#the necessity of atheism

This amateur historian has a soft spot for Shelley, who writes fantastic poems and whose life was chock full of the sort of absurd happenings that make this amateur historian laugh aloud.

Her personal favorite has to be when Percy Shelley wrote The Necessity of Atheism. It is difficult to understand what, if anything, was going through Shelley’s head when he decided to send this treatise to a bunch of bishops and the heads of all the Oxford colleges.

He apparently expected for his theories to be accepted and widely publicized if he was right, or some kindly ecclesiastical or academic official would draw him aside and give him empirical evidence for the existence of God if he was wrong.

He got kicked out of Oxford instead.

Source: http://gillraysprintshop.blogspot.com/2009/01/percy-blysshe-shelleys-first-foray-into.html