And Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects Ebook

WHY I AM NOT A CHRISTIAN: AND OTHER ESSAYS ON RELIGION AND RELATED SUBJECTS PDF, EPUB, EBOOK

I haven't forgotten it yet, and I have promised myself that I never will. Paine, while his doctrine contained nothing novel, was an innovator in the manner of his writing, which was simple, direct, unlearned, and such as every intelligent working man could appreciate. Kant, as I say, invented a new moral argument for the exist- ence of God, and that in varying forms was extremely popular during the nineteenth century. Sell ed. Moral perplexities—which, until recently, were unhesitatingly assigned by philosophers to their own domain— have been abandoned by McTaggart and Mr Bradley to the whimsies of statistics and common sense. Conscience and Conflict. For example, if you died immediately after a priest had sprinkled water upon you while pronouncing certain words, you inherited eternal bliss; whereas, if after a long and virtuous life you happened to be struck by lightning at a moment when you were using bad language because you had broken a bootlace, you would inherit eternal torment. The Protestant who leaves the particular Protestant sect in which he had been brought up is only doing what the foun- ders of that sect did not so very long ago, and his mentality is adapted to the foundation of a new sect. I have known in my time quite a number of judges who were very earnest Christians, and they none of them felt that they were acting contrary to Christian principles in what they did. Having been a big fan of Russell's epistemological books, I was impressed that this book displayed the same clarity of thought and communication. Some countries banned the book, including South Africa. Due to the scope covered, he does not go very deep into any one reason. The rituals and words are not self-contained expressions of feeling, but also the harbingers of prohibition and persecution. We may, again, take philosophy aesthetically, as probably most of us take Spinoza. I suppose in all fairness I should cite some examples from Bert's babblings, only what would be the point? The responsibility rested only partly with the French; the American Minister, Gouverneur Morris, was equally to blame. Before the rise of Christianity this persecuting attitude was unknown to the ancient world except among the Jews. The Road to Serfdom F. And even if this should occur, it must stop sooner or later. Close X. At the minimum, they believe in God, and immortality, and believe that Christ was the best and wisest of men. The greater part of The Age of Reason consists of criticism of the Old Testament from a moral point of view. View all 3 comments. The arguments and the reasons were set out at great length, and the Catholic Church felt that they must stop it. You find this curious fact, that the more intense has been the religion of any period and the more profound has been the dogmatic belief, the greater has been the cruelty and the worse has been the state of affairs. I cannot believe in a god who, given an infinite universe and millions of years in which to perfect it, can come up with nothing better than the nazis and the KKK - paraphrase. Thirdly, the common interest of society and the common rights of man. Perhaps I am myself to blame, after all he delivered the central piece in this anthology as a speech, and a speech may not be an appropriate vehicle to carry in-depth thought. It has always been this deduction—illegitim- ately made of course—which has given comfort. This book shocked his contemporaries, even many of those who agreed with his politics. The Church has more complex origins. I think you must have at the very lowest the belief that Christ was, if not divine, at least the best and wisest of men. Why I am Not a Christian: And Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects Writer

Another emotion which encourages the belief in survival is admiration of the excellence of man. As regards the immense majority, therefore, the choice lies, not between parental care and the care of experts selected by parents, but between parents and the State. Then there is the comparatively modern idea that cosmic evolution is all designed to bring about the sort of results which we call good— that is to say, the sort of results that give us pleasure. About Bertrand Russell Simon Blackburn, show more. The most important of these emotions is fear of death, which is instinctive and biologically useful. If we genuinely and whole- heartedly believe in the future life, we should cease completely to fear death. Russell distinguished three elements in a religion: a Church, a creed or set of doctrines, and religious feeling. I do not think that I am. Unfortunately for us, if Bert's belief that there's no afterlife proves true, we'll never be able to ask him, not in this world or the next. I probably would have liked this book a lot more if I had read it when I was younger, but now I find Russell's critique of religion profoundly disappointing. They will do their best to prevent playgrounds, theatres, etc. Learn about new offers and get more deals by joining our newsletter. They know that he that increaseth wisdom increaseth sorrow, and they infer that he that increaseth sorrow increaseth wisdom. I would love to know for certain either way. This soggy ecumenicism is also part of the modern world. This, of course, is a fond delusion. It is no credit to the orthodox that they do not now believe all the absurdities that were believed years ago. A child must also not be subject to severe punishment, or to threats, or to grave and excessive reproof. I would recom- mend readers to consider, for example, the contributions of Havelock Ellis3 and Phyllis Blanchard4 to the following pages. The first essay is probably the best known- why I am not a Christian?. Why I am Not a Christian: And Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects Reviews

There really aren't many new arguments the new generation of atheists bring to the table, therefore I think it is reasonably fair to use Russell's as the standard bearer for them all. It is not a pleasant fact, but the Churches compel one to mention facts that are not pleasant. It would be lovely to be assured that some part of you survives death; that humanity is not an accident of the universe. It was really fascinating. View 1 comment. So we have done our best to give evangelical Trump supporters their due, to try to understand their point of view, to see the prudential nature of so many political decisions they have made regarding Mr. These subjects are nothing new for the people who might be interested in this book assuming most of them are already aware of the general arguments for and against religion. I cannot, however, deny that it has made some contributions to civilisation. Now our only ground for this world of Reality is, that this is what Reality would have to be if we could understand it. What the world needs is not dogma but an attitude of scientific inquiry combined with a belief that the torture of millions is not desirable, whether inflicted by Stalin or by a Deity imagined in the likeness of the believer. I think Christians ought to read books like this because asking and seeking answers to such questions does sharpen our faith. One-Dimensional Man Herbert Marcuse. Fear is the basis of the whole thing -- fear of the mysterious, fear of defeat, fear of death. Such mere contributions to human welfare would be regarded as of no importance. Russell's clear and organized style of writing is somewhat of a rarity in philosophical writing. History of Western Philosophy Bertrand Russell. In a word, nice people are those who have nasty minds. He can, of course, join some other institution such as the free- masons, but he remains conscious, none the less, of desperate revolt. In that respect clearly He was not so wise as some other people have been, and he was certainly not superlatively wise. This is a great compliment. I do not myself. What I rejected was those guys who pretended to speak in His Name. It is not rational arguments, but emotions, that cause belief in a future life.

Why I am Not a Christian: And Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects Read Online

Once I had read Russell, I could embrace my sense that the evil force god, the killer of anything that opposes him that appears in the Bible does not exist, and should not exist it would be horrible! They behaved nicely to their parents-in-law, while making it clear that any less dutiful person would not have done so; they did not speak spitefully about other women, but pursed up their lips in such a way as to let it be seen what they might have said but for their angelic charitableness. Christian Theolog What limited individual- ism in the past was fear and the need of mutual co- operation. His opinions 2 Whose biography of Paine and edition of his works are a monument of patient devotion and careful research. There must, therefore, be someone at least as intelligent and virtuous as we are, who set the cosmic machinery in motion with a view to producing us. If everything must have a cause, then God must have a cause. There is no evidence of design about it. I want religion out of politics but I no longer take snarky delight at being above the unenlightened believers. Every time I see an article about the increasing secularism in the world, I feel a tiny spark of hope, and I try not to let it be crushed by the knowledge of how long it will be before we get there. It is, therefore, a great force for good, and we ought to be thankful that it is the nice people who wield it. By selling all that he had, he was just able to pay his debts and leave some provision for his wife, but he himself was again reduced to destitution. But if these powers increase beyond a point while superstitions still control the majority, the unsuperstitious minority will be squeezed out by State propa- ganda and further protests will become impossible in every democratic country. The result would not be that he would cease to be interested in trains; on the contrary, he would become more interested than ever, but would have a morbid sense of sin, because this interest had been represented to him as improper. We cannot, therefore, really decide whether religion does good without investi- gating the question whether religion is true. The story is so frustrating that it surprises me that Russell's anti-religious stance is not articulated with more personal bitterness. Anyway, my point is, he is that clear. In the good old days a Protestant Free- thinker would have been capable of deciding in the abstract in favour of free love, and nevertheless living all his days a life of strict celibacy. It used to be thought that the heavenly bodies must move in circles because the circle is the most perfect curve, that species must be immutable because God would only create what was perfect and what therefore stood in no need of improvement, that it was useless to combat epidemics except by repentance because they were sent as a punishment for sin, and so on. I look forward to being more well-armed against dangerous religious fervor much more than the way I once looked forward to spreading it. Sign in Create an account. Such general observations, however, are rare. More filters. The belief in a Creator makes no sense. I see no reason therefore to believe in any sort of God, however vague and however attenuated. Now that this knowledge is being acquired, a greater degree of wisdom than heretofore as regards the ends of life is becoming imperative. The reaction against the French Revolution produced the romantic admiration of absurdity, based upon the experience that reason led to the guillotine. But if you chisel, let the stroke be rude, And on his heart engrave—Ingratitude.

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