Superstition in All Ages 15 – Knoop · Library Across
Freethought · Atheism
Superstition in All Ages 15XV.—All Religion Was Born of the Desire to Dominate
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Freethought · Atheism
Superstition in All Ages 15
XV.—All Religion Was Born of the Desire to Dominate
KnoopEnglish
The first legislators of nations had for their object to dominate, The easiest means of succeeding was to frighten the people and to prevent them from reasoning; they led them by tortuous paths in order that they should not perceive the designs of their guides; they compelled them to look into the air, for fear they should look to their feet; they amused them upon the road by stories; in a word, they treated them in the way of nurses, who employ songs and menaces to put the children to sleep, or to force them to be quiet.
XVI.--THAT WHICH SERVES AS A BASIS FOR ALL RELIGION IS VERY UNCERTAIN.
The existence of a God is the basis of all religion. Few people seem to doubt this existence, but this fundamental principle is precisely the one which prevents every mind from reasoning. The first question of every catechism was, and will always be, the most difficult one to answer.
XVII.--IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO BE CONVINCED OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD.
Can one honestly say that he is convinced of the existence of a being whose nature is not known, who remains inaccessible to all our senses, and of whose qualities we are constantly assured that they are incomprehensible to us? In order to persuade me that a being exists, or can exist, he must begin by telling me what this being is; in order to make me believe the existence or the possibility of such a being, he must tell me things about him which are not contradictory, and which do not destroy one another; finally, in order to convince me fully of the existence of this being, he must tell me things about him which I can comprehend, and prove to me that it is impossible that the being to whom he attributes these qualities does not exist.
