Very little is known of Toland's early life. He was born in Ardagh on the Inishowen Peninsula, a predominantly Catholic
Having … See more

John Toland was the first person called a freethinker (by Bishop Berkeley) and went on to write over a hundred books in various domains but mostly dedicated to criticising ecclesiastical institutions. A great deal of his intellect… See more

Toland influenced Baron d'Holbach's ideas about physical motion. In his Letters to Serena, Toland claimed that rest, or absence of motion, is not merely relative. Actually, for Toland, rest is a special case of motion. … See more

The resemblance, both in title and in principles, of Christianity not Mysterious to Locke's 1695 Reasonableness of Christianity, led to a prompt disavowal on Locke's part of the supposed identity of opinions, a… See more

Toland was a man not of his time; one who advocated principles of virtue in duty, principles that had little place in the England of Robert Walpole, governed by cynicism and self-interest. His intellectual reputation, … See more

This is not an exhaustive list:
• Christianity Not Mysterious: A Treatise Shewing, That there is nothing in the Gospel Contrary to Reason, Nor Above It: And that no Christian Doctrine can be properly cal… See more