Is the Bible Indictable?

Besant, Annie, 1847-1933Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.1

Word count: 31K words
Chapters: 4

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Is the Bible Indictable? by Annie BesantAuthor: Besant, Annie, 1847-1933,Language: English, Class: BL: Philosophy, Psychology, Religion: Religion: General, Miscellaneous and Atheism, Release Date: Dec 11, 2011

Editor's review

This is a polemical pamphlet by Annie Besant arguing whether the Bible could be indicted as a blasphemous publication under English law, a primary document in the nineteenth-century debates over press freedom and religious criticism. Its value lies in showing how the period's disputes over the limits of speech, religious authority and legal application were actually conducted: the argument is direct, the tone pointed, and the flavour of a social movement is unmistakable. Readers can see how public discussion marshalled textual content, legal provisions and moral standards against one another, which makes it a useful reference for understanding publishing history and church-state relations. Note that it is an openly partisan polemic, not a neutral introduction to religion; readers should distinguish its argumentative strategy from its statements of fact. Best used as supplementary material for intellectual, legal or press history, preferably alongside relevant background reading.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Researchers in intellectual and publishing history who need primary texts from nineteenth-century controversies
Readers concerned with free speech and religious criticism who want to understand how historical debates were conducted
Students of legal history interested in blasphemy cases and publication control
Readers of English argumentative prose who want to analyse the argumentation and rhetoric of a polemic

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking neutral religious knowledge or a guide to the Bible
Readers wholly unfamiliar with nineteenth-century England who are unwilling to fill in the background
Academic readers expecting a systematic theoretical work rather than a short polemic

Reading tips

First learn about nineteenth-century English blasphemy law and publication control, then read the text itself
While reading, mark the author's core arguments, the authorities she cites and the positions she rebuts
Compare it with contemporary writings on press freedom and contrast their modes of argument
After finishing, write a brief commentary distinguishing claims made in their historical context from today's perspective

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What is the central issue of this pamphlet?

It discusses whether the Bible could constitute an indictable blasphemous publication under English law at the time, and in doing so probes the boundaries between religious texts, legal control and free speech; it is a concrete case from nineteenth-century publishing controversies.

What is Annie Besant's position?

Besant was a nineteenth-century British social reformer and advocate of free thought. This text has a clear polemical stance, arguing that the publication of religious texts should be examined from legal and rational perspectives; it is best understood in its historical context.

Is this book suitable as an introduction to religion?

No. It is a polemical pamphlet from a specific historical context, concerned with law and press freedom; it does not systematically introduce religious content or offer a neutral exposition of doctrine.

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About the author

Besant, Annie, 1847-1933 Author

Annie Besant (Besant, Annie, 1847-1933) was an active thinker and writer from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century. Publicly available details of her life are quite limited, yet her works address a strikingly wide range of themes. The library holds 18 of her titles, spanning autobiography, social reform, religious philosophy, and moral inquiry. Notable among them are Annie Besant: An Autobiography and Autobiographical Sketches, which use personal experience to reflect the issues of her time; My Path to Atheism, Marriage, As It Was, As It Is, and As It Should Be, and The Basis of Morality examine faith, the institution of marriage, and the foundations of ethics with a sharp, argumentative edge. Esoteric Christianity and Avatâras turn to esoteric religion and spiritual themes, while The Case for India shows her concern with political realities. She is often categorized under inspirational growth, but her writing is more reflective and reform-minded, best seen as the work of a writer who combines personal testimony with social critique.