Cyrus Ingerson Scofield, commonly known as C. I. Scofield, was an American theologian and minister best known for his Scofield Reference Bible, originally published in 1909. This Bible popularized dispensationalism, a method of biblical interpretation that divides biblical history into different periods or “dispensations.” Scofield’s Bible had extensive study notes reflecting his dispensationalist theology, making it influential among American fundamentalist Christians in the early 20th century.
C. I. Scofield was born in 1843 in Michigan. He served in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. After the war, Scofield moved to Kansas and worked as a lawyer. He was elected to the Kansas House of Representatives in 1869 but had to resign after being implicated in a forgery scandal. Scofield abandoned his wife and children around this time and moved to St. Louis, Missouri. There he underwent a dramatic conversion to Christianity after encountering a missionary worker in 1879.
Scofield felt called to Christian ministry and was ordained as a Congregationalist minister in 1882. He pastored churches in Dallas, Texas and Massachusetts. During this time, he began developing his theology of dispensationalism, influenced by the Plymouth Brethren movement and the writings of John Nelson Darby. Dispensationalism sees biblical history divided into different eras or dispensations where God relates to humans in different ways under different biblical covenants. Scofield laid out seven dispensations in his reference Bible notes.
In the 1890s, Scofield was mentored by Arno C. Gaebelein, a minister who also advocated dispensationalism. Around 1908, Scofield published his reference Bible, which organized the biblical text into dispensations. It also contained extensive footnotes by Scofield explaining his theological views. The Scofield Reference Bible was published by Oxford University Press and became popular with fundamentalist Christians, helping popularize dispensationalism in the United States.
Some key dispensationalist teachings found in Scofield’s notes include:
- A sharp distinction between Israel and the Church. Scofield saw biblical prophecies regarding Israel as separate from the Church.
- The rapture of the church before the Great Tribulation described in prophetic biblical passages. Scofield taught a pretribulation rapture of Christians.
- The restoration of the nation of Israel during the end times. Scofield interpreted end times prophecy as predicting a literal future restoration of Israel.
C.I. Scofield was praised by adherents for making the Bible more understandable to laypeople. But critics argued his theological lens imposed foreign interpretations upon the biblical text. Scofield has been a controversial figure for his abandonment of his family, unclear reasons for ordination, and accusations of questionable financial practices in his ministry roles.
Nevertheless, Scofield left a major imprint on evangelical Christianity through his reference Bible and popularization of dispensationalism. His theological system influenced prominent early fundamentalist thinkers like Lewis Sperry Chafer, founder of Dallas Theological Seminary. Many evangelical leaders today continue to interpret biblical prophecy through a dispensationalist lens pioneered by Scofield.
While literal understandings of biblical prophecy remain popular in some circles, many evangelical scholars have moved away from strong dispensationalist interpretations. They argue Scofield imposed an artificial construct on Scripture by dividing it into dispensations. Many mainline Protestant and Roman Catholic thinkers reject dispensationalism entirely. Additionally, some critics have charged dispensationalism with contributing to divisive “end times” hysteria at certain points in history.
But for better or worse, C.I. Scofield played a major role in shaping evangelical Christianity in 20th century America. As the copyright to the Scofield Reference Bible has expired, it is now in the public domain and accessible online. While Scofield’s fame may have faded, dispensationalist theology remains an influential interpretive approach within evangelicalism. Studying Scofield’s life sheds light on a highly impactful Christian leader who codified a system of biblical interpretation that shaped American fundamentalism and evangelicalism.
Cyrus Ingerson Scofield was born August 19, 1843 in Lenawee County, Michigan. He was the seventh and youngest child of Elias and Abigail Scofield. His family ancestry could be traced back to the Puritans who settled the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 1600s. As a teenager, Scofield’s family relocated to Tennessee.
When the Civil War broke out in 1861, eighteen year old Scofield joined the Confederate Army. He served as an infantryman in the 7th Tennessee Infantry Regiment. Scofield saw combat action and was wounded at the Battle of Antietam in 1862. After recovering, he was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant.
Following the end of the Civil War, Scofield moved to St. Louis, Missouri where one of his sisters lived with her husband. He studied law and passed the bar exam, becoming a lawyer. In 1866, Scofield relocated to the town of Atchison in Kansas. He established a successful law practice there and became involved in Kansas Republican politics.
Scofield was elected to represent his district in the Kansas House of Representatives in 1869. However, his time as a legislator was short-lived. That same year he became embroiled in a financial scandal when accusations emerged that he had forged promissory notes from former Confederate soldiers. A grand jury indicted Scofield on forgery charges in October 1869, leading him to resign from the Kansas House.
The case against Scofield was eventually dropped due to statutes of limitations and lack of evidence. But the scandal essentially ended his law career and marriage. Scofield separated from his wife Mary and moved to St. Louis. He abandoned his wife and two daughters, only providing minimal financial support. The reasons for the separation remain unclear.
While in St. Louis, Scofield’s life underwent a dramatic turn. Sometime around 1879, he had a chance encounter with a member of the St. Louis YMCA. This YMCA worker shared the message of the gospel with Scofield, leading him to profess faith in Christ and conversion to Christianity. Scofield attended worship services at Pilgrim Congregational Church in St. Louis.
Reflecting on this period later in life, Scofield dated his conversion to Christmas Eve 1879. The details surrounding his sudden profession of faith are hazy, a fact later criticized by Scofield’s detractors. But by all accounts, he emerged from this experience with a zeal for Christian service and advancement of the gospel.
In 1881, Scofield began attending theological classes at YMCA Bible schools and preparing for ministry work. He received ministerial licensing from the St. Louis Congregational Association and took up a role as pastor of Hyde Park Congregational Church in St. Louis. The following year in 1882 he was officially ordained as a Congregationalist minister.
Over the next decade, Scofield went on to pastor churches in Dallas, Texas and Northfield, Massachusetts. He also served for a time as secretary of the American Home Missionary Society of Texas and Louisiana. During this period as a young minister, Scofield became exposed to and deeply interested in eschatology – the study of end times biblical prophecy.
In particular, Scofield gravitated toward a new school of thought called dispensationalism that was emerging among the Plymouth Brethren movement in England during the 1830s. He was influenced by the writings of John Nelson Darby, a prominent leader among the Plymouth Brethren and early dispensationalist theologian.
Dispensationalism offered a novel way of interpreting the Bible that appealed to Scofield. It divides biblical history into a series of dispensations, which are defined periods or eras where God relates to human beings under different biblical covenants in distinctive ways. Scofield ultimately outlined seven major dispensations in his reference Bible notes.
In the 1890s, Scofield came under the mentorship of Arno C. Gaebelein, a New York minister who shared his interest in biblical prophecy and dispensationalism. Gaebelein introduced Scofield to prominent dispensationalist thinkers and helped further ground him in this interpretive approach. Scofield saw dispensationalism as making profound scriptural truths more understandable.
Around 1908, the Scofield Reference Bible was published by Oxford University Press. This study Bible became the seminal work cementing Scofield’s legacy as a theologian. Scofield organized the Bible into dispensations and added extensive footnotes reflecting his theological views. It appealed to a popular audience, becoming a bestseller and going through multiple editions.
The Scofield Reference Bible made the ideas of dispensationalism far more accessible to American evangelical Christians in the early 1900s. Scofield’s work influenced a generation of dispensationalist thinkers and the Bible notes shaped lay religious education. Dispensationalism thus became the dominant lens for interpreting prophecy among fundamentalists and evangelicals of this era.
Scofield’s Bible notes expounded his dispensationalist approach to key theological questions regarding prophecy and biblical covenants. Some of the major dispensationalist themes found in Scofield’s theology include:
- Drawing a sharp distinction between God’s plans for Israel and the Church. Scofield saw God’s promises and prophecies to Israel as separate from the Church. Therefore, the Church has not become the “new Israel” as some theologians argue.
- Teaching that the rapture of the Church will occur before the prophesied Great Tribulation described in passages like Matthew 24. This became known as the “pretribulation rapture” view among dispensationalists.
- Interpreting biblical prophecy as pointing toward the future restoration of the literal nation of Israel during the end times. Scofield’s notes reflect this belief that God still has plans in store for national Israel.
The Scofield Reference Bible was enormously popular among American evangelicals and fundamentalists in the early 1900s. Oxford University Press issued revised editions of the Bible after Scofield’s death in 1921 to update the footnotes and keep it in print. Prominent early Dallas Theological Seminary faculty members such as Lewis Sperry Chafer studied Scofield’s writings closely.
Scofield’s dispensationalist teachings were praised by many conservative Protestants for making the Bible, particularly prophetic passages, more accessible to laypeople. Scofield supporters believe he simplified biblical themes in a way that brought clarity. His dispensationalist approach continues to be regarded as an important theological system within some evangelical circles today.
However, Scofield’s theology has also frequently garnered criticism from several angles. Some of the major critiques include:
- Charging that Scofield imposed an artificial theological construct on Scripture by dividing it into dispensations. Critics argue this does not arise naturally from the biblical text.
- Claiming Scofield’s theology leads to overly literal interpretations of prophetic and apocalyptic biblical literature that reflect its ancient genres.
- Concern that dispensationalism contributes to date-setting over end times events and apocalyptic “panic.” Dates Scofield proposed have already proved wrong.
- Observing that dispensationalism runs counter to the views of most mainline Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox interpreters. It is largely confined to evangelicalism.
There are also lingering questions about aspects of Scofield’s biography prior to his ministry career. His sudden ordination just two years after conversion struck some as hastily unorthodox. The reasons for the breakdown of his marriage have fueled speculation. Additionally, Scofield’s finances were investigated on multiple occasions for alleged improprieties in handling of church funds.
So while Scofield left an indelible imprint on evangelical Christianity, his legacy is complicated. His biblical study system has been praised by supporters as visionary while criticized by others as imposed and divisive. Nevertheless, the Scofield Reference Bible played a pivotal role in propagating dispensationalist theology throughout American fundamentalism in the early 1900s.
C.I. Scofield died in 1921 at the age of 79. After his death, leading dispensationalist ministers and theologians took up the mantle of expanding on his interpretive approach. Some significant figures influenced by Scofield include:
- Arno C. Gaebelein (1861-1945) – Scofield’s mentor and a minister who helped edit his reference Bible notes. Authored many prophetic writings from a dispensational perspective.
- Lewis Sperry Chafer (1871-1952) – Founded Dallas Theological Seminary, the first seminary explicitly dedicated to dispensationalism. Wrote an eight volume systematic theology articulating dispensationalist views.
- Charles C. Ryrie (1925-2016) – Updated the Scofield Reference Bible and expanded on dispensationalist thinking in his theology books. Taught for several decades at Dallas Theological Seminary.
John Nelson Darby, an Anglo-Irish pastor and early Plymouth Brethren leader, is widely regarded as the original pioneer of dispensationalist theology. But Cyrus Ingerson Scofield played a crucial role in popularizing dispensationalism, particularly in the United States. Through his widely circulated reference Bible, Scofield introduced generations of American evangelicals to dispensationalist interpretations of prophecy.
Dispensationalism has become most prominent within American fundamentalist and evangelical spheres of influence. Mainline Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox perspectives generally do not follow dispensationalist interpretation. There is significant criticism of Scofield’s theological approach from these quarters.
At the same time, dispensationalism remains an important stream within evangelicalism. Seminaries like Dallas Theological Seminary uphold Scofield’s legacy. Many see his work as making the Bible, especially prophetic passages, more accessible to lay Christians. The Scofield Reference Bible is regarded as a seminal work by those evangelicals who adhere to dispensational theology.
While literal understandings of biblical prophecy remain popular in some evangelical circles, trends have moved away from classic dispensationalism. Some evangelical scholars argue events like the founding of the modern state of Israel in 1948 have forced modifications of traditional dispensationalist end times timelines. Figures like Ryrie have tried to refine and update dispensationalism.
Additionally, other evangelical interpreters have advanced more metaphorical approaches to prophetic texts that move away from the dispensational framework. Biblical prophecy continues to be an area of diversity and debate within evangelicalism, as evidenced by a widening range of opinions among scholars.
Overall, Cyrus Ingerson Scofield leaves behind a complex legacy. For his supporters, he insightfully systematized biblical truth and made it accessible for the layperson. To his detractors, he overly segmented biblical themes and imposed rigid constructs upon Scripture. But few would deny the immense influence of C.I. Scofield upon evangelical Christianity in the United States during the 20th century. His dispensationalist imprint remains indelible, if increasingly debated, nearly a century after his death.