THE FREEDOM OF THOUGHT

A DARINGLY HERETICAL BOOK

 COMPLETE INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM DEFENDED.

WILL THE WORK BE PROSECUTED?

"A History of Freedom of Thought," (by J. B. Bury, D.Litt., L.L.D. (Williams and Norgate), is one of the most remarkable books issued in recent years. The work is not merely a history of freedom of thought; it is an able and eloquent plea for freedom of thought. In fact, no rationalist could have written a more whole-hearted defence of rationalism. The fact that such a book can be published broadcast as one of a series of other books shows in a most striking way the remarkable growth of liberal sentiments in modern times.
 The first chapters of the book, "Reason Free," dealing with Greece and Rome; "Reason in Prison," dealing with the middle ages; and "Prospect of Deliverance," dealing with the Renaissance and the Reformation, are exceedingly well done, and set forth in a succinct and interesting way the position of free thought and free thinking from the days of the early Greek philosophers down to the days of Luther.
The author contends, not merely that the rise of Christianity in the early centuries of the Christian era was accompanied by the growth of ignorance, superstition, and bigotry; he holds that that growth was the direct and inevitable result of the very nature of Christian doctrines and the Christian Scriptures. He says: "The profound conviction that those who did not believe in its (the Christian Church's) doctrines would be damned eternally, and that God punishes theological error as if it were the most heinous of crimes, led naturally to persecution. It was a duty to impose on men the only true doctrine, seeing that their own eternal interests were at stake, and to hinder errors from spreading. Heretics were more than ordinary criminals, and the pains that man should inflict upon them were as nothing to the tortures awaiting them in hell." Really this was quite a logical position. If it was right of God to roast heretics hereafter, there could be nothing very wrong in anticipating Deity by doing a little preliminary roasting here. Besides, this course, granting that the doctrine of eternal torments for heresy is true, was the most merciful one. For surely it is better to roast a few heretics on earth than to permit them to live and preach their doctrines, with the final result of causing millions of heretics to be roasted in hell.
 It must be confessed that there is nothing sectarian about Mr. Bury's books. He assails Protestantism as much as he assails Catholicism. He says: —
 "But nothing was further from the minds of the leading Reformers than the toleration of doctrines differing from their own. They replaced one authority by another. They set up the authority of the Bible instead of that of the Church, but it was the Bible according to Luther or the Bible according to Calvin. So far as the spirit of intolerance went, there was nothing to choose between the new and the old Churches. The religious wars were not for the cause of freedom, but for particular sets of doctrines; and in France, if the Protestants had been victorious, it is certain that they would not have given more liberal terms to the Catholics than the Catholics gave to them.
 "Luther was quite opposed to liberty of conscience and worship, a doctrine which was inconsistent with Scripture as he read it. He might protest against coercion and condemn the burning of heretics, when he was in fear that he and his party might be victims, but when he was safe and in power, he asserted his real view that it was the duty of the State to impose the true doctrine and exterminate heresy, which was an abomination, that unlimited obedience to their prince in religious as in other matters was the duty of subjects, and that the end of the State was to defend the faith. He held that Anabaptists should be put to the sword. With Protestants and Catholics alike the dogma of exclusive salvation led to the same place."
 In the interesting chapter entitled "Progress of Rationalism," Mr. Bury shows that Freethought has penetrated the Anglican Church, many of whose ministers no longer accept Christian doctrines in the ordinary acceptation of the word. He says: — "Political circumstances thus invited and stimulated rationalists to come forward boldly, but we must not leave out of account the influence of the Broad Church movement and of Darwinism. The 'Descent of Man' appeared precisely in 1871. A new, undogmatic Christianity was being preached in pulpits. Mr. Leslie Stephen remarked (1873) that it may be said, with little exaggeration, that there is not only no article in the creeds which may not be contradicted with impunity, but that there is none which may not be contradicted in a sermon calculated to win  the reputation of orthodoxy and be regarded as a judicious bid for a bishopric. The popular state of mind seems to be typified in the well-known anecdote of the cautious churchwarden, who, whilst commending the general tendency of his incumbent's sermon, felt bound to hazard a protest upon one point. 'You see, sir, as he apologetically explained, I think there be a God.' He thought it an error of taste or perhaps of judgment, to hint a doubt as to the first article of the creed.' "
 Perhaps the hatred of Christian dogma was never more boldly, and unblushingly expressed than in the following lines from Swinburne's "Hymn of Man" written while the Vatican Council was sitting in Rome: —

"By thy name that in hellfire is written,
 and burned with the point of thy sword,
 Thou art smitten, thou God, thou art smitten;
 thy death is upon thee, O Lord.
 And the love song of earth as Thou diest
 resounds through the wind of her wings —
 Glory to Man in the highest!
 for Man is the master of things."

As the author says, the fact that a volume could appear with impunity vividly illustrates the English policy of enforcing the laws for blasphemy only in the case of publications addressed to the masses. It maybe pertinently added that the fact that Mr. Bury's own book — a book specially written for the million— can appear with impunity almost demonstrates that the cause of intellectual liberty has all but completely triumphed in England, and that after centuries of bitter struggle Christian and anti-Christian, believer and unbeliever, stand before the law in a position of substantial equality. But perhaps that is a mistake. May not the author be prosecuted for blasphemy after all? One never can tell. Certainly if he had written a hundred years ago he would have been imprisoned. And if he had written it two hundred years ago he would have been burned at the stake.

Daily News (Perth, WA : 1882 - 1950), Saturday 20 September 1913, page 5