Gilbert argues — wedded them to principles of Enlightenment rationality by associating ecclesiastical with civil tyranny.
The lectures were held annually and without interruption from 1755 to 1857 when they were suspended by the board of trustees "in order that the Fund, now in their judgment insufficient to support the charge of the same, may accumulate."
Contemporary Dudleian lectures tend to be highly academic in nature, and are often delivered by Catholic or non-Christian theologians or priests.
In a more ecumenical, less religiously polemical age the third topic has been reinterpreted to intend relations among the Christian denominations.
[citation needed] Notable Dudleian lecturers have included Convers Francis,[4] Jason Haven,[5] William Ellery Channing, Reinhold Niebuhr, Paul Tillich, John LaFarge, Jr., Seyyed Hossein Nasr and Carlo Maria Martini.