ABSTRACT
At the intellectual level, the freethinkers criticized first, orthodoxy's failure to accommodate reality, and second, its epistemology. There were numerous areas, according to the freethinkers, in which Christian dogma simply did not deal with vast realms of homan knowledge and experience, especially as they impinged on matters perceived fundamental to orthodoxy. In clinging to orthodoxy, Christians failed to give adequate consideration to new discoveries in the realm of science. Assuming that frequency of treatment of a subject is some indication of importance attached to a subject, it is safe to say that the Oracle of Reason, especially, among the freethought periodicals, placed great importance on the findings of natural science. Christian morality, as represented by the Bible, was unjust. It demanded, in many cases, what was contrary to nature. It punished innocence and forgave guilt. The concept of atonement, especially, was plainly unfair. The Christian hypocrisy closest to the heart of the freethinkers was the insistence that an Englishman.
