Freethinker editor jailed for Jesus-toons

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OK, it was over 120 years ago, but still… The founding editor of The Freethinker, G W Foote, was sentenced to a year’s imprisonment with hard labour for publishing the cartoon on the right in the Christmas 1882 edition.

In celebration of 125 years continuous publication, and in light of the Mo-toon controversy, Barry Duke, the current editor, has uploaded 10 sacrilegious cartoons from Victorian era Freethinker for your viewing pleasure.

In the first issue of the magazine, G W Foote wrote,

The Freethinker is an anti-Christian organ, and must therefore be chiefly aggressive. It will wage relentless war against Superstition in general, and against Christian Superstition in particular. It will do its best to employ the resources of Science, Scholarship, Philosophy and Ethics against the claims of the Bible as a Divine Revelation; and it will not scruple to employ for the same purpose any weapons of ridicule or sarcasm that may be borrowed from the armoury of Common Sense.

There is a large number of people around today who would still like to silence voices such as his. Let us not scruple to employ the weapons of ridicule and sarcasm in defence of free speech and reason.


2 Responses to “Freethinker editor jailed for Jesus-toons”

  1. Ricky Smith says:

    “…Let us not scruple to employ the weapons of ridicule and sarcasm in defence of free speech and reason.” Here, here.

  2. sconzey says:

    Cue Voltaire!