ABSTRACT
The title of the book Essays and Reviews was precise: two contributions of Williams and Wilson were 'reviews' as that term was used in periodicals, and the rest were essays. It will readily be understood that the Authors of the ensuing Essays are responsible for their respective articles only. They have written in entire independence of each other, and without concert or comparison. The first paragraph was based on the prefaces to the Oxford and Cambridge Essays, which made similar disclaimers of joint responsibility. The conventional teachings of orthodoxy were regarded as obstacles to the truth of Christianity and the truthfulness of its professors. Orthodox theology had rested the truth of revelation on the external evidences of miracles and prophecies. The gap between Christianity and modern society, between faith and reason, must be bridged. The Christian revelation consists not of doctrinal propositions but of moral principles, and doctrines must conform to the standards of conscience.
