Thomas Lumisden Strange (1808–1884) was an English judge and writer.
Life
Born on 4 January 1808, he was eldest son of
Sir Thomas Andrew Lumisden Strange. He was educated at
Westminster School
(God Gives the Increase)
, established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560
, type = Public school Independent day and boarding school
, religion = Church of England
, head_label = Hea ...
, and on leaving in 1823 went out to his father in India, becoming a writer in the
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
's civil service at
Madras
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
in 1825.
Strange was appointed an assistant-judge and joint criminal judge on 24 June 1831, became sub-judge at Calicut in 1843 and civil and sessions judge at Tellicherry in 1845. He was a special commissioner for investigating the Molpah disturbances in Malabar in 1852, and for inquiring into the system of judicature in the presidency of Madras in 1859, and was made judge of the high court of judicature in 1862.
Strange was a member of the
Plymouth Brethren
The Plymouth Brethren or Assemblies of Brethren are a low church and non-conformist Christian movement whose history can be traced back to Dublin, Ireland, in the mid to late 1820s, where they originated from Anglicanism. The group emphasizes ...
for twenty years.
[Lash, Nicholas. (1996). ''The Beginning and the End of 'Religion. Cambridge University Press. pp. 6–8. ] He later abandoned Christianity and became a convert to
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
.
Strange resigned on 2 May 1863. He died at Norwood on 4 September 1884.
Works
He compiled a ''Manual of Hindoo Law'', 1856, taking his father's work as a basis. This reached a second edition in 1863. He also published "A Letter to the Governor of Fort St. George on Judicial Reform" (1860).
While in India he was much interested in religious subjects. In 1852 he published ''The Light of Prophecy'' and ''Observations on Mr. Elliott's "Horæ Apocalypticæ"''. Subsequently he was so impressed by observing a supposed convert at the gallows proclaim his faith to be in Rama, not in Christ, that, on examining Christian evidence, his own faith in Christianity broke down.
He never ceased to be a pious theist. He explained his position in "How I became and ceased to be a Christian", and many other pamphlets for the series published in 1872–1875 by Thomas Scott (1808–1878); these publications were afterwards collected and issued as ''Contributions to a Series of Controversial Writings'' (1881). Larger works by Strange were:
*
The Bible: is it the Word of God?' 1871.
*
The Speaker's Commentary reviewed', 1871.
*
The Legends of the Old Testament: Traced to Their Apparent Primitive Sources', 1874.
*
The Development of Creation on the Earth' 1874.
*
The Sources and Development of Christianity', 1875.
* ''What is Christianity?'' 1880.
*
Light of Prophecy; Being an Attempt to Trace Out Thereby the Coming Judgments, and the Promised Glory'
Though far from a brilliant writer, he was a diligent student, and was always an earnest advocate of practical piety in life and conduct.
References
;Attribution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strange, Thomas Lumisden
19th-century English judges
1808 births
1884 deaths
19th-century English writers
British critics of Christianity