ABSTRACT
According to the militant freethinkers, they argued theologically because one's view of God's existence and character were absolutely fundamental to determining one's behavior in this world. In 1901, as an old man, Holyoake recalled his cheerless days in Carr's Lane Chapel, and later, the chapel on Inge Street, both in Birmingham. His Christianity had made him afraid of God, of Hell, and of blaspheming the Holy Spirit. It had made him bored and sad. He echoes this sentiment in reporting on Charles Spurgeon's revival meetings when he notes, in 1855, that "the singing brought back all the indelible and monotonous associations of Carr's Lane. We hope there is no Evangelical singing in Heaven". The personal histories of Charles Southwell, William Chilton, James Watson, Annie Besant, John and Charles Watts, and Joseph Barker all included time in which they were under the influence of, and favorably disposed to, the doctrine and community of the "orthodox".
