Tuesday, May 25, 2021

*** Notes for Today’s Show ***

It is the 25th of May 2021. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org. I’m Dan van Voorhis.

OTD in 1805 William Paley, philosopher and priest died.

Educated at Giggleswick and serving as the rector of Appleby. He did other things, but these two things sound so delightfully English I would be ok if you only knew those two things.

Went to Cambridge- graduated at the top of his class in Mathematics and was, by 1766, a lecturer at the University.

Most Important Works:

The Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy (1785)

A View of the Evidence of Christianity (1794)

Natural Theology (1802)

Wilson Smith noted how the works of Paley ranked with MacGuffey and Webster as standards in public education. According to Smith, his theological and philosophical utilitarianism shaped generations o Americans (the idea that the morally right thing to do is that which produces the most good… is the most “useful” in that sense

The Watchmaker

See Aquinas’ 5 Ways

5th “way”- Teleological (argument from order and design)

And John Wray’s The Wisdom of God Manifested in the Works of the Creation (1691)

A Watch implies a watchmaker, a world implies a world maker.

Intelligent design and the eyeball

Counter-arguments against the Teleological argument for Gods existence

Hume… fine, but it doesn’t prove the goodness of God

All teleological arguments suffer from the fact that we ourselves tend to assign meaning, proper uses etc…

What does this mean? Paley represents the brief period in which Christians and Natural Philosophers, both embracing Enlightenment ideas, almost came together. Especially ironic is the affection Darwin had for Paley.

Born in 1731, William Paley died on the 25th of May in 1805 at the age of 61

The last word comes from 1 Peter 3:

But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; 1yet do it with gentleness and reverence.Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God’s will, than to suffer for doing evil. 18 For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God.

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 25th of May 2021 brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by the Rolex of sound engineers, Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by the Casio calculator watch of podcasting historians, Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.