tmantrask

DISCOURSE ON GROUNDS/REASONS OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION 1724
In 2 Parts/by Anthony Collins/1st Edition
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Starting Bid: $19.99
Auction Ends: Dec-11-04 16:25:13 PST

Up for auction is a 1724 1st edition of Anthony Collin's "A Discourse Of The
Grounds And Reasons Of The Christian Religion In Two Parts: The First
Containing Some Considerations On The Quotations Made From The Old In The
New Testament, And Particularly On The Prophecies Cited From The Former And
Said To Be Fullfill'd In The Latter. The Second Containing An Examination Of
The Scheme Advance'd By Mr. Whiston In His Essay Towards Restoring The True
Text Of The Old Testament, And For Vindicating The Citations Thence Made In
The New Testament. To Which Is Prefix'd An Apology For Free Debate And
Liberty Of Writing." It is a 1st edition, was printed in London & is 284
pages in length. I found the following information about Collins & the book
at the Stanford Encyclopedia Of Philosophy website:

"In A Discourse on the Grounds and Reasons of the Christian Religion, 1724,
Collins attacks the basis of Christianity as a revealed religion. In The
Reasonableness of Christianity, Locke had made the messiahship of Christ the
single fundamental tenet for being a Christian. In the Discourse Collins is
rejecting it. The argument is that Christianity is founded on Judaism, or
the New Testament on the Old. The New Testament is only of importance in
this regard insofar as it shows that the prophecies of the Old are
fulfilled. This, he claims, is the only proof for Christianity. Collins'
critics disputed this claim; there was the proof from miracles. But Collins
rejected such proofs."

"Anthony Collins (1676-1729) was a wealthy English free-thinker, deist and
materialist who in his later years became a country squire and local
government official in Es***. Along with John Toland, Collins was the most
significant member of a close knit circle of radical free thinkers that
arose in England in the first three decades of the eigh****th century. This
group included such men as Samuel Bold, Matthew Tindal, Thomas Woolston and
William Wollaston.[1] He was a friend of John Locke in Locke's old age and
Locke was one important formative influence on his philosophical views. In
respect to his materialism and determinism Collins was clearly influenced
more by Hobbes and Bayle than he was by Locke. The Latitudinarians may well
have influenced his views about free-thinking as well as Locke. Collins'
works had some influence in England and much more on the continent during
the 18th century. Collins' central passion is the autonomy of reason
particularly with respect to religion. Collins was strongly motivated by an
aversion to religious persecution. Issues revolving around religious freedom
are the threads that run through all of his writing. It is possible to
divide Collins' works into those that are mainly philosophical and those
that are more narrowly religious, but they are clearly connected. His 1706-8
pamphlet controversy with Samuel Clarke over whether "matter can think" and
other topics, and his book about free will and determinism are chiefly
engaged with philosophical topics. Even these topics, however, involve such
religious issues as the immortality of the soul and punishment and reward in
the next life. His writing about reason and free-thinking may be regarded as
on the borderline between philosophy and religion. Although it deals with
epistemological and sometimes metaphysical issues, it focuses almost
entirely on religious issues. His religious works are even more narrowly
focused. The Thirty nine Articles are the only official confessional
statement of Anglicanism. Two of Collins' books deal with the authenticity
of Article 20 of the Thirty nine Articles and whether the church has the
power to make doctrine. In large measure these represent the doctrines of
free-thinking applied to the particular case of the Anglican Church. Collins


Christianity as a revealed religion. How far Collins went in the direction
of atheism is still a matter of scholarly debate. Collins was clearly a
controversial figure in his time; nor has scholarly treatment down the years
done much better at being objective. As Ernest Campbell Mossner remarks:
"The Deists were long subjected to the odium theologi*** and the historians
of the movement have almost without exception downgraded or slandered them
both socially as well as intellectually since the time of John Leland in the
eigh****th century." (Mossner, 1967b, p. 335)"

The book measure 5" x 7.75", has brown leather hardcovers, has a ribbed
spine, & is an ex-library copy (Ewing College Library). The book is a
complete copy in fair (FR) condition with nice interior pages but with a
completely detached front board, interior penciled notes/underlined
sentences to many interior pages (neatly done), notes/writing to the
interior covers/endpapers, a back board that is attached but staring to pull
away from the spine, & a good amount of wear to the covers.

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Thanks for looking

Colin
tmantrask@sbcglobal.net

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