Samuel Clarke not only worked alongside Isaac Newton as a mathematician and
physicist, but he also gave several important lectures in the field of philosophical
theology. A Discourse Concerning the Being and Attributes of God argues for
God’s existence in a similar fashion that one would argue for a mathematical principle.
Scottish philosopher David Hume would later criticize Clarke’s argument and general
approach to theological discourse. Although Hume’s critique is better known, Clarke’s
original writing provides the reader a direct view into the theologian’s mind rather than
through the filter of Hume’s commentary.
