materials, contemporary 1926 reviews and publisher advertising, and biographical sources on Edward Gordon Selwyn.
- Edward Gordon Selwyn, The Approach to Christianity (Longmans, Green & Co., 1925)
- J. M. Creed, review in The Journal of Theological Studies (April 1926)
- The Churchman, review under “Anglo-Catholic Philosophy” (1926)
- London Quarterly Review, “Theology and Apologetics” review notice (1926)
- Longmans, Green & Co. publisher advertisements for The Approach to Christianity
- Biographical records of Edward Gordon Selwyn and his editorship of Theology
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