Was any form of Christianity ever substituted either for Paganism or any other form of Christianity without heat, exaggeration, and fierce invective?
Saint Augustine ridiculed one of the Roman gods in grossly indecent language.
Men cannot discuss doctrines like eternal punishment as they do questions in philology.

And "to say that you may discuss the truth of religion, but that you may not hold up its doctrines to contempt, ridicule, or indignation, is either to take away with one hand what you concede with the other, or to confine the discussion to a small and in many ways uninfluential class of persons." Besides, Sir James Stephen says, "There is one reflection which seems to me to prove with conclusive force that the law upon this subject can be explained and justified only on what I regard as its true principle--the principle of persecution.

It is that if the law were really impartial, and punished blasphemy only because it offends the feelings of believers, it ought also to punish such preaching as offends the feelings of unbelievers.

All the more earnest and enthusiastic forms of religion are extremely offensive to those who do not believe them.

Why should not people who are not Christians be protected against the rough, coarse, ignorant ferocity with which they are often told that they and theirs are on the way to hell-fire for ever and ever?
Such a doctrine, though necessary to be known if true, is, if false, revolting and mischievous to the last degree.