One of the most interesting and harmful delusions to which men and nations can be subjected, is that of imagining themselves special instruments of the Divine Will. ...
To quote the immortal lines of the poet during the first World War:
Gott strafe England, and God save the King.
God this, and God that, and God the other thing.
'Good God,' said God, 'I've got my work cut out.'
出典： Bertrand Russell: Ideas That Have Harmed Mankind，1946.
詳細情報：http://russell-j.com/beginner/0861HARM-170.HTM
* a brief comment:
There is a variety of religions in the world. One of the major distinctions is between monotheism (worship of an absolute God) and polytheism. There is also the difference between church-centered faith and non-church movements. In some cases, even the state itself is deified.
Polytheism doesn’t pose much of a problem, but monotheistic religions that worship an absolute God can be quite troublesome. Christianity (both Catholicism and Protestantism), Judaism, and Islam originally worshipped the same God, but today, they are perceived as vastly different. To make things even more complicated, within each of these religions, there are countless sects. No one knows exactly how many gods exist, simply because each believer considers any deity outside of their own faith to be false.
In that case, why not have representatives of each religion gather in one place and debate until a conclusion is reached? We could even organize a TV program titled "Overnight Live Debate: The Ultimate Religious Showdown ? Which Religion Will Survive?!" and finally settle the matter. Of course, a final resolution would never be reached, but if we were to impose a rule stating "No religious wars during the debate," we might just achieve eternal world peace.
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