I am going to be made a Christian.
Tim. The very last thing I should have dreamed of. But pray,
who is to make you one?
Tim. David Hume.
Tom. David Hume? Why, I thought he was an Atheist.
Tim. The world never was more mistaken about any one man,
than about David Hume. He was deemed a sworn foe to
Christianity, whereas his whole life was spent in its
service. His works compose altogether a complete
Praeparatio Evangelica. They lead men gently, and
gradually, as it were to the Gospel... here is chapter
and verse for you. Dialogues concerning Natural
Religion, p. 263, "To be a philosophical sceptic, is,
in a man of letters, the first and most essential step
towards being a sound believing Christian." (pp. 49-50)
Horne's dialogue proceeds farcically with Timothy and Thomas each
producing evidence from Hume's Dialogue in defense of their
respective interpretations of Hume. Horne, of course, did not
believe that Hume's life was spent in service of Christianity (as
Timothy does in Horne's dialog).
In recent years there has been an even greater diversity of
interpretations of the Dialogues and many commentators argue that
Hume was not as critical of natural religion as his reputation
would have us believe. Here is a sample of some of the recent
interpretations of Hume, beginning with the most "moderate.
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