Martin Wickens

A paperback version of this book is available here: https://amzn.to/4qEVln1

This book review will be a little different as I want to say more about the author than I normally would.

The Author – Thomas Cooper (1805-1892)

Cooper was a 19th-century English writer, lecturer, and Christian apologist.

He was born in Leicester, England. Cooper had very little schooling. His father died when he was four and this left the family with significant financial issues. He was admitted to a “Bluecoat” school, a charity school. But, he only stayed until he was 15 when he left to become a shoemaker.

However, though his formal schooling was limited, he was determined to learn. He was get up at 3:00 or 4:00 am and study before work and then study late into the night. He taught himself Latin, Greek, Hebrew, French, and German. He memorized thousands of lines of poetry. When he was 23 he started his own school and it quickly became apparent that he was better educated than many who had gone to England’s best universities.

He became involved with the Chartist movement, a working-class campaign for political reform in Britain. His activism led to imprisonment. He spent over two years in jail. While in jail he wrote “The Purgatory of Suicides“, which consists of over 900 stanzas. Before going to jail he was a Methodist and involved as a lay preacher.

Following his release, Cooper drifted into religious skepticism. Skepticism was reaching boiling point in his day. Some historians have referred to this period as the “Victorian Crisis of Faith”. Darwin’s theory of evolution cast doubt on the Bible. If the opening pages were wrong, many theorized, then what about the rest of the Bible? Higher Criticism, primarily from German Scholars, was attempting to pull apart the Bible in every possible way. Few were equipped or willing to stem the tied.

Cooper went with popular opinion and openly questioned Christianity. He engaged in public debates against it. Yet over time, through study, reflection, and historical inquiry, he experienced a decisive return to Christian belief. This reconversion reshaped the remainder of his life and work. He was baptized and remained part of a Baptist church for the rest of his life.

From the mid-1850s onward, Cooper devoted himself to Christian apologetics. He traveled extensively throughout Britain as a lecturer and preacher. He became known for his ability not only to present Christianity, but to give a logical defense of it. He was unique in a few aspects. He didn’t focus on the educated or religious elites. He spoke to the common man as well as the highly trained skeptics. He pioneered what is now known as evidential apologetics. He was the Josh McDowell or Lee Strobel of his day.

His most enduring work, The Bridge of History Over the Gulf of Time (1871), grew out of these lectures. In it, Cooper argued that Christianity stands uniquely supported by history. He links the biblical record, the life of Christ, and the continuity of Christian testimony across centuries.

He seems to be largely forgotten, but his influence, if not his name, is felt by us all. In his day he was a household name.

His books sold over 50,000 copies. A massive amount for Victorian apologetics. Between 1858 and 1892 he delivered over 4200 lectures and 2500 sermons. He did this across 540 different towns and cities.

The Book Review: The Bridge of History Over the Gulf of Time

In “The Bridge of History Over the Gulf of Time” (1871), Thomas Cooper created a great example of logical architecture. His goal was to prove that the 1,800-year gap between the Victorian era and the time of Jesus was not an empty void of myth, but a solid structure supported by historical evidence. Cooper said, “If you cannot find a place where the history was broken, you must admit the bridge is whole.” His point was that Christianity has an unbroken, though tumultuous, line all the way back to Jesus.

The book is structured as a reverse journey through time. Instead of starting with Jesus and moving forward, he starts in the 19th century and walks his reader backward toward the 1st century.

The first half of the book is a history of Christianity painted with broad strokes. It is a useful look at church history in it’s own right. However, his point is to show that Christianity was not invented and then creatively added to, but stands consistent throughout history.

The last half argues logically and historically for the reliability and authenticity of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John).

There were one or two sentences in passing where he advocates for an eschatology I disagree with, but the vast majority of the book is excellent.

All of the arguments he makes in favor of the New Testament still stand, and due to further discoveries his arguments have been strengthened.

This is something of a unique book, but I think well-worth reading.