 Bertrand Russell Quotes 366 |
I once in a train got into conversation with an Irish-American politician, a man of exemplary devoutness and a good son of the Church. He assured me, with increasing fervour as he drank his whisky, that he had the greatest affection for his wife and children, but never neglected opportunities for surreptitious fornication, for which, in due course, he would obtain absolution. No one can deny that such cases are extremely common. It would seem therefore that the old sanctions are largely ineffective even in the matters on which they lay most stress.
Source: Bertrand Russell: Human Society in Ethics and Politics, (1954), chapter 13: Ethical Sanctions, n.5
More info.: https://russell-j.com/cool/47T-1305.htm
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If followers of any religion fear the eyes of God, they should not do anything wrong. In reality, however, the world is full of followers of any religion who have improper thoughts or do improper acts.
Even religious leaders hide behind things that are contrary to God's teachings, so it should not be possible for them to preach harsh teachings to ordinary believers.
Religion seems to be a very unreasonable thing, because even those who have done a lot of bad things can be forgiven if they ask for forgiveness from God (or, in practice, from the church) at the moment of death. Russell also ridicules the following.
‘Alas,’ Dr. Mal1ako replied, ‘there is, I fear, much in our holy religion that you have failed adequately to understand. Have you reflected upon the parable of the ninety-nine just men who needed no repentance, and caused less joy in Heaven than the one sinner who returned to the fold? .
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