author
John J. (John James) Blunt
1794–1855
An Anglican scholar who turned close reading into a lively defense of scripture, he wrote widely on the early Church, the Reformation, and the historical case for the Bible. His books are remembered for their clear, argumentative style and for popularizing the idea of “undesigned coincidences.”
1 Audiobook
Sketch of the Reformation in England
by John J. (John James) Blunt
About the author
John James Blunt was an English Anglican priest and theological writer, born in 1794 and educated at St John's College, Cambridge. He became a fellow there and later served as Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity at Cambridge from 1839 until his death in 1855.
His writing focused on Christian history and biblical apologetics. Surviving records of his papers and correspondence connect him with works including The Veracity of the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles, The Veracity of the Five Books of Moses, Hulsean lectures, and studies of the early Church and the English Reformation.
Blunt is especially associated with the argument later known as “undesigned coincidences,” using small, apparently incidental agreements between texts as evidence for historical reliability. He wrote as a scholar, but his books were meant to persuade ordinary readers as well as students of theology.