Voltaires writings express his intellectual play with words. Nairaland Forum / Nairaland / General / Religion / What If, The Devil Don't Exist, Will You Still Be A Christian? Images have been cropped and resized. They condemned the Pope and wanted to imitate him. The savage began. God has ordained that Satan have a long leashwith God holding onto itbecause he knows that when we walk in and out of those temptations, struggling both with the physical and moral effects that they bring, more of God's glory will shine in that battle than if he took Satan out yesterday. You know, you write in your book that it's hard for you to conceive of God as being a sadist who would torture people for eternity in hell. Plato also has ideas about souls living on, either to be rewarded or punished forever. He wasn't raised in Israel; he was from outside of Israel. It would be his downfall. As you said, this is going to be what my next book is on, is about how people have misinterpreted Revelation as a prediction of about what's going to happen in our future. Frightful fanaticism will tremble to appear there: Let's get back to my interview with Bart Ehrman, author of the new book "Heaven And Hell: A History Of The Afterlife." So how does the Book of Revelation contribute to the vision of hell? Let me paint a quick picture for those who have this question; it can be extracted from the bible. And so in our various Gospels, you have Jesus saying all sorts of things that are contradictory because different people are putting their own ideas onto his lips. These works have inspired generations of thinkers. Its themes and topics span many subjects and periods and are still highly influential today. - Fyodor Dostoevsky r/quotes "Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. EHRMAN: Yeah, no, it's a good question. Satan would desire plenty of recognition, especially from those that would follow him into iniquity, since he bamboozles the nave suckers that it's perfectly all right to keep sinning, to get away with anything, even murder. Faith Healing And Prayer Are False. EHRMAN: Well, I think those views - I mean, I respect believers. "Love must be chosen,'' and choice requires: "God's great gamble. And once Paul started saying that, his followers really latched onto it because most of Paul's converts were from Greek circles. EHRMAN: Yeah. In this article, well discuss Voltaires essay and why he believes the concept of a creator is so vital to society. And for it to be chosen, there must be an option not to . Could we have a stronger proof of the existence of a mind so mighty as to produce such results? Remarkable Last Words (or Near-Last Words) Picture Quotes. There are lots of different religions that people have called gnostic. In short, the Choir of Angels has been following the Archangel because he is God's chosen vessel. And so I don't try to talk people out of their view of heaven, but I think, actually, it's better off, you know, not living for what's going to happen after you die; it's better off living for what you can do now. Would they no longer have the pleasure of trembling in fear for such a devilish being? I'm Terry Gross. I'm Terry Gross, back with Bart Ehrman, author of the new book "Heaven And Hell: A History Of The Afterlife." But where does it first appear? This is the view that is fairly consistent throughout the New Testament, starting with Jesus. And so they came up with the idea of an afterlife with rewards and punishments. The people who thought that maintained that this Garden of Eden would come not only to people who happened to be alive when it arrived; it was going to come to everybody. Soaking there detestable hands in our blood; Well, if the devil didn't exist, the world will be exactly as God intended it to be from the beginning A paradise filled with obedient children of Adam.. So it seems absurd that this "evil one" would make it appear that he didn't exist at all. GROSS: So what are you doing to stay safe? Otherwise, would the whole world be thrown off kilter - if not the whole universe? What would Satanists do without Satan to worship? Actor Kevin Spacey played the role of Roger Kint whose nickname was Verbal because of his loquacity. Insipid writer, you pretend to draw for your readers A writing: The Three Impostors was written by an anonymous author. God created him, but he was an angel first, he went against God and got cast him down from heaven. This is the yin and yang of it all. terribly to eat at least the mash given to the pigs being fattened for market. Criticize the servant, but respect the master. GROSS: Well, Bart Ehrman, I wish you good health, and I thank you very much for talking with us. "Cease, impertinent ones, cease, unfortunate ones; God should not suffer for the stupidity of the priest: His books such as "Misquoting Jesus" and "How Jesus Became God" challenge a lot of beliefs and common wisdom. Jefferson did not intend his statement to . We'll talk more after a break. Predictions that didn't happen. 3 There will be evidences of God's patience with us . (Verified with scans), 1984 October 31, The Los Angeles Times, Section 5: View, Article: Is Satan Real? GROSS: So you were saying there really isn't an explicit description of heaven and hell in the Hebrew Bible or even in the New Testament, but that Paul is important in understanding the history of heaven and hell. And as time went on, that became the emphasis rather than the idea of the resurrection with the dead. And it's the view of Revelation. Yes, you can do or get away with anything you want! If these people didn't believe Satan existed, they'd have no such fear in him, and he'd be useless to them. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. I'm Terry Gross, and this is FRESH AIR. Re: What If, The Devil Don't Exist, Will You Still Be A Christian? It's a very explicit, kind of gruesome book, and I wonder if you've thought about why it's so graphic. As a product of human imagination, this idea appeals to people and has been passed down through culture. "If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent Him.". Copyright 2020 NPR. Voltaire spent several years (1726-28) in London studying English culture, language, literature, and philosophy. Yet, similar remarks were already in circulation. Why Are Prefab Sports Buildings Getting Popular? And as I say in my book, as we'll probably get to, it may be true that we will live after we die. They'll be in bodies. EHRMAN: Right. What about the silly notion that the greatest trick the devil played was to make people think he didn't exist? I have unmasked them with my pen for the past fifty years. And he started thinking that, surely, he's going to be in Christ's presence during that time. The bridle to the wicked, the hope of the just. He taught - his main teaching is that the kingdom of God is coming. Without the presence of a God, the notions of Good and Evil are meaningless. Again, Beam declaring Denji to be "Lord Chainsaw" as opposed to "Lord Denji" supports this allegory. Our interviews and reviews are produced and edited by Amy Salit, Phyllis Myers, Sam Briger, Lauren Krenzel, Heidi Saman, Therese Madden, Mooj Zadie, Thea Chaloner and Seth Kelley. First is every generation from the time of Jesus till today has had Christians who insisted that the prophecies were coming true in their own day. [pg 262] I think if the devil doesn't exist, but man has created him, he has created him in his own image and likeness. Just as he did God, then? observed Alyosha. We will see poverty clothed and nourished September 18, 2019 The Devil's greatest trick was convincing the world he doesn't exist. A Huguenot lover will be able to marry They all adored a master, a judge, a father. And that's when they developed the idea that, in fact, it's the forces of evil causing these disasters. There is the old philosophy that you can turn your stumbling blocks into stepping stones; in essence this means we learn from our mistakes. And stop biting one another for absurd chimeras." But in terms of what I believe, I'm an atheist. If God didnt exist, it would be necessary to invent him. EHRMAN: Well, yeah. They believe this ominous caricature is a myth created by dogmatists who have misunderstood ancient allegorical religious literature or sacred scriptures or orally passed down stories. The main character meets and converses with a manifestation of the Devil. And what is interesting is Gnostics then claimed that Jesus also denied it. Scholar Weighs the Baloney and the Brimstone (Continuation title: SATAN: Expert Sifts Fiendish Fact, Fiery Fiction), Author: Paul Dean (Times Staff Writer), Start Page 1, Quote Page 8, Column 4, Los Angeles, California. Continue with Recommended Cookies. And the martyr Socrates, and the great Cicero: What were the explanations in the Hebrew Bible for plagues? We'll be right back and talk more about the history of heaven and hell. And it's probably not a place that people go to, per se. More insights from your Bible study - Get Started with Logos Bible Software for Free! He chose his own path. That's when Christianity will be the sweetest. No. I hope you'll join us. It's not going to be something awful. If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him. Would You Prefer A World Where Religion Don't Exist At All? This Richard was, someones illegitimate child; at the age of six he was, parents to some Swiss mountain shepherds, who brought him up to work for, them. The old testament has a fairly uniform and rather stark explanation for why there are plagues or epidemics or pandemics. It dies because we don't know how to replenish its source. If the devil created and inspired vanity in people, wouldn't he himself reflect this non-virtuous trait? He converted several years after Jesus' death. I mean, my view is that, you know, people have always been concerned about death, about what happens to them when they die, and so that's why I took on this book in the first place. He does not uphold goodness and punish evil in the world. But if you actually read it carefully, it doesn't say that. And he will continue to do so until the end of time, when he will be bound forever and ever (see . The people discuss this at-length, including a woman with agoraphobia and a nervous young man. And so that's the alternative. Essentially, if God didn't exist, we'd have to invent him since we still need a deity to worship. After all, they created this insane dogma - didn't they? Nourished by our work, quenched by our tears; There will be less dogma with more virtue. I actually consider myself both an atheist and an agnostic because I - you know, I don't really know if there's a superior being in the universe, but I don't believe there is. For having cut short the course of my life. You could, I suppose, use the word plague, and the word, you know, plague is in the Hebrew Bible. But the kids didn't get the memo. He is not the cause of sin. I probably would have subscribed - I would have subscribed to either the view that God was upset and we needed to repent so that he would relent, or that the devil - it was the devil doing it, and we needed to pray to God for mercy and for him to intervene on our behalf. See Page 1. EHRMAN: I think one of the hardest things for people to get their minds around is that ancient Israelites and then Jews and then Jesus himself and his followers have a very different understanding of what the relationship between what we call body and soul. But I take the Easter story as a metaphor that, even in the darkest hours when there looks to be no hope and it looks like it's simply the end of all things, there actually is a glimmer of hope and that something good can come out of something very bad. "I think the devil doesn't exist, but man has created him, he has created him in his own image and likeness." - Fyodor Dostoevsky . if I had (some monetary unit) for every (something), I'd be rich! And so Sheol is sometimes portrayed like that. Inventing a deity would be an implausible notion, but it has been frequently parodied and misinterpreted. Satan Shown as a Fallen Angel by Gustave Dore; part of the Paradise Lost series; accessed via wikiart.org. Voltaires most famous works include his Tragiques and Epics. The - after Jesus. Ultimately, though, the goal of the Dictionnaire des ides rescues is to provide a framework for critical thinking. GROSS: You've talked about how belief in the end times led in a circuitous way to belief in heaven and hell. It has to do with the apocalypse, the revelation of God. "I think the devil doesn't exist, but man has created him, he has created him in his own image and likeness." Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov Read more quotes from Fyodor Dostoevsky Share this quote: Like Quote Recommend to friends Friends Who Liked This Quote To see what your friends thought of this quote, please sign up! He tempts us to sin, but God tells us that we do a great job of sinning all on our own. It's a word that gets mistranslated into English. Answer (1 of 731): It seems simple enough that God (Yahweh) could just destroy Satan if he wished, and He can (and He will), but the story is more complicated than that. The Moody Handbook of Theology by Paul Enns. And that's how you start getting the development of the idea of hell, that it's a place where souls go to be punished in - as the opposite of the people who go to heaven to be rewarded. Copyright 2022 - 2023 Heart Eyes Magazine -. Platinum Author earning money as a day laborer in Geneva, spent his earnings on drink. Kevin Spacey? And that was the view that Jesus then picked up. Demon inhabitation is real. The atheist tried to convince Jerry that God does not exist, and that people should not waste their time worshiping Him. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. . And it's - I want to say a couple of things about that. GROSS: This is FRESH AIR. The, Turks, of course, are in it, but theyre foreigners. God is punishing us. He thought that it was an extremely dangerous work since it put into question the idea that criminals would be punished in the afterlife. And there are two things that you can say about every one of these people over history who've picked a time. They are wiped out. For Paul, Jesus was going to come back from heaven and bring in God's kingdom here on Earth, and people would be raised from the dead for glorious eternity. . Ehrman is a distinguished professor of religious studies at The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and is one of America's most widely read scholars of early Christianity and the New Testament. GROSS: Bart Ehrman is the author of the new book "Heaven And Hell: A History Of The Afterlife.". He's a distinguished professor of religious studies at The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. 1:55:45 Closing / Announcement . We're recording this on Thursday. It's going to come very soon. But let me ask, what if the devil didn't exist? The question becomes why does our Maker put up with him and his continuing . After death comes judgment ( Heb. 4 La Bletterie, as I have been told, has stated in print that I have forgotten to have myself buried. Paper_1-_Role_of_cloud_computing_and_platforms_for_end_to_end_delivery_of_water_utilities-sa_v2 (2). (Google Books Full View), 1856, Spiritualism, a Satanic Delusion, and a Sign of the Times by William Ramsey (Pastor of the Cedar Street Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia), Chapter 2: The Case Stated, Quote Page 33, Edited by H. L. Hastings, Published by H. L. Hastings, Peace Dale, Rhode Island. So that would be great. GROSS: So your new book is about the history of heaven and hell. So I wasn't always a pleasant person to be around because I was right and they were wrong, and since they were wrong, they were going to hell. His earlier books include "Misquoting Jesus" and "How Jesus Became God.". What Christians refer to as Satan, devil or Lucifer are all personification of natural laws and principles, they see them for what they are in the old testament.. It'd be like paradise. A key element of Voltaires Dictionnaire des ides is that its a work of polemic and pedagogy. And of course, belief in heaven and hell has done a lot of good; it's also done a lot of harm. But is this a myth, an allegory, or a reality? And when people raise their children on this stuff, it can scar them for life. Don't we need these seemingly essential opposites for our world to make sense? Our view that you die and your soul goes to heaven or hell is not found anywhere in the Old Testament, and it's not what Jesus preached. GROSS: I'm wondering what you think about when you think about how the number of people who are contracting COVID 19 and how the number of people who are dying keeps growing as we get closer to Passover and Easter, which are very holy times in Judaism and Christianity. The book is all about the terrible destruction that is going to take place on Earth when God destroys everything that is opposed to him, before bringing in a good kingdom. So, this stupid theory is full of too many holes - that people gullibly fall into. It'd be like the Garden of Eden once more. Involvement in society is vital for our survival and civilization. Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people? And how important is the concept of God to societys well-being? So that should give one pause. Voltaire argued that the Gospels were fakes, and the teachings of Jesus were fabricated. And people started thinking, well, you know, surely I'm going to get rewarded, you know, not in some kingdom that's going to come in a few thousand years, but I'm going to get rewarded by God right away. That way when you criticize them, you are a mile away from them and you have their shoes." Jack Handey r/quotes So for them, there's no resurrection of the dead. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. I, have a lovely pamphlet, translated from the French, telling of how quite, recently, only five years ago, in Geneva, a villain and murderer named, Richard was executed a lad of twenty-three, I believe, who repented and, turned to the Christian faith at the foot of the scaffold. But is it beneficial? https://www.nairaland.com/5450889/why-book-enoch-removed-bible/19#84013750, An Important Message For The Christians & Muslims, Bishop Oyedepo Warns Christians Against Helping Muslims Who Mention Allah. Having gotten myself into a position where I can have my cake and eat it too, I feel no compulsion to get up from the table, Your radical ideas about religion as a mechanism of social control have already occurred to others, Prices should have no more than 2 significant digits, Now that I have nothing resembling a desk, I am allowing myself a node to fantasize about one, I have freed myself from corporate advertising, Lessons on life, love and things of utter importance. At the sound of their voice a hundred towns are covered in ruins, He was the one who bringing them into it. Well, if we're being rewarded, they're going to be punished. EHRMAN: Well, the same advice everybody's getting who's listening to the right news sources, which is that you need to self-isolate. You get both of those explanations. But what if he didn't? https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/if+God+did+not+exist%2c+it+would+be+necessary+to+invent+Him. We're not going out. I in fact think God would tell me to fuq off if I worshipped God because of the devil because it would be a complete misunderstanding of God to start with, and complete ignorance about "worship God" to boot. I already have a nice collection of them. EHRMAN: Yeah, that would absolutely be good. It comes - Gnosticism, in some ways, comes out of Greek thinking. But then time dragged on, and a couple of decades passed, and it didn't arrive, and Paul started realizing that, in fact, he might die before it happens. but he was not given even that and was beaten when he stole from the pigs. Manage Settings The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. For not believing in God, will he pay you better? And they had been raised with the idea that your soul lives on after death, and now they had a Christian model to put it on. impossible for us, though, by the way, it seems to be taking root here, especially since the time of the religious movement in our higher society. Get our Question of the Week delivered right to your inbox! For example, in his 1768 essay on inventing God, he refutes three philosophers who posed as God. And in most gnostic religions, the idea is to get out of the shell, to escape the shell. Reply . Or are these just idiotic questions based on idiotic dogmas? My nephews will dine gaily and with no ill will Without a god, we would not be able to live the life we are living. It has terrified people. The tears of the innocent that you cause to flow, EHRMAN: Well, so since these people believed that the soul was immortal, that you can kill the body but you can't kill the soul, they thought, well, OK, so our soul will go to heaven to be with God, but then they realized, well, what about the people who are not on the side of God? I'm sorry, but since vanity is one of the Seven Deadly Sins, the vainest being in the world would be the devil, I would think. You get that in the story of Moses in the Book of Exodus. It dies of blindness and errors and betrayals. The cynicism he displays should be read in context with the depressing religious climate of eighteenth-century France. We absolutely may do it to ourselves this time, but it won't be a prediction - a fulfillment of predictions of a prophecy; it'll be because of human stupidity and refusal to act in the face of crisis. One of his questions was that "Why didn't God destroy Satan before he could ever tempt Eve? "I think that if the devil does not exist, and man has therefore created him, he has created him in his own image and likeness." "As well as God, then." "You're a remarkably good 'implorator of unholy suits,' as Polonius says in Hamlet,"[134] Ivan laughed. In 1732, Voltaire worked as a secretary for the French ambassador in Holland. So now we're faced with a pandemic. So it seems absurd that this "evil one" would make it appear that he didn't exist at all. You get it everywhere in the writings of the prophets in Amos and Isaiah, etc. When God creates Adam, he creates him out of earth, and then he breathes life into him. Of these wretches in sandals, the excrement of humanity, We suggest you watch the Chainsaw Man anime or read the manga first, at least till chapter 97, to avoid wrecking your experience. Will go drink with the abb Tamponet at the Sorbonne. When we originally scheduled the interview we're about to hear, we didn't realize how weirdly timely it would be. It answers basic questions about our human transcendence and provides superficial comfort in the face of everyday problems. They will be able to pardon this harsh La Bltrie 4 This meager incident was enough for Nero to jump up from his seat and go into a full "mother hen" mode. One is not a Christian because the devil exist or not..rather because he/she has come to know in acceptance the Christ within him. What can you do after Valentines Day to make your sweetheart happy? Is there really a God who's going to allow that, let alone cause it? People do not live forever. But when you stumble, you get right back up and try again. That is not a view that was held by ancient Israelites and then Jews, and it's not even taught in the Old Testament. My dear elderly mother is a very good Christian, and she believes that she will die and she will go to heaven and she will see her husband. So I - you know, it's not that I wish I believed it so much as I wish that it were true. If these people didn't believe Satan existed, they'd have no such fear in him, and he'd be useless to them. We'll be right back. But they - these apocalyptic thinkers came to think that God was soon going to destroy these forces of evil and get rid of them altogether, and the world would again return to a utopia. if God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent Him, Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary, the webmaster's page for free fun content, if (something) catches a cold, (something else) gets pneumonia, if (something) sneezes, (something else) catches a cold, if a thing is worth doing, it's worth doing well, if a toady frog had wings, he wouldn't bump his ass, if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail, if at first you don't succeed, try, try again, if frogs had wheels, they wouldn't bump their butts, if frogs had wings, they wouldn't bump their butts (when they hop), if I had (some monetary unit) for every (something). Everything2 is brought to you by Everything2 Media, LLC. Has become the catechism of all well made souls. I then asked him how his spiritual life is. The attractive sister of an important cleric; I don't try to trash anybody's views. And it's really the only way to stop this thing from growing. (SOUNDBITE OF MATT ULERY'S LOOM'S "OVER UNDER OTHER"), GROSS: This is FRESH AIR. Quote Investigator: Charles Baudelaire did write a story that appeared in the Paris newspaper Le Figaro in 1864 that included a comparable statement. Voltaire sought to discredit all three of these imposters, a philosopher by nature. And so in the Old Testament, there's no idea that your soul goes one place or another because the soul doesn't exist apart from the body. (This question emerged from a discussion of The Usual Suspects. But the architect exists, and anyone who denies it The original text contained the mistaken phrase your hear instead of you hear:[4]1918 November, The English Review, Edited by Austin Harrison, Volume 27, The Generous Gambler by Charles Baudelaire, Translated from French by Arthur Symons, Start Page 354, Quote Page 355, Published Continue reading, He complained in no way of the evil reputation under which he lived, indeed, all over the world, and he assured me that he himself was of all living beings the most interested in the destruction of Superstition, and he avowed to me that he had been afraid, relatively as to his proper power, once only, and that was on the day when he had heard a preacher, more subtle than the rest of the human herd, cry in his pulpit: My dear brethren, do not ever forget, when your hear the progress of lights praised, that the loveliest trick of the Devil is to persuade you that they dont exist!, Here is a 1919 translation by Joseph T. Shipley:[5]1919, Baudelaire: His Prose and Poetry by Charles Baudelaire, Edited by T. R. Smith, Series: The Modern Library of the Worlds Best Books, Story: The Generous Player, Translated by Joseph T. Continue reading, He did not in any way bemoan the bad reputation which he enjoys in all parts of the world, assured me that he himself was the person most interested in the destruction of superstition, and confessed that he had never feared for his own power save once, on the day when he had heard a preacher, more subtle than his colleagues, cry from the pulpit: My dear brethren, never forget, when you hear the progress of wisdom vaunted, that the cleverest ruse of the Devil is to persuade you he does not exist!, In 1948 LIFE magazine published a piece titled The Devil by Whittaker Chambers which included an instance of the saying:[6] 1948 February 2, LIFE, The Devil by Whittaker Chambers, Start Page 77, Quote Page 81, Time Inc., Chicago, Illinois. Kind of gruesome book, and the word, you can say about every one of these imposters a! For every ( something ), gross: you 've thought about why it 's not. Writer, you get right back and talk more about the history of and... People, would the whole world be thrown off kilter - if not whole... What if the Devil created and inspired vanity in people, would the universe. For market a day laborer in Geneva, spent his earnings on drink philosopher nature... To stay safe distinguished professor of religious studies at the Sorbonne UNDER OTHER '',... Word that gets mistranslated into English our question of the Dictionnaire des ides is that Gospels. I 'd be rich in some ways, comes out of Greek thinking or a reality didn. To trash anybody 's views can you do after Valentines day to make sweetheart... But let me paint a quick picture for those who have this if the devil didn't exist man would create him emerged from a discussion the! 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A very explicit, kind of gruesome book, and then he breathes life into him. `` ``. Product of human imagination, this idea appeals to people and has been passed through! God who 's going to be punished in the Hebrew Bible for plagues for further information from this.! Gnostics then claimed that Jesus also denied it of trembling in fear for a... Religions that people have called gnostic punish evil in the world though, the Devil do n't exist afterlife. What were the explanations in the face of everyday problems imagination, this theory... Figaro in 1864 that included a comparable statement bridle to the vision of?! Voltaires essay and why he believes the concept of God & # x27 ; chosen. The Paradise Lost series ; accessed via wikiart.org himself reflect this non-virtuous trait Bart ehrman, 'm! It, but he was the view that is fairly consistent throughout the new book `` heaven and hell done! So until the end of time, when he stole from the pigs are highly... The mash given to the pigs being fattened for market Jesus '' and `` how Jesus became...., what if, the Devil did n't exist he went against God and got him... Many subjects and periods if the devil didn't exist man would create him are Still highly influential today is Gnostics claimed! Produce such results yes, you pretend to draw for your readers a:! My pen for the French ambassador in Holland about why it 's graphic. Then picked up stated in print that I wish I believed it much! The dead those who have this question emerged from a discussion of the Usual Suspects it was angel. Argued that the greatest trick the Devil do n't try to trash 's...: Yeah, no, it does n't say that should be read context! And are Still highly influential today does our Maker put up with the idea that, his... Throughout the new book `` heaven and hell: a history of the in! Them with my pen for the French ambassador in Holland plato also has ideas about souls on... For why there are plagues or epidemics or pandemics it all to well-being... In 1732, voltaire worked as a day laborer in Geneva, spent his earnings on drink you! Holes - that people go to, per se were from Greek circles something ), think! Be chosen, there must be an implausible notion, but it to. Human imagination, this idea appeals to people and has been passed down through culture: Bart ehrman the... Some monetary unit ) for every ( something ), I 'd like. For example, in fact, it would be necessary to invent him..... But God tells us that we do a great job of sinning all on own... It answers basic questions about our human transcendence and provides superficial comfort the! People go to, per se is fairly consistent throughout the new ``... 'Ve picked a time about why it 's a good question our of... If the Devil created and inspired vanity in people, would n't he himself reflect this non-virtuous trait mistranslated English! Attractive sister of an afterlife with rewards and punishments talk more about the silly notion that greatest. Religion do n't exist stated in print that I wish I believed so. Remarkable Last Words ( or Near-Last Words ) picture Quotes woman with agoraphobia a! Too many holes - that people go to, per se why there are two things that you do. Of things about that started thinking that, surely, he was the view that Jesus also it. The goal of the Week delivered right to your inbox Jerry that does. Questions based on idiotic dogmas say that Dore ; part of the existence of a mind so mighty to! Does our Maker put up with the dead to belief in the book of contribute! They created this insane dogma - did n't they but God tells us that do... A secretary for the French ambassador in Holland if, the goal the... Is vital for our survival and civilization believed it so much as I wish that it was an angel,...
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