Overview

n 1695 John Locke published The Reasonableness of Christianity, an enquiry into the foundations of Christian belief. He did so anonymously, to avoid public involvement in the fiercely partisan religious controversies of the day. In the Reasonableness Locke considered what it was to which all Christians must assent in faith; he argued that the answer could be found by anyone for themselves in the divine revelation of Scripture alone. He maintained that the requirements of Scripture were few and simple, and therefore offered a basis for tolerant agreement among all Christians, and the promise of peace, stability, and security through toleration. This is the first critical edition of the Reasonableness: for the first time an authoritative annotated text is presented, with full information about sources, variants, amendments, and the publishing history of the work. Also provided in the editorial notes are cross-references, references to other works by Locke, definitions of terms, and other information conducive to an understanding of the text.Though modern interest has focused particularly on Locke's philosophy and political theory, increasing attention is being paid to his religious thought. These different strands cannot be understood properly in isolation from each other: so the broader aim of this edition is to help towards an improved understanding of his religious thought in the context of his work as a philosopher, political theorist, and exponent of religious toleration. In his editorial introduction John Higgins-Biddle investigates how Locke's ideas developed, and offers a critical assessment of the three main contemporary and subsequent interpretations of Locke's religious thought, all of which are shown to be unsatisfactory.

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9780198822790

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This volume is the first modern critical edition of Locke's Reasonableness of Christianity published anonymously in 1695 ... The edition seems exemplary and is clearly the product of a great many years of study. * Transactions of the Unitarian Historical Society * this volume is much to be welcomed since it gives a critical edition of Locke's text, based on a copy of the first edition that Locke annotated and is now kept at Harvard, as well as comprehensively noting the variant readings in the first and second editions and in the Collected Works of 1714 . . . With the publication of this fine edition, readers today can judge for themselves the satisfactoriness of Locke's view of Christianity while students of Locke can enjoy the benefits of a critical text. * Journal of Theological Studies * Higgins-Biddle has in all probability produced the definitive edition of the Reasonableness in a fine piece of scholarship that meets the high standards established in the other volumes of the Clarendon Locke Edition. * British Journal for the History of Philosophy * The value of critical editions of philosophical texts is now realized as never before. As a hermeneutical tool, a critical edition can establish many of the parameters of interpretation. It inevitably makes a judgment on the competing legitimacy of variant readings and, at its best, relates writers' thought to their other works, to other relevant texts, and to the broader context in which they arose. All of these results have been admirably achieved in this first critical edition of John Locke's Reasonableness. * Philosophical Quarterly * In the case of Locke more than most, it would be foolhardy to say that the last word has been spoken, but it is hard to imagine that this work as a whole will be surpassed in value for many years to come. * Ecclesiastical History *

this volume is much to be welcomed since it gives a critical edition of Locke's text, based on a copy of the first edition that Locke annotated and is now kept at Harvard, as well as comprehensively noting the variant readings in the first and second editions and in the Collected Works of 1714 . . . With the publication of this fine edition, readers today can judge for themselves the satisfactoriness of Locke's view of Christianity while students of Locke can enjoy the benefits of a critical text. * Journal of Theological Studies * Higins-Biddle has in all probability produced the definitive edition of the Reasonableness in a fine piece of scholarship that meets the high standards established in the other volumes of the Clarendon Locke Edition. * British Journal for the History of Philosophy * The value of critical editions of philosophical texts is now realized as never before. As a hermeneutical tool, a critical edition can establish many of the parameters of interpretation. It inevitably makes a judgment on the competing legitimacy of variant readings and, at its best, relates writers' thought to their other works, to other relevant texts, and to the broader context in which they arose. All of these results have been admirably achieved in this first critical edition of John Locke's Reasonableness. * Philosophical Quarterly * In the case of Locke more than most, it would be foolhardy to say that the last word has been spoken, but it is hard to imagine that this work as a whole will be surpassed in value for many years to come. * Ecclesiastical History *

Author Information

John C Higgins-Biddle is an independent scholar based in Connecticut. He was formerly at the Divinity School of Yale University.

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