Neither True nor Divine: Elihu Palmer's Opposition to Christianity

The purpose of the dissertation was to analyze Elihu Palmer's critical responses to Christianity as an historical witness to what Christianity was in his lifetime (1764-1806). Palmer's life story, following the memoir by John Fellows primarily, was interwoven chronologically with analyses of his publications.

The first chapter traced Palmer's eventful first thirty-one years. Born and reared on a farm in Connecticut, Palmer graduated from Dartmouth College in 1787. After supplying the pulpit...