John Emerson Roberts: Kansas City's ''Up-To-Date'' Freethought Preacher

John Emerson Roberts: Kansas City's ''Up-To-Date'' Freethought Preacher PDF

Author: Ellen Roberts Young

Publisher: Xlibris Corporation

Published: 2011-06-16

Total Pages: 244

ISBN-13: 1462876935

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John Emerson Roberts (1853 - 1942) was a Kansas City, Missouri, success story. Arriving in 1881 as a Baptist minister, his developing ideas led him to abandon the idea of hell and become a Unitarian. Soon that became too limited for him and he decided to preach on his own as a freethinker. The local press eagerly followed his progress. While his intellectual journey was common in his generation, he was unique in creating a Church of freethought. His sermons and lectures show a mixture of original thinking and conventional ideas typical of his time. As an admirer of Robert Ingersoll, the nineteenth century agnostic, and a friend of Clarence Darrow, the twentieth century atheist, Robertss career spans an era of significant change in both cultural and intellectual history. This pioneering study restores to memory the life and work of a once noted and popular religious leader, who went from Baptist pastor to Unitarian minister, and finally to an independent role in the Freethought movement. Informed by profound scholarship and a warmly humanist style, this book is a major contribution to the intellectual history of the Midwest. Fred Whitehead, author of Freethought on the American Frontier. This biography of the authors great-grandfather evokes vividly the now largely forgotten world of the heyday of liberal religion, free thought, and the urban lecture hall in an age when religion was fiercely competitive in the burgeoning cities of the Midwest. Peter Williams, Distinguished Professor of Comparative Religion and American Studies, Miami University.

Freethought on the American Frontier

Freethought on the American Frontier PDF

Author: Fred Whitehead

Publisher:

Published: 1992

Total Pages: 324

ISBN-13:

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A stirring anthology that documents, in poetry, song, stories, memoirs, and essays, the breadth and scope of secularism from the early 19th century to the present. Included are pieces by the notables--Twain, Dreiser, Lindsay, Service, Sandburg, Hughes, Masters, et al.--as well as grassroots contributions. Also included are photographs of authors, historical sites, and The Truth seeker cartoons of Watson Hedges. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Kindly Inquisitors

Kindly Inquisitors PDF

Author: Jonathan Rauch

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2013-10-01

Total Pages: 215

ISBN-13: 022613055X

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The classic “compelling defense of free speech against its new enemies” now in an expanded edition with a foreword by George F. Will (Kirkus Reviews). “A liberal society stands on the proposition that we should all take seriously the idea that we might be wrong. This means we must place no one, including ourselves, beyond the reach of criticism; it means that we must allow people to err, even where the error offends and upsets, as it often will.” So writes Jonathan Rauch in Kindly Inquisitors, which has challenged readers for decades with its provocative analysis of attempts to limit free speech. In it, Rauch makes a persuasive argument for the value of “liberal science” and the idea that conflicting views produce knowledge within society. In this expanded edition of Kindly Inquisitors, a new foreword by George F. Will explores the book’s continued relevance, while a substantial new afterword by Rauch elaborates upon his original argument and brings it fully up to date. Two decades after the book’s initial publication, the regulation of hate speech has grown both domestically and internationally. But the answer to prejudice, Rauch argues, is pluralism—not purism. Rather than attempting to legislate bias and prejudice out of existence, we must pit them against one another to foster a more vigorous and fruitful discussion. It is this process, Rauch argues, that will enable our society to replace hate with knowledge, both ethical and empirical.

Classics of Free Thought

Classics of Free Thought PDF

Author: Paul Blanshard

Publisher:

Published: 1977

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780879754211

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A collection of striking essays by great dissenters. The contributors include Hugo Black, Harry A. Blackmun, Clarence Darrow, Charles Darwin, Felix Frankfurter, E. Haldeman-Julius, T. H. Huxley, Robert Ingersoll, Thomas Jefferson, John F. Kennedy, James Madison, Thomas Paine, Eleanor Roosevelt, Bertrand Russell, Mark Twain, Voltaire, and many others.

The Free Thought Magazine; Volume 17

The Free Thought Magazine; Volume 17 PDF

Author: H L Green

Publisher: Wentworth Press

Published: 2019-04-12

Total Pages: 764

ISBN-13: 9781013143977

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This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Flowers of Freethought (First Series)

Flowers of Freethought (First Series) PDF

Author: G. W. Foote

Publisher: Good Press

Published: 2019-12-12

Total Pages: 194

ISBN-13:

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"Flowers of Freethought (First Series)" by G. W. Foote. Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.

The New Encyclopedia of Unbelief

The New Encyclopedia of Unbelief PDF

Author: Tom Flynn

Publisher: Prometheus Books

Published: 2007-04-30

Total Pages: 911

ISBN-13: 1615922806

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Successor to the highly acclaimed Encyclopedia of Unbelief (1985), edited by the late Gordon Stein, the New Encyclopedia of Unbelief is a comprehensive reference work on the history, beliefs, and thinking of America''s fastest growing minority: those who live without religion. All-new articles by the field''s foremost scholars describe and explain every aspect of atheism, agnosticism, secular humanism, secularism, and religious skepticism. Topics include morality without religion, unbelief in the historicity of Jesus, critiques of intelligent design theory, unbelief and sexual values, and summaries of the state of unbelief around the world.In addition to covering developments since the publication of the original edition, the New Encyclopedia of Unbelief includes a larger number of biographical entries and much-expanded coverage of the linkages between unbelief and social reform movements of the 19th and 20th centuries, including the labor movement, woman suffrage, anarchism, sex radicalism, and second-wave feminism.More than 130 respected scholars and activists worldwide served on the editorial board and over 100 authoritative contributors have written in excess of 500 entries. The distinguished advisors and contributors--philosophers, scientists, scholars, and Nobel Prize laureates--include Joe Barnhart, David Berman, Sir Hermann Bondi, Vern L. Bullough, Daniel Dennett, Taner Edis, the late Paul Edwards, Antony Flew, Annie Laurie Gaylor, Peter Hare, Van Harvey, R. Joseph Hoffmann, Susan Jacoby, Paul Kurtz, Gerd Lüdemann, Michael Martin, Kai Nielsen, Robert M. Price, Peter Singer, Victor Stenger, Ibn Warraq, George A. Wells, David Tribe, Sherwin Wine, and many others. With a foreword by evolutionary biologist and best-selling author Richard Dawkins, this unparalleled reference work provides comprehensive knowledge about unbelief in its many varieties and manifestations.