Balsphemy and Apostasy in the West - II

Hasan A. Yahya, Ph.D

Blasphemy in abstract is any denial of the truth of religions or their principles in general or of the existence of God. In the Statute of William III, against blasphemy, is described by Lord Chief Justice Coleridge as a “ferocious” and “inhuman” Act. William III law was an Act for the more effectual oppressing blasphemy and profanes, it begins with:

“Whereas many persons have of late years openly avowed and published many blasphemous and impious opinions contrary to the doctrine and the principles of the Christian religion, greatly tending to the dishonor of Almighty God, and may prove destructive to the peace and welfare of this Kingdom…. Such person or persons for the first offence shall be adjudged incapable and disabled in law … to have enjoy any office … to be a guardian of any child … shall suffer imprisonment for the space of three years ….” (Bonner, Penalties Upon Opinion, 1912:19-22)

In 1726, Thomas Woolston, a man of learning and piety, became a deist, he published a book titled: Six Discourses on the Miracles, in which he held up the miracles to ridicule, 30,000 copies were sold, and 60 pamphlets were written in reply. In 1728, the writer was tried for blasphemy, in his defense he tried, and claimed that he intended to show that the miracles were not to be taken in a literal but an allegorical sense.

In 1729, Woolston was sentenced toa one year in prison and a fine of 100 English pound. He was kept in prison until he died in 1733. (Ibid:28-29)

The case of Pain’s Age of Reason, still fresh even it was in the eighteenth century, millions of pain’s book copies were sold. “In June, 1779, a poor bookseller named Williams was tried before Lord Kenyon for selling a copy …. - a single copy only- of the second part of the Age of Reason.” Williams was sentenced to one year imprisonment, and to be bound in his recognizance for 1,000 Pounds.

In 1812, a trial made for Daniel Isaac Eaton for blasphemy. He was a bookseller, educated at the Jesuits college, he was arrested for publishing a collection of short essays by Pain, in his third part of the Age of Reason. Eaton was convicted of having published “an impious libel representing Jesus Christ as an impostor, the Christian religion as a mere fable, and those who believe in it as infidels to God.” (Ibid:35) Eaton was sixty years old, he was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment.

In 1817, Richard Carlyle was arrested for publishing The Parodics on the the Book of Common Prayer. He was sent to prison for 18 weeks. In 1819, Carlyle was arrested for publishing the three parts of Pain’s Age of Reason, and sentenced to three years in prison. He was kept for further three more years. His wife also continues publishing the book, she was also sentenced to two years imprisonment. (as a married woman, she has no property and therefore, she was not fined). Carlyle’s sister was also sentenced to two years imprisonment for the same offence.

In 1822, Tunbridge was convicted for publishing a blasphemous libel, Palmer’s Principles of Nature. He volunteers to work in Carlyle’s bookstore, others such as Susannah Wright and James Watson were also convicted for 12 months in 1823 for publishing and selling Palmer’s Principles of Nature, and Poor Man’s Guardian.

In recent modern times, religion was described as social phenomenon by Durkheim, Marx, and Bertrand Russel. Russel, in fact, denies religions completely to promote peace. He made objections to religion on the following intellectual and moral grounds. On intellectual grounds, Russel claims that there is no reason to suppose any religion as true. Because religions did not prove practical, and useful. Each one of the existent religions produces hostile attitudes to evidence, and causes people to close their minds to every fact does not suit their prejudice. On the moral grounds, this objection was that “religious precepts date from a time when men were more cruel than they are and therefore, tend to perpetuate inhumanities which the moral conscience of the age would otherwise outgrow.” (Ibid: 30) Russel goes far, even to reject the belief that there is God, he claims that “I see no reason, therefore, to believe in any sort of God.” (p. 31) (734 words) www.hasanyahya.com