"The study of theology as it stands in Christian churches, is the
study of nothing; it is founded on nothing; it rests on no principles; it
proceeds by no authorities; it has no data; it can demonstrate nothing;
and admits of no conclusion. Not any thing can be studied as a science
without our being in possession of the principles upon which it is
founded; and as this is not the case with Christian theology, it is
therefore the study of nothing." [A harsh rebuke of Christianity]
"[if a] revolution in the system of religion takes place, every preacher ought
to be a philosopher. Most certainly, and every house of devotion a school
of science." [Replacing religion with philosophy and science]
"It has often been said that any thing may be proved from the Bible."
"It has been the practice of all Christian commentators on the Bible, and
of all Christian priests and preachers, to impose the Bible on the world
as a mass of truth, and as the word of God; they have disputed and
wrangled, and have anathematized each other about the supposable meaning
of particular parts and passages therein; one has said and insisted that
such a passage meant such a thing, another that it meant directly the
contrary, and a third, that it meant neither one nor the other, but
something different from both; and this they have called understanding the
Bible." [On the interpretors and commentators of holy books]
"As to the
ancient historians, from Herodotus to Tacitus, we credit them as far as
they relate things probable and credible, and no further: for if we do, we
must believe the two miracles which Tacitus relates were performed by
Vespasian, that of curing a lame man, and a blind man, in just the same
manner as the same things are told of Jesus Christ by his historians. We
must also believe the miracles cited by Josephus, that of the sea of
Pamphilia opening to let Alexander and his army pass, as is related of the
Red Sea in Exodus. These miracles are quite as well authenticated as the
Bible miracles, and yet we do not believe them." [On claims of miracles]
"Take away from Genesis the belief that Moses was the author, on which only
the strange belief that it is the word of God has stood, and there remains
nothing of Genesis but an anonymous book of stories, fables, and
traditionary or invented absurdities, or of downright lies. The story of
Eve and the serpent, and of Noah and his ark, drops to a level with the
Arabian Tales, without the merit of being entertaining, and the account of
men living to eight and nine hundred years becomes as fabulous as the
immortality of the giants of the Mythology." [Comparing the mythology of Arabian Nights with the Bible]
"Those who knew Benjamin Franklin will recollect, that his mind was ever
young; his temper ever serene; science, that never grows grey, was always
his mistress. He was never without an object; for when we cease to have an
object we become like an invalid in an hospital waiting for death." [Always have a purpose in life]
"...many men,
under the influence of science or of practical affairs, are inclined to
doubt whether philosophy is anything better than innocent but useless
trifling, hair-splitting distinctions, and controversies on matters
concerning which knowledge is impossible." [hehe]
Philosophy, like all other studies, aims primarily at knowledge. The
knowledge it aims at is the kind of knowledge which gives unity and system
to the body of the sciences, and the kind which results from a critical
examination of the grounds of our convictions, prejudices, and beliefs.
But it cannot be maintained that philosophy has had any very great measure
of success in its attempts to provide definite answers to its questions.
If you ask a mathematician, a mineralogist, a historian, or any other man
of learning, what definite body of truths has been ascertained by his
science, his answer will last as long as you are willing to listen. But if
you put the same question to a philosopher, he will, if he is candid, have
to confess that his study has not achieved positive results such as have
been achieved by other sciences. It is true that this is partly accounted
for by the fact that, as soon as definite knowledge concerning any subject
becomes possible, this subject ceases to be called philosophy, and becomes
a separate science. [the label of "philosophy" for an idea is lost when it evolves into a definite field of science. Perhaps the most pragmatic purpose of philosophy is it teaches us how to think about problems and interpret solutions. It is a fundamental building block of the logical thought process used in science]
