One of the most influential Christian apologists in the 18th century was inspired by a pocket watch in his presentation of the faith.
William Paley (1743–1805) was an Anglican minister, mathematician, and philosopher. He wrote extensively on arguments in favour of miracles, the reliability of the New Testament, and fulfilled prophecy in the life of Jesus. His works became standard textbooks at Cambridge University.
But Paley’s most famous argument starts with the story of finding a watch abandoned on heathland. In Natural Theology he compares finding the watch with finding a stone. If we asked how they happen to be there, the stone needs no explanation. Natural processes are enough to explain the presence of a stone. However, the watch can’t be dismissed so easily.
Comedy, free speech and warnings from the past
Hannah Arendt was a Jewish philosopher who grew up in Nazi Germany. Eventually she had to flee to France and, …