12 June 2008

Thursday 13: 13 Historical Religious Opinions

By Jacquie Rogers

Famous people have had an interesting variety of opinions on religion and its role in society. Today's Thursday Thirteen (and then some) addresses vastly different points of view on this subject.

1. "The true meaning of religion is thus not simply morality, but morality touched by emotion." Matthew Arnold (1822 - 1888)

2. "The principle of liberty and equality, if coupled with mere selfishness, will make men only devils, each trying to be independent that he may fight only for his own interest. And here is the need of religion and its power, to bring in the principle of benevolence and love to men." John Randolph (1773 - 1833)

3. "We do not destroy religion by destroying superstition." Cicero (106 BC - 43 BC)

4. "Say nothing of my religion. It is known to God and myself alone. Its evidence before the world is to be sought in my life: if it has been honest and dutiful to society the religion which has regulated it cannot be a bad one." Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1826)

5. "Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, just as it is the spirit of a spiritless situation. It is the opium of the people." Karl Marx (1818 - 1883), "Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right"

6. "In Christianity neither morality nor religion come into contact with reality at any point." Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 - 1900), The Antichrist

7. "God can be realized through all paths. All religions are true. The important thing is to reach the roof. You can reach it by stone stairs or by wooden stairs or by bamboo steps or by a rope. You can also climb up by a bamboo pole." Ramakrishna (1836 - 1886), pictured

8. "Conventionality is not morality. Self-righteousness is not religion. To attack the first is not to assail the last." Charlotte Bronte (1816 - 1855)

9. "We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love, one another." Jonathan Swift (1667 - 1745)

10. "A little philosophy inclineth man's mind to atheism, But depth in philosophy bringeth men's minds about to religion." Sir Francis Bacon (1561 - 1626)

11. "Religion consists in a set of things which the average man thinks he believes and wishes he was certain of." Mark Twain (1835 - 1910)

12. "All humanity is passion; without passion, religion, history, novels, art would be ineffectual." Honore De Balzac (1799 - 1850)

13. "England has forty-two religions and only two sauces." Voltaire (1694 - 1778), pictured

And today's bonus:

"If I had to choose a religion, the sun as the universal giver of life would be my god." Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821)

Princess Keely, Star of Faery Special RomancesDown Home Ever Lovin' Mule Blues

Myspace *** Bebo *** Faery World

Faery Special Romances *** See the book video
Royalties go to Children's Tumor Foundation, ending Neurofibromatosis through Research

Coming soon: Down Home Ever Lovin' Mule Blues