The radical rhetoric of the English Deists

by James A. Herrick

The Radical Rhetoric of the English Deists illuminates the major battlefields of a rhetorical war waged for the religious mind of Britain and eventually of Europe and the colonies. Focusing on the works of lesser-known but highly influential Deists - Charles Blount, John Toland, Thomas Chubb, Thomas Woolston, Jacob Ilive, and Peter Annet - whose radically controversial spirit and willingness to absorb enormous personal risks made Deist controversy so intriguing and consequential, James A. Herrick examines the long polemic between the English Deists and the Church of England that marked the years between 1680 and 1750. He contends that this sweeping critique of traditional Christian thought owes its lasting impact to the rhetorical acumen, textual resources, and iconoclastic motivation of skilled controversialists who sought nothing less than the destruction of Christianity.