Book Description

The History Of The Deistical Controversy, Which Is The Chief Product Of Eighteenth-Century Theology, Has Been Several Times Written.In Order To Give A Satisfactory Account Of The Deist Controversy, It Thus Seemed Necessary To Describe The General Theological Tendencies Of The Time; And In Order To Set Forth Intelligibly The Ideas Which Shaped Those Tendencies, It Seemed Desirable, Again, To Trace Their Origin In The Philosophy Of The Time, And To Show Their Application In Other Departments Of Speculation. This Work Begun With An Account Of The Contemporary Philosophy, Though, In Repeating A Thrice-Told Tale, It Is Endeavoured To Be As Brief As Was Compatible With Our Purpose. Further, It Is Tried To Indicate The Application Of The Principles Accepted In Philosophy And Theology To Moral And Political Questions, And Their Reflection In The Imaginative Literature Of The Time. In The Chapter Upon Political Theories, The Author Has Tried To Keep As Far As Possible From The Province Of Political Or Social History; And The Last Chapter Is Of Necessity Little More Than A Collection Of Hints, Which Could Not Have Been Worked Out In Detail Without Expanding The Book Beyond All Permissible Limits And Trespassing Upon The Province Of Literary Criticism.Major Themes Elaborately Discussed In This Work In Two Volumes Are:" The Philosophical Basis" The Starting-Point Of Deism" Constructive Deism" Critical Deism" Butler S Analogy" David Hume" William Warburton" The Later Theology" Moral Philosophy" Political Theories" Political Economy" Characteristics.