内容

目次

Part 1 Preserving the faith: the "sturdy prejudice" ofeighteeneth-century orthodoxy; faith as a "rational assent";free-thinking and "scoffers" at religion. Part 2 The decline of naturalreligion: "true" deism - the ambiguity of apologies; the being of andattributes of God; charity as a virtue exclusive to Christanity. Part 3New trends in ethics: Johnson's "Christian Epicureanism"; free will.Part 4 Suffering and the universal: the correspondence between vice andsuffering; "universal optimism" and divine government; stoicism andChristian patience. Part 5 Pride and the pursuit of applause: virtue asa deceitful contrivance of pride; the regulation of the love of fameand applause; social custom and immutable truth; Johnson's new standardof human greatness. Part 6 Christian charity in theory and practice:the Christian theory of charity; the importance of charity tosalvation; eighteenth-century arguments against charity; Johnson andlegal reform - debtors and capital punishment. Part 7 Doctrinalcontroversy: the idea of Christian perfection; the doctrines oforiginal sin, grace, and repentance; the Christian ordinances - theform and the power of godliness. Part 8 The case against religiousliberty: the utility of an established church; public order and thespirit of enquiry; "Hoadly's Paradox" and sincerity of privatejudgement; the conservative idea of political change.