An essay by James Herrick of the Hope College communication faculty has been included in the forthcoming "Censorship: An International Encyclopedia."
Herrick contributed a 2,000-word essay on the
trial of three English Deists for blasphemy between 1729 and
1751. The three were Thomas Woolston, Peter Annet and Jacob
Ilive, all of whom were found guilty.
The encyclopedia, which will appear in August, is
being published by Fitzroy Dearborn publishers of London,
England. It is edited by Derek Jones of England, and
contains entries by more than 550 contributors from more
than 40 countries.
The encyclopedia is designed for use by students
and scholars in a variety of disciplines, by journalists and
other media professionals, and those who are interested in
freedom of expression. In addition to providing an
international view, the encyclopedia is also covering all
the media that have been censored.
Herrick's essay is derived from his book, "The
Radical Rhetoric of the English Deists: The Discourse of
Skepticism, 1680-1750," published by the University of South
Carolina Press in 1997. The book examines the English
Deists' approach to challenging the Church of England's
doctrine that biblical accounts of miracles were literally
true.
The Deists' preferred media were speeches,
pamphlets and books. The three trials discussed in
Herrick's essay were for books in two cases, and for a
periodical that Annet published briefly.
Herrick has been conducting research on the
miracles controversy since working on his dissertation for
the doctorate he completed in 1986.