higher criticism

American  

noun

1. the study of the Bible having as its object the establishment of such facts as authorship and date of composition, as well as determination of a basis for exegesis.

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higher criticism British  

noun

1. the use of scientific techniques of literary criticism to establish the sources of the books of the Bible Compare lower criticism

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Etymology

Origin of higher criticism

First recorded in 1830–40

Example Sentences

Rejecting the higher criticism that reduced the Bible to human wish fulfillment, Barth proclaimed the objective authority of Scripture.

From Time Magazine Archive

He believed that the churches must be subject to the state, led the way to the "higher criticism" of the Bible and even developed a theory of emergent evolution.

From Time Magazine Archive

In Indiana, an optional literature course presents the Bible in the light of 19th century "higher criticism," but few schools have adopted it.

From Time Magazine Archive

Advocates range from hard-line Fundamentalists and moderate Evangelicals, who all along have deemed the Gospels historically trustworthy, to moderate liberals who use higher criticism but have become skeptical about skepticism.

From Time Magazine Archive

It has been observed that neither in art nor letters did Macaulay display that faculty of the higher criticism which depends upon certain refined perceptions and the power of subtle analysis.

From Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern, Vol. 16 by Various