Principles of Self-Knowledge

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: PREFACE i HE idea of this imperfect Essay was firs t suggested to me by reading the proceedings in the trial of Mr. Carlile, for blasphemy. It was boldly contended by him, that the Scriptures Ikhl demoralized the world; that they were the cause of all the crimes that existed; and were, in fact, the word of...
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Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: PREFACE i HE idea of this imperfect Essay was firs t suggested to me by reading the proceedings in the trial of Mr. Carlile, for blasphemy. It was boldly contended by him, that the Scriptures Ikhl demoralized the world; that they were the cause of all the crimes that existed; and were, in fact, the word of the devil, and not the word of God. The court who tried him could only inquire into his offence juridically; and could not, with any propriety, examine the subject of Christianity theologically. They could only consider it as being the established religion of the land, and then try whether he was guilty or not guilty of any offence against the law as it stood. The merits of Christianity were, therefore, but very slightly touched on by the court; though the defendant, by immoderately pressing his right of defence, had an opportunity of reiterating his impieties against it. This placed thecourt in ibe most delicate situation, between anxiety to render impartial justice to the man whose offence they were trying, and their duty not to allow him to make that trial a vehicle for further blasphemy. While he, at the very time he was availing himself of their forbearance, asserted, that they had stopped him in his full defence, and that they had done so because they were conscious that Christianity could not bear the test of reason and inquiry. I have, therefore, ventured to take up this question in that very way in which the court were precluded from considering it; and have endeavoured to shew, that Christianity, so far from not being able to bear the test of Reason, is, in her sublimest doctrines, consistent with Reason, and does, in fact, guide Reason to her highest attainments. But I have done this, not by contemplating the Christian religion as a mere established, politi...