During the early stages of the Renaissance, when intellectuals (for example, Voltaire) aimed their critical disregard at the Church, several men wrote effectively against deism. Yet none of them proved more effective than Bishop Joseph Butler (1692-1752). His monumental work, The Analogy of Religion, virtually ended the debate for thinking people. Skirmishes continued for years, but after Butler it was clear that all the fundamental issues had been settled.
[tags]BlogRodent, church-history, ChurchRodent, history, Joseph-Butler, Renaissance, Voltaire[/tags]
Perhaps the most popular propagandist of deism was Voltaire, who had many disciples, and his only serious rival was a set of books — the Famous French Encyclopedia edited by Denis Diderot.
Deism promoted reason and rationality over faith. Revealed religion was seen as nothing less than a scheme to exploit the ignorant. The primary weapon aimed at the church was "truth." "We think that the greatest service to be done to men," said Diderot, "is to teach them to use their reason, only to hold for truth what they have verified and proved." Debate was difficult at best, for Deists only scoffed at those who allowed their arguments to be drawn from authority, revelation, miracles, or tradition embodied in the Bible or the church. These were simply not "reasonable". While in England several men wrote effectively against Deism, the most effective being Bishop Joseph Butler (1692-1752), in the end
When Voltaire was an influential propagandist for Deism and had many disciples, his only serious rival was a set of books — the famous French Encyclopedia edited by Denis Diderot (1713-1784) The seventeen volumes of the Encyclopedia constituted the chief monument of the philosophies. They heralded the supremacy of the new science, championed tolerance, denounced superstition, and expounded the merits of deism. Diderot's article on "Christianity" professed high regard for the religion of Jesus, but its effect was to stir the reader to a profound contempt for Christianity's social failures. The preliminary weapon aimed at the church was "truth." "We think that the greatest service to be done to men," said Diderot, "is to teach them to use their reason, only to hold for truth what they have verified and proved."
[tags]BlogRodent, church-history, ChurchRodent, Deism, Denis-Diderot, history, Jesus, Voltaire[/tags]
(1694-1778)
To him the saying is attributed "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." He was perhaps the most influential propagandist for deism. He personified the skepticism of the French Enlightenment. Above all others, Voltaire popularized Newton's science, fought for personal liberty and freedom of the press, and spread the cult of reason. He turned out a prodigious number of works: histories, plays, pamphlets, essays, and novels. In his correspondence — estimated at 10,000 letters — he wittily spread the virtues of Enlightenment and scathingly attacked the abuses of his day. Voltair was a relentless critic of established churches, Protestant and Catholic alike. He was sickened by the intolerance of organized Christianity and disgusted by the petty squabbles that seemed to monopolize the time of many priests and clergymen. Yet his aim was not religion's destruction. He once said that if a
