as one of our standard sources of erroneous views

[alisalehi1024]

Hi,

In the bellow sentence, What does "as one of our standard sources of erroneous views" means?

The nineteenth-century Archdeacon William Paley - who has in the late twentieth-century embarked upon a second career as one of our standard sources of erroneous views - wrote that virtue is 'the doing good to mankind, in obedience to the will of God, and for the sake of everlasting happiness'.

Thank you.

 

[Barque]

Please tell us your source.

It seems to be a joke at Paley's expense; it means that in the late 20th century, there have been many erroneous views that came about because of him (probably as a result of something he said).

 

[wandle]

who has in the late twentieth-century embarked upon a second career as one of our standard sources of erroneous views

This is an ironic comment. It means that Paley has in recent times acquired a new reputation as a mistaken thinker and people now quote his ideas as examples of error.

This development may well be the result of Richard Dawkins' criticism of him. Paley is famous as a proponent of the theological argument from design, saying that the complexity of living beings proves they must have had a designer (God).