Diderot Encyclopedia, Bible, McClinton
Many people in the history have questioned the authority of accepted and canonic Bible texts, and before the authors would examine the differences between Diderot's Encyclopédie and the current text of the Bible that is used today. The below study would compare the texts, ideas and views of the two works, based on the relevant literature and research. Comparing the impact that the Bible had on the ethics and norms of the modern society with the liberal ideas featured in Diderot's writing will provide a historical background to the development of modern civilization, philosophy and ethics.
It is important to note that Diderot was educated at a Jesuit college, and after seeing the life of the church from the inside, he developed his own ideology that followed him on when he became a Master of Art in Philosophy. (McClinton, 2012) The Enlightenment was questioning all authority, including the one Church that seemed to tell people how to think and what was right or wrong. (Mathu, 2001) The dehumanization of natural humanity (p.66.) included the formation of a new word, and turning against the authorities, just like the Church. The changes made to the Bible text, omissions and the emphasis of some of the parts were critically reviewed by the thinkers. According to Bushby (2007), the authors were finding out more and more about what the Church did not want people to know. In the historical review, the author concludes that with the Constantine movement, some of the texts were left out. The Council if Nicaea decided which texts were “suitable” for inclusion and which ones should be left out.
[...] In (1796) he describes the limitations set by the church as pointless and suggests that celibate is not indicated in any of the Biblical texts. The suffering and torture of the nun who dared to be an individual was a great example of the contradiction between the holy orders and human nature. Therefore, the author did not suggest that the Bible was wrong. One of the major questions of Diderot about the religion and Christ was: if he had the power to save himself, and he did not use it when he was crucified, then he was guilty of suicide. [...]
[...] Still, it is evident that Diderot did not try to attack or contradict the Biblical texts, but their usage moreover. Although the section related to religion was not a direct assault, more like a reference book on different aspects of life, the revolutionary thoughts contained, related to individual approaches to faith, belief and the Bible, it has questioned some of the facts included in the writing. Today, the Catholic Church has adapted a more liberal approach and has concluded that some of the data in the writings might have more symbolical meaning and should not be read word by word. [...]
[...] Notes 1. John R. Pannabacker, "Diderot, the Mechanical Arts, and the Encyclopédie: In Search of the Heritage of Technology Education," Journal of Technology Education, Vol No Fall Brian McClinton, “Diderot's Encyclopédie” Humanist Masterpieces. Humanist Ireland. March-April Tony Bushby, forged origins of the New Testament” March 2007 Extracted from Nexus Magazine Volume 14, Number 4 (June - July 2007) 4. Sarah Mutru, “ENLIGHTENMENT AGAINST EMPIRE” Princelton University Press Holy Bible”. New Text. [...]
[...] The Encyclopedie was published in 1751, and the text was based on contemporary philosophers' work, such as Bacon and Locke. (Pannabacker, 1994) The Encyclopedie was a goor representation of the criticism and the skepticism of the 18th Century, and as such, it was designed to undermine the authority of the church regarding knowledge. While the Jesuit authors attacked the author and tried to sabotage the publication, the forces of the Enlightenment process were strong enough to support Diderot. Emphasizing the individual thinking abilities and contradicting the dogmatic approach were the main features of the work, however, Werner (1993) suggests that religious aspects are still present in the Encyclopedia, and Diderot considered the writing more revolutionary and offensive than it really was. [...]
[...] The life of humans is considered to be the gift of God, just like Diderot concludes. “Then God said, us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.”(Genesis 1.21 The Book of Genesis does not say anything about the freedom and limitation of people by the law of the Bible, and the only law that Diderot accepts is the Ten Commandments; while some of the rules and limitations created by the Church, such as taxes and going to church would be rejected. [...]
APA Style reference
For your bibliographyOnline reading
with our online readerContent validated
by our reading committee
