Work · Empiricism, Enlightenment & Liberalism
Christianity not Mysterious
Argues on the basis of Locke’s theory of knowledge that nothing in the Gospel is contrary to reason or above it, and that “mysteries” were introduced by priests; the Irish Parliament ordered the book to be burned in 1697.
Introduction
Toland published “Christianity not Mysterious: or, a Treatise Shewing, That there is nothing in the Gospel Contrary to Reason, Nor Above it” in London in 1696, first anonymously, then under his name. Applying the theory of knowledge of Locke’s Essay, it argues that we can assent only to what we understand and that the “mysteries” of Christianity were later additions introduced by priests. The book provoked dozens of replies; Bishop Stillingfleet connected it with Locke, who distanced himself, Leibniz wrote critical notes on it, and the Irish Parliament ordered it to be burned in 1697. It became a founding text of English deism and freethinking.
Connections
Builds on
- An Essay Concerning Human Understanding1689 · John Locke
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