The Analogy of Religion

I express myself with caution lest I should be mistaken to vilify reason; which is indeed the only faculty we have wherewith to judge concerning anything. -from The Analogy of Religion Elegantly written and forceful in its arguments this rebuttal to pre-Darwinistic Deism first published in England in 1736 is a compelling defense of Christianity bursting with humanity and compassion from the perspective of the eras limited understanding of biology geology cosmology and other advanced sciences we take for granted today. This annotated edition prepared in 1875 by an American theologian is a must-read for anyone hoping to understand the foundations of the war contemporary fundamentalist Christians have taken to the modern scientific community. It serves as a reminder that as Butler notes: Language is in its very nature inadequate ambiguous liable to infinite abuse even from negligence; and so liable to it from design that every man can deceive and betray by it. British theologian JOSEPH BUTLER (1692-1752) was educated at Oxford University and appointed bishop of Dunham in 1750 a position he held until his death. American educator and theologian Joseph Cummings (b. 1817) was educated at Wesleyan University where he later served as the institutions president from 1857 to 1875; in 1881 he was appointed president of Northwestern University.