William Paley

William Paley 1743-1805, English theologian. Ordained in 1767, he lectured on moral philosophy at Christ's College, Cambridge. Made a prebendary of the cathedral church of Carlisle (1780), he became archdeacon of the diocese (1782), and chancellor (1785), the year he published Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy. He wrote Horae Paulinae (1790), in proof that the New Testament is not "a cunningly devised fable," and A View of the Evidences of Christianity (1794), for which he is celebrated. Natural Theology; or, Evidences of the Existence and Attributes of the Deity (1802) achieved great popularity. In 1825 a complete edition of his writings was published by his son, Edmund Paley.

Paley, William (1743–1805). Paley wrote standard works on the evidences for Christianity. Senior wrangler at Cambridge, he was ordained and after tutoring at Cambridge moved to clerical posts in Carlisle diocese, and then to Monkwearmouth (Sunderland). His Evidences was published in 1794, and his Natural Theology in 1802. Extremely successful, with more than 20 editions, they were required reading for undergraduates at Cambridge and at the infant university of Durham.

Paley, William (1743–1805), author of the Evidences of Christianity. His Horae Paulinae (1790), written to prove the historicity of the events recorded in the NT by a comparison of the accounts of St Paul in the Epistles and Acts, was probably his only original work. His famous View of the Evidences of Christianity (1794), though its arguments added little that was new, became popular from its effective presentation of the facts and its clear style. He became Archdeacon of Carlisle in 1782.