Thomas Morgan (deist)

Thomas Morgan (d. 1743) was an English deist. [cite book
last = Orr
first = John
title = English Deism: Its Roots and Its Fruits
publisher = Eerdmans
date = 1934
pages = p. 144 ff] He was the author of a large three-volume work entitled "The Moral Philosopher". According to Orr, this book did not add many new ideas to the deistic movement, but did vigorously restate and give new illustrations to some of its main ideas.

Morgan was first a dissenter preacher, then a practicer of healing among the quakers, and finally a writer.

The first volume of "The Moral Philosopher" appeared anonymously in the year 1737. It was the most important of the three volumes, the other two being mostly replies to critics of the first volume. John Leland, John Chapman and others answered the first volume of Morgan's book, and it was these answers that prompted Morgan to write the second and third volumes.

His particular antipathy was to Judaism and the Old Testament, although he by no means accepted the New testament. He favored Gnosticism, and called himself a "Christian deist". He asserted the conflict between the Apostle Paul and Peter in Galatians shows that Paul was a true follower of Jesus whereas Peter and James were not following Jesus' teachings a la Paul. [http://www.covenantseminary.edu/worldwide/en/CC310/CC310_T_24.html]

The positive part of Morgan's teachings included all of the articles of natural religion formulated by Lord Herbert of Cherbury. The negative part of Morgan's work was much more extensive than the positive, and included an attack on the Bible, especially the Old Testament.

References

External links

*Peter Harrison, [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/19239 ‘Morgan, Thomas (d. 1743)’] , "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography", Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 20 June 2007
*worldcat id|lccn-n85-89657