The rhetorical career of Thomas Woolston: A radical challenges the rules of discourse

The expelled Anglican cleric Thomas Woolston was tried in London for blasphemy in 1729. Woolston's long battle with the church is important to understanding the serious problems facing orthodox Christianity in the early eighteenth century, as well as the radical changes taking place in public attitudes toward religion. This paper assesses Woolston's unusual rhetorical career, his provocative style, and his trial for blasphemy. It focuses special attention on the controversy surrounding Woolston's influential, Six Discourses on the Miracles of our Saviour. His long battle with the church over the legitimacy of literal interpretations of miracles and his introduction into religious debate of a radical language of criticism make Woolston an important figure in the history of religious rhetoric. Moreover, his life demonstrates how the rules of a discourse community can be challenged and changed.