William Whiston—Wopanduka Kapena Wophunzira Wowona Mtima?
KODI mungalepe ntchito yanu kaamba ka zikhulupiriro zanu? William Whiston anatero.
Iye anakhala munthu wochititsa mkangano wachipembedzo kuchiyambiyambi kwa zaka za zana la 18, pamene anatsutsana ndi Tchalitchi cha England paziphunzitso za Baibulo. Monga chotulukapo chake, iye potsirizira anatchedwa kuti wopanduka. Motero njira yake inamdzetsera chitonzo komanso inamchititsa kupatsidwa ulemu.
Kodi William Whiston anali yani? Ndipo kodi anachitanji?
Wophunzira wa Baibulo
William Whiston anali munthu wanzeru kwambiri wa pa Yunivesite ya Cambridge amene anali mnzake wa Bwana Isaac Newton. Ngati mufuna kudziŵa za zolemba Zachingelezi za wolemba mbiri wa m’zaka za zana loyamba Wachiyuda Flavius Josephus, mwinamwake mudzakhala mukuŵerenga matembenuzidwe opangidwa ndi Whiston mu 1736. Ngakhale kuti pali matembenuzidwe ena, mafotokozedwe ake aluso, limodzi ndi ndemanga zake ndi zolemba zake, nzapadera kuposa zinazo ndipo mabuku ake amasindikizidwabe. Ambiri amalingalira buku lake limeneli kukhala chinthu chopambana kwambiri m’zochita za Whiston.
Komabe, chinthu china chosayenera kunyalanyazidwa ndicho matembenuzidwe a Malemba Achigiriki Achikristu a Primitive New Testament a Whiston. Anafalitsidwa mu 1745, m’chaka chake cha 78 cha kubadwa. Whiston anatembenuza Mauthenga Abwino anayi ndi Machitidwe a Atumwi kuchokera mu Codex Bezae, makalata a Paulo kuchokera mu Clermont Codex, ndi mbali ina yotsala, kuphatikizapo Chivumbulutso, kuchokera m’Malembo Apamanja a Alexandrine. Iye anachotsa mosamalitsa mbali yachinyengo ya 1 Yohane 5:7. Whiston anasankha magwero atatu Achigiriki akale ameneŵa monga abwino kwambiri amene anali opezeka panthaŵiyo.
Kukonda Baibulo mwachionekere kunali chisonkhezero cha zimene Whiston anachita. Panthaŵi yake chiphunzitso cha deism chinali chofala, chiphunzitso chakuti nzeru zokha zili maziko okwanira okhulupirira Mulungu. Malinga ndi kunena kwa buku lakuti William Whiston—Honest Newtonian, iye anachirikiza mwamphamvu “lingaliro la osunga mwambo lakuti Baibulo ndilo magwero okha opanda cholakwa a mbiri yakale.” Mawu akuti “Newtonian” panopa amanena za Isaac Newton, wodziŵika bwino koposa chifukwa cha Principia yake, mu imene anafotokozamo lamulo la mphamvu yokoka ya chilengedwe. Kaganizidwe ka Newton kanali ndi chiyambukiro chachikulu pa William Whiston. Motani?
Kusiyanitsa Maumunthu
William Whiston anabadwa mu 1667, mwana wa mbusa wa Tchalitchi cha England. Ataikidwa kukhala wansembe mu 1693, anabwerera ku Yunivesite ya Cambridge kukaphunzira masamu ndi kukhala wothandiza wa Newton. Panabuka ubwenzi waukulu pakati pawo. Pamene Newton analeka kukhala Lucasian Profesa wa Masamu pafupifupi zaka zitatu pambuyo pake, iyeyo anatsimikizira kuti Whiston asankhidwe kumuloŵa mmalo. Polondola ntchito yakeyo, Whiston anaphunzitsa phunziro la zakuthambo ndi masamu, koma chiyambukiro cha Newton chinamsonkhezeranso kukhala ndi chikondwerero chakuya kwambiri m’kaŵerengedwe ka nthaŵi za Baibulo ndi chiphunzitso chake.
Newton anali munthu wachipembedzo. Monga wokhulupirira Zaka Chikwi za Baibulo, iye analemba zambiri ponena za maulosi a Danieli ndi Chivumbulutso. Komabe, zolembedwa zimenezo sizinafalitsidwe konse m’nyengo ya moyo wake. Iye anakana chiphunzitso cha Utatu. Koma ponena za kufalitsa umboni wake wotsutsa Utatu, “Newton analeka kutero powopa kuti malingaliro ake otsutsa Utatuwo akadziŵika,” ikutero The New Encyclopædia Britannica. F. E. Manuel akufotokoza motere mu Isaac Newton, Historian: “Kagulu ka Newton kanasunga malingaliro ake kukhala achinsinsi kapena kanabisa changu chake. . . . Pamene Newton anachita zinthu mobisa Whiston analankhula zinthu mosabisa.” Motero amuna aŵiriwo anali ndi maumunthu osiyana.
Kunyanyalidwa
Mu July 1708, Whiston analembera kalata maakibishopu a ku Canterbury ndi a ku York komwe, akumawalimbikitsa kusintha chiphunzitso cha Tchalitchi cha England polingalira za chiphunzitso chonyenga cha Utatu monga momwe chasonyezedwera m’Chikhulupiriro cha Athanasius. Mwachionekere, iye analangizidwa kukhala wosamala. Komabe, Whiston anachitabe khama. “Ndapenda mfundo zimenezi mosamalitsa,” iye anatero, “ndipo ndili wokhutira maganizo kotheratu kuti tchalitchi cha chikristu kwanthaŵi yaitali chakhala chonyengedwa kwakukulu pamfundozi; ndipo, ndi dalitso la Mulungu, ndi kuyesayesa kwanga, sichidzanyengedwanso.”
Newton anawopera malo ake m’chitaganya ndi m’zamaphunziro. Kumbali inayo, Whiston sanatero. Pokhala atalinganiza zikhulupiriro zotsutsa Utatu, iye analemba kabuku kofotokoza malingaliro ake. Koma mu August 1708, Yunivesite ya Cambridge inakana kuloleza Whiston kuti asindikize nkhani imeneyi, popeza kuti inati nkhaniyo inali yosagwirizana ndi mwambo.
Mu 1710, Whiston anaimbidwa mlandu wa kuphunzitsa chiphunzitso chosiyana ndi chiphunzitso cha Tchalitchi cha England. Anapezeka kukhala waliŵongo, kulandidwa uprofesa, ndi kuthamangitsidwa pa Cambridge. Komabe, mosasamala kanthu za kuzengedwa kwa mlandu wake, kumene kunapitiriza pafupifupi zaka zina zisanu, Whiston sanapatsidwe mlandu wa kupanduka.
Ngakhale kuti malingaliro ake otsutsa Utatu anali ogwirizana ndi a Whiston, Newton sanachirikize bwenzi lakelo ndipo potsirizira pake anamnyanyala. Mu 1754, malingaliro Abaibulo a Newton ovumbula Utatu potsirizira pake anafalitsidwa—zaka 27 pambuyo pa imfa yake. Koma zimenezi zinali thandizo limene linafika mochedwa kwambiri kwa Whiston, amene anali atafa zaka ziŵiri chisanafike chakacho.
Newton akulingaliridwanso kukhala ndi thayo loletsa Whiston kuloŵa m’gulu lolemekezedwa lotchedwa Royal Society. Koma Whiston sanalefulidwe maganizo. Iye ndi banja lake anasamukira ku London, kumene anayambitsa Society for Promoting Primitive Christianity. Iye anaika nzeru zake zonse pakulemba mabuku, lofunika kwambiri kufikira panthaŵiyo likumakhala buku lake la mavoliyumu anayi la Primitive Christianity Revived.
Wotsutsa Kufikira Mapeto
Monga wasayansi, Whiston anatulukira njira zosiyanasiyana zothandiza amalinyero kudziŵa malo awo panyanja. Ngakhale kuti malingaliro ake sanagwiritsiridwe ntchito, khama lake potsirizira pake linachititsa kuyambitsidwa kwa chiwiya cha amalinyero chotchedwa chronometer. Ngakhale kuti malingaliro ambiri a Whiston onena za ulosi wa Baibulo, mofanana ndi aja a anzake apanthaŵi yake, atsimikizira kukhala osalondola, iye anayesayesa zonse zomwe akanatha m’kufunafuna kwake chowonadi. Matrakiti ake onena za kuzungulira kwa nyenyezi ndi ndemanga zake pa chiyambukiro cha Chigumula cha tsiku la Nowa zili pakati pa zolemba zake zambiri zimene analemba pochirikiza chowonadi cha sayansi ndi cha Baibulo chomwe. Komabe, zoposa zolembedwa zake zonse ndizo zija zovumbula chiphunzitso cha Utatu kukhala chosachokera m’malemba.
Akumachita monga mwanthaŵi zonse, Whiston anachoka m’Tchalitchi cha England mu 1747. Iye anatero, ponse paŵiri kwenikweni ndi mophiphiritsira, pamene anatuluka m’tchalitchimo mtsogoleri wachipembedzo atayamba kuŵerenga Chikhulupiriro cha Athanasius. Buku lotchedwa A Religious Encyclopædia limati ponena za Whiston: “Munthu ayenera kuchita chidwi ndi kufotokoza mwachamuna ndi kuwona mtima kwake, kusasintha kwa moyo wake, ndi kulongosoka kwa khalidwe lake.”
Kwa William Whiston, kugonja pachowonadi kunali kosatheka, ndipo zikhulupiriro zake zinali za mtengo wapatali koposa kutamandidwa ndi anthu. Ngakhale kuti anali wotsutsa, Whiston anali wophunzira wowona mtima amene anachirikiza Baibulo mopanda mantha kukhala Mawu a Mulungu.—2 Timoteo 3:16, 17.
[Mawu a Chithunzi patsamba 26]
Copyright British Museum