13 - Voltaire and the Bible

Summary

It was long thought, or at least claimed, that Voltaire's knowledge of the Bible was superficial, even derisory, and that in consequence his biblical criticism was negative, partisan and worthless. This view was not only held by contemporaries such as Claude-François Nonnotte, Antoine Guénée and Louis-Mayeul, Dom Chaudon; J. Steinman still thought so in 1956. Yet research carried out over recent years has demonstrated that few in the eighteenth century knew the Bible better than he: comments on, and quotations from, the scriptures not only occupy a prominent place in the litany of Voltaire's self-proclaimed anti-Christian texts (books, pamphlets, dialogues of all types), perhaps even more significantly they permeate his other works, including those having no apparent connection with religion, and even his thousands of letters. Furthermore, almost despite himself, Voltaire sometimes responded positively to the Bible and was capable of insightful judgements beyond the received wisdom of his times as to its composition, context and background.

How did Voltaire's attitude to the Bible develop?

Bertram Eugene Schwarzbach underlines the rather surprising fact that, apart from the article 'Juifs' (1756), 'Voltaire did not publish any serious [biblical] criticism until the Sermon des cinquante in 1761.' This may however have been read aloud or even preached as a mock-sermon while Voltaire was at the court of Frederick the Great in Berlin in 1752. And Voltaire's interest in the Bible goes back much further than that, no doubt to his childhood.