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Trama e riassunto di I crimini dei predicatori negli Stati Uniti e in Canada
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About 4 h 40 min to read.A chi è rivolto
This suits readers who enjoy the history of religious controversy, freethought, and newspaper culture, and anyone curious about how a single list can be turned into a case.
Che cos’è questo libro
In 1906 a Pittsburgh Christian association turned down an actor because his trade could not be moral. The actor, Henry E. Dixey, offered a thousand dollars to charity if anyone could show that actors were worse than ministers. Nobody claimed it.
Crimes of Preachers in the United States and Canada is a reply on behalf of unbelievers. The Truth Seeker Company of New York, a freethought publisher, issued it under the name of M. E. Billings. It joins a long argument to an alphabetical record of clergy named in newspapers, 4,987 charges against 3,795 ministers. You will hear why conduct is fair evidence, how critics are answered, and what the tables show.
In questo riassunto
- 1An actor's challenge starts the projectFree
- 2Claims of moral authority invite a test
- 3Belief and good conduct are not the same
- 4Clergy themselves explain why ministers go wrong
- 5Pay, training, and business distrust
- 6The press defense fails and secrecy hides cases
- 7Crusaders for virtue appear on the list too
- 8The tables count crimes and denominations
- 9The list is built from print and public reports
- 10How the book is used and how to read it
Punto chiave 1 di 10
An actor's challenge starts the project
In 1906 the Young Men's Christian Association of Pittsburgh refused an actor because his work was thought incompatible with morality. Henry E. Dixey took this as an insult to all performers. He offered a thousand dollars to charity if anyone could prove actors were worse than ministers.
No defender of the clergy stepped forward. He offered a second thousand if a minister could not be found in jail in every state. Again no reply came, but his own rough count found forty-three ministers and nineteen actors behind bars.
The compilers call that count shallow. In eight months of 1914 their office counted more than seventy reported offenses by preachers that deserved prison, from clippings alone. They conclude the true figure for 1906 was far higher.
The book asks a group that praises its own goodness to show the results. A challenge nobody answered sets the purpose of the whole catalogue.
That’s 1 of 10 key points.
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Questions about I crimini dei predicatori negli Stati Uniti e in Canada
What is Crimes of Preachers about?
It argues that churches should be judged by the conduct of their ministers. An opening essay makes the case, and a long alphabetical record lists clergy named in newspapers for offenses ranging from theft to violent crime.
Who published Crimes of Preachers in the United States and Canada?
The Truth Seeker Company of New York, a freethought publisher, issued it. The first edition appeared in 1881, and work on this revision began in late fall 1914, after publication of the ninth edition.
How many ministers and charges does the book list?
The book counts 3,795 ministers and 4,987 charges. Adultery is the most frequent charge at 676, and Methodists are the most frequent denomination where it is known, with Baptists and Catholics following.
Where did the information in the book come from?
The compilers drew on newspaper reports and on church trial accounts, and they invited readers to send clippings. They admit that many entries lack first names, towns, or denominations, and that more cases never reached print.
What is the main message of the book?
The message is that faith is not the same as morality. If religion cannot keep its own teachers upright, the compilers say, claims that it is needed for good conduct, and the privileges built on them, deserve a fresh look.
Cite this edition
Billings, M. E. Crimes of Preachers in the United States and Canada. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/crimes-of-preachers-in-the-united-states-and-canada.
Billings, M. E. (2026). Crimes of preachers in the United States and Canada. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/crimes-of-preachers-in-the-united-states-and-canada
Billings, M. E. Crimes of Preachers in the United States and Canada. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/crimes-of-preachers-in-the-united-states-and-canada.
@book{billings2026crimes,
author = {Billings, M. E.},
title = {Crimes of Preachers in the United States and Canada},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/crimes-of-preachers-in-the-united-states-and-canada}
}
