SOURCE: "John Keble: A Report from the Devil's Advocate," in Historical Magazine of the Protestant Episcopal Church, Vol. XLVIII, No. 2, June, 1979, pp. 219-38.

In the following essay, Griffin argues that Keble 's high status in Christian scholarship is somewhat inflated, given his inconsistent positions and cautious activism; however, Griffin also notes that Keble was not the egotistical and rigid figure depicted by his critics.

The start of what has been called the "informal beatification"¹ of John Keble began with the sermons thatwere delivered at his grave² and has continued down tothe most recent studies on his life, work, and the poetry. Keble's biographers all agree that he was worthy of the title saint, and have used such a title to describe him. Keble was and is a Catholic saint.³

Keble was the author of the best-selling volume, The Christian Year (1827) and a brilliant student at Oxford with every...