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William Paley's Natural Theology: An Anglican Classic?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 January 2009

Graham Cole
Graham Cole
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Abstract

This article pursues the question of whether William Paley's Natural Theology is an Anglican classic. I place Paley's natural theology project in its historical context of skepticism about Christianity's truth claims and in the context of Paley's ‘system’. His teleological argument is briefly explained and four challenges, past and present, to its thesis are considered. The question of what makes a work a classic is explored in terms of its enduring interest, especially in the light of the controversy concerning Intelligent Design Theory, and its enduring value. It is argued that because of its enduring interest and value Paley's Natural Theology may be judged a classic but not of a peculiarly Anglican kind.

Keywords

Paleydesign argumentIntelligent DesignDawkinsAnglican textsAnglicanism
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Anglican Studies , Volume 5 , Issue 2 , December 2007 , pp. 209 - 225
Copyright
Copyright © SAGE Publications (Los Angeles, London, New Delhi and Singapore) and The Journal of Anglican Studies Trust 2007

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References

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77. Some recent philosophical proposals suggest that analogy between the universe and works of art is a better way forward than one between mechanisms and the universe. See Garcia, Laura L., ‘Teleological and Design Arguments’, in Quinn, Philip L. and Taliaferro, Charles (eds.), A Companion to Philosophy of Religion (Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers, 2000), p. 339.Google Scholar

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