author
Kersey Graves
1813–1883
A self-taught 19th-century American freethinker, Quaker reformer, and lecturer, he became known for challenging orthodox Christianity and arguing for a more rational, comparative approach to religion. His books and speeches made him a recognizable voice on the freethought circuit of his day.
2 Audiobooks
The Bible of Bibles; Or, Twenty-Seven "Divine" Revelations
by Kersey Graves, Lydia M. Graves
About the author
Born in Brownsville, Pennsylvania, in 1813 and later associated with Indiana, he was raised in a Quaker family and had very little formal schooling. Even so, he built a public life as a lecturer and writer, developing strong interests in reform, religion, and skepticism.
He is best known for The World's Sixteen Crucified Saviors (1875), a controversial work that argued Christianity drew on older religious traditions. He also wrote The Bible of Bibles and The Biography of Satan, continuing his wide-ranging critiques of organized religion while mixing freethought ideas with an interest in spiritualism.
During the late 19th century, he was a popular speaker in American freethought circles. He died in Richmond, Indiana, in 1883, leaving behind works that remained notable mainly for their place in the history of religious dissent and radical publishing in the United States.