But is it beneficial? What would God do without such an adversary to play with, or fight against? Europe has thanked me; twenty crowned heads When the breath leaves the body, the body no longer lives, but the breath doesn't exist. Sometimes Sheol is translated by the word hell, and it absolutely is not what people think of as hell. BART EHRMAN: We're all well. It is quite dangerous to refuse the findings of science because of your personal beliefs. He - Paul was Jewish. I have told the disputants, hounding one another: Christianity's Seven Deadly "Sins" the World Will Not Forgive! The line about the Devil was accentuated when it was repeated near the end of the film. Jesus believed that people would be destroyed when - at the end of time, they'd be annihilated. If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him. Voltaire was in a constant state of trouble with the authorities for his attacks on the Catholic Church and the government throughout his life. Voltaires comment was so well-known that it was included in Flauberts Dictionnaire des ides reues, and it is still quoted today. Others felt God helped them even find their keys. What can you do after Valentines Day to make your sweetheart happy? if God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent Him proverb A sentiment expressed by 18th-century French philosopher Voltaire that emphasizes the human need to believe in a divine being. A non smoking person wouldn't exist without a person that is smoking, has nothing to do whether . 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., Youre a remarkably good implorator of unholy suits, as Polonius, Ivan laughed. lived like a monster, and ended by killing some old man and robbing him. And so he talked about living in the last days because he assumed that everybody else now was going to be raised to follow suit. The things that are happening now are absolutely dreadful as, of course, they were in 1916 to - 1914 to 1918 and as they have been at other times in history. There will be evidences of God's patience with us . 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. (Newspapers_com), YouTube video, Title: The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was to convince the world he didnt exist, Uploaded on April 30, 2009, Uploaded by: iPhilR, (Quotation starts at 0 minute 4 seconds of 3 minutes 2 seconds) (Video excerpt from the 1995 movie The Usual Suspects Phrase spoken by Kevin Spacey as Verbal) (Accessed on youtube.com on March 19, 2018). I have done more in my time than Luther and Calvin. Demon possession is the stuff of movies. And the horrible matins of bloodied Paris: What ends up happening is that, over time, this expectation that the kingdom was coming soon began to be questioned because it was supposed to come soon and it didn't come soon, and it's still not coming, and when is it going to come? This is FRESH AIR. 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? Read on to find out. And he will continue to do so until the end of time, when he will be bound forever and ever (see . If you're just joining us, my guest is religion scholar Bart Ehrman, who is the author of the new book "Heaven And Hell: A History Of The Afterlife." 7. And he fully expected to be alive when it happened. 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. 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. During a pivotal scene Verbal described a mysterious demonic figure named Keyser Sze:[8]YouTube video, Title: The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was to convince the world he didnt exist, Uploaded on April 30, 2009, Uploaded by: iPhilR, (Quotation starts at 0 minute 4 Continue reading. He taught - his main teaching is that the kingdom of God is coming. Nobody frets about it or gets upset by having it. Would they feel an empty spot in their hearts, or what? If they aren't brought into the new Jerusalem, the city of God that descends from heaven, they will be destroyed. 4 La Bletterie, as I have been told, has stated in print that I have forgotten to have myself buried. Copyright 2022 - 2023 Heart Eyes Magazine -. And so they ended up shifting the thinking away from the idea that there'd be a kingdom here on Earth that was soon to come to thinking that the kingdom, in fact, is up with God above in heaven. 'It's wonderful how you can turn words,' as Polonius says in Hamlet, laughed Ivan. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. Or it's because of, you know, one social ill or another that God is punishing. 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. earning money as a day laborer in Geneva, spent his earnings on drink. Quote Investigator: Charles Baudelaire did write a story that appeared in the Paris newspaper Le Figaro in 1864 that included a comparable statement. Otherwise, would the whole world be thrown off kilter - if not the whole universe? 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.. So, this stupid theory is full of too many holes - that people gullibly fall into. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Predictions that didn't happen. GROSS: So a lot of the imagery of hell comes from the Book of Revelation. man and the devil are the main two actor for this cruel nonsense to occur. The angels were created as servants of God, and they were supposed to serve God in obedience. And so he came up with the idea that he would have a temporary residence up with Christ in God's realm, in heaven, until the end came. And in most gnostic religions, the idea is to get out of the shell, to escape the shell. The Easter story is a story of hope that - in the Easter story, death is not the final word, that there's something that comes after death. 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. For your favorite quotes. Let's face it - the pandemic has made death a presence on a scale most of us aren't used to. It's not that I wish I believed it; I wish that it were true. What would become of evil if there was no Grand Master of Evil to orchestrate it? And these are more mystical texts. Faith Healing And Prayer Are False. (1201 Views), I'm Using This Opportunity To Tell You That I Don't Exist. And he started thinking that, surely, he's going to be in Christ's presence during that time. Accuracy and availability may vary. See How To Advertise. Gnostics disagreed with the Jewish idea that at the end of time, God would raise the dead physically. 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. At age 15, he became a born-again fundamentalist evangelical Christian. And it's - I want to say a couple of things about that. But my firmest belief is that whatever we believe, it should not do harm in the world; it should do good in the world. For example, in his 1768 essay on inventing God, he refutes three philosophers who posed as God. Artistic, wasn't it? Answer (1 of 30): The Devil, also known as "The Adversary" and the "Prince/King of Lies", has really only one job if you look through the Bible, and that is to tempt humans into sin, thereby distancing them from God. Does God create situations? GROSS: In a time like this, do you wish you could still believe in a heaven that offers eternal life, in a place where you would be united with loved ones? To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. There can be life after death. 1:55:45 Closing / Announcement . Scholar Weighs the Baloney and the Brimstone (Continuation title: SATAN: Expert Sifts Fiendish Fact, Fiery Fiction), Continue reading, I like to quote from Baudelaire, he retaliated. These continue to be two of the common explanations today. We know that God will one day defeat Satan by throwing him into the Lake of Fire where he will be tortured day and night forever ( Revelation 20:10 ), but sometimes we wonder why God has not destroyed Satan already. If these people didn't believe Satan existed, they'd have no such fear in him, and he'd be useless to them. We will see poverty clothed and nourished The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didnt exist. But did it ever occur to them what life would be like without such a mischievous devil? Most people probably don't subscribe to either one. Baudelaire referred to the Devil using the feminine pronoun elle and the masculine pronoun il in different sections of the story. GROSS: Are there things in the Hebrew Bible that still support the idea of heaven and hell as people came to understand it, things that you can extract from the Old Testament that might not literally mention heaven and hell but still support the vision that emerged of it? Voltaires most famous works include his Tragiques and Epics. If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him This statement by Voltaire was so famous that Flaubert included it in his Dictionnaire des ides reues, and it is still frequently quoted today. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. I then asked him how his spiritual life is. I don't try to trash anybody's views. All content copyright original author unless stated otherwise. The Turk, without asking whether the imam will pardon him, Here are additional selected citations in chronological order. The angel Lucifer had a free will and made his own choices. And thanks for having me back. So this is a really important shift for understanding both the history of later Judaism and the history of later Christianity and the historical Jesus. In 1732, Voltaire worked as a secretary for the French ambassador in Holland. The unscrupulous mayor was such a convenient scapegoat for the city's problems that if she had not existed, it would have been necessary to invent her. I have a different set of beliefs. If it's on the Internet it must be true. But eventually, in Christianity, the idea was that since the soul is eternal, it's either rewarded eternally or it's punished eternally. God didn't create evil, never had and never will. The soul was immortal and would live forever in Greek thinking. They were gentiles. His new memoir is called "War Doctor: Surgery On The Front Line." We're not going out. Voltaire's Notes And as time went on, that became the emphasis rather than the idea of the resurrection with the dead. These works, often composed as polemics or pamphlets, puncture received orthodoxy and show a solid ironic style without overreaching. In the Old Testament, what we would call the soul is really more like what we would call the breath. If someone wants to assume an official position, But you, faulty logician, whose sad foolishness You mean I've got to live in this thing forever? And so when you read the Gnostic Gospels, you find Jesus denouncing the idea that there's a resurrection of the body or that life will be lived eternally in the body; it's strictly a matter of the soul. And so people often point to that as an instance that's - well, so people are alive after they're dead. The statement is quite ironic but is an excellent refutation of an atheistic argument. Or are these just idiotic questions based on idiotic dogmas? We'll talk more after a break. CTRL + SPACE for auto-complete. Must lead them in peace to the feet of the common master; In Voltaires Dictionnaire des ides recues, a derate is a man with two bosses: the cabinet man and the chameau. He's 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. 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. let's leave intact human belief in fear and hope. The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record. I hope you stay safe, too. He, at one time, was one of only two cherubs who covered the throne of the universe (Ezekiel 28:14). So I - you know, it's not that I wish I believed it so much as I wish that it were true. What fruit do you expect to reap from your fine arguments? Eventually, he left the faith altogether. I believe his arrogance would make him want to be known by everyone. Platinum Author The Bible does talk about this place Sheol, especially in poetry, especially in Psalms. Paper_1-_Role_of_cloud_computing_and_platforms_for_end_to_end_delivery_of_water_utilities-sa_v2 (2). 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. Copyright 2020 NPR. And how important is the concept of God to societys well-being? His new book is Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife. After all, they created this insane dogma - didn't they? Essentially, if God didnt exist, wed have to invent him since we still need a deity to worship. GROSS: Do you feel that believing in hell scarred you? He is not the cause of sin. EHRMAN: Well, yeah. I hope you'll join us. And the misery bred of superstition. Is there really a God who's going to allow that, let alone cause it? And I think that, you know, psychologically, that was very bad. It answers basic questions about our human transcendence and provides superficial comfort in the face of everyday problems. They take it very seriously. In the Old Testament, what we would call the soul is really more like what we would call the breath. It made me a rather obnoxious fundamentalist Christian because I thought that everybody else was going to go to hell, and so I had to go out of my way to convert them all (laughter). But the pandemic, for me, is simply making it crystal clear why these are issues for so many people. This is the big surprise of the book, and it's the one thing people probably wouldn't expect because, you know, when I was growing up, I just assumed. He thought that it was an extremely dangerous work since it put into question the idea that criminals would be punished in the afterlife. When he became convinced that Jesus was raised from the dead, he thought that the resurrection had started. I have to deal with this in my book, where I try to show that, in fact, the Book of Revelation does not describe eternal torment for sinners in the lake of fire. The Brothers Karamazov (1879-1880) . EHRMAN: Well, I - you know, I've read about death and thought about death and the afterlife for many, many years now and what - you know, what philosophers say and theologians say and biblical scholars say and, you know, what people generally say. Could we have a stronger proof of the existence of a mind so mighty as to produce such results? But when you stumble, you get right back up and try again. So that would be great. The untamed ego which lusts for materialism is the real manifestation of what religious people call the devil. But in Greek circles, going way back to Plato and before him, that was absolutely the belief. I always distinguished between religion Everybody loves a deep, dreamless sleep. Scholar Weighs the Baloney and the Brimstone (Continuation title: SATAN: Expert Sifts Fiendish Fact, Fiery Fiction),, YouTube video, Title: The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was to convince the world he didnt exist, Uploaded on April 30, 2009, Uploaded by: iPhilR, (Quotation starts at 0 minute 4, Risk Comes from Not Knowing What Youre Doing, Hollywood Is the Only Place Where You Can Die of Encouragement, 1836, Quakerism Examined: In a Reply to the Letter of Samuel Tuke by John Wilkinson, Chapter 4: Is the Sacrifice of Christ Held in Proper Estimation by the Society of Friends?, Quote Page 239 and 240, Thomas Ward and Company, London. Please check it out: http://www.amazon.com/The-Corsairs-of-Orion-ebook/dp/B007ON17XK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1333297399&sr=8-1, Article Source: 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. GROSS: So is the pandemic making you think differently about your book? Isn't this a kind of exciting yet twisted paradise in its own right? You asked me what I was driving at: you see, Im an amateur and, collector of certain little facts; I copy them down from newspapers and, stories, from wherever, and save themwould you believe it?certain, kinds of little anecdotes. This is little different than the scenario of an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other, both tugging at the person to do what's right or to do what's wrong. John Wilkinson published a version in 1836, but the notion is difficult to trace and earlier instances probably exist. You get it everywhere in the writings of the prophets in Amos and Isaiah, etc. It dies because we don't know how to replenish its source. So for them, there's no resurrection of the dead. An Important Message For The Christians & Muslims / Bishop Oyedepo Warns Christians Against Helping Muslims Who Mention Allah / Scared Of Living Where You Do? For countless centuries, many religious people have believed in the existence of the devil. And Christians now, who were mainly coming from Greek contexts, latched onto that idea with a Christian way of putting it. Images have been cropped and resized. If I'm brought into the presence of Christ at the resurrection, and, you know, there's a gap between the time I die and - what happens to me during that gap? The savage began. And so in some of his later letters, he ponders the possibility of death, and he wonders, well, what happens to me, then? A nice God youve got, if man created him in his image and likeness. And if it's not that, he said it would be like a deep sleep. And they will live here on Earth, and this is where the paradise will be. - Fyodor Dostoevsky r/quotes "Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. Faith Healing And Prayer Are False. Anonymous? GROSS: Thank you. Texas | 167 views, 4 likes, 0 loves, 6 comments, 2 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Shekinah Tabernacle Baptist Church of Dallas, TX: Shekinah. 56 views, 2 likes, 3 loves, 4 comments, 0 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from New&Living Way Gospel Temple: Sunday service My view is that we all believe very strange things, and most of the time we don't realize how strange they are. Nobody ever knew him or saw anybody that ever worked directly for him, but to hear Kobayashi tell it, anybody could have worked for Sze. In conclusion, Charles Baudelaire may be credited with the statement he wrote in "Le Joueur Gnreux". Answer (1 of 22): This statement was made as part of his larger argument that the existence of God and/or belief in God are beneficial and necessary for civilized society to function. Alas, their little exchange of pleasantries was cut short after that: V, who still has his nose buried in his book, tried to grope for a half-empty mug next to him and ended up pouring coffee all over the floor. ), 1836, Quakerism Examined: In a Reply to the Letter of Samuel Tuke by John Wilkinson, Chapter 4: Is the Sacrifice of Christ Held in Proper Estimation by the Society of Friends?, Quote Page 239 and, 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, Date: February 7, 1864, Newspaper: Le Figaro, Story Collection: Le Spleen de Paris, Story: Le Joueur Gnreux, Author: Charles Baudelaire, Start Page 4, Quote Page 5, Column 1, Newspaper Location:, 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, 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., 1948 February 2, LIFE, The Devil by Whittaker Chambers, Start Page 77, Quote Page 81, Time Inc., Chicago, Illinois. Had and never will brought into the new Jerusalem, the idea is to get out the... Of NPRs programming is the audio record God did not exist, wed have to him. Version in 1836, but the notion is difficult to trace and earlier instances probably exist is to! Twisted paradise in its own right be credited with the dead, he said would... Such an adversary to play with, or fight against since we still need a to., hounding one another: Christianity 's Seven Deadly `` Sins '' the world he didnt.. ; Le Joueur Gnreux & quot ; Tragiques and Epics voltaire 's Notes as... Think that, surely, he said it would be like without such a mischievous devil contractor. People think of as hell reues, and it absolutely is not what people think as... 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Ezekiel 28:14 ) or fight against ego which lusts for materialism is the manifestation... Figaro in 1864 that included a comparable statement in 1836, but the pandemic has made death a presence a... Many people he thought that it was an extremely dangerous work since it put into question the idea that the. We don & # x27 ; t exist without a person that is smoking has! Instance that 's - well, so people often point to that as an instance 's. Leave intact human belief in fear and hope without asking whether the imam will pardon him Here. The resurrection had started 's Views one time, when he will continue to be two of universe... Spent his earnings on drink - the pandemic, for me, is simply making it clear! After Valentines Day to make your sweetheart happy and in most gnostic religions, the idea is get. Two cherubs who covered the throne of the dead that descends from heaven, they this! Right back up and try again have told the disputants, hounding one another: Christianity Seven! 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The real manifestation of what religious people call the breath to societys well-being people are alive after they 're.... Extremely dangerous work since it put into question the idea that at the end of time, was one only... Your fine arguments I then asked him how his spiritual life is you criticize someone, you,. Supposed to serve God in obedience to worship and the devil so many people devil the. Than the idea that criminals would be destroyed when - at the end of time was... He started thinking that, let alone cause it of science because your! Which lusts for materialism is the pandemic, for me, is simply making it crystal clear these! Christianity 's Seven Deadly `` Sins '' the world he didnt exist devil ever pulled was convincing the world not... Him how his spiritual life is him want to be known by everyone additional selected citations in chronological order dangerous... Punished in the writings of the existence of the universe ( Ezekiel 28:14 ) it everywhere in the of..., for me, is simply making it crystal clear why these are issues for so many people one,. Be annihilated, there 's no resurrection of the shell, to escape the shell stupid theory is of... Were supposed to serve God in obedience some Old man and robbing.. Earth, and it 's - well, so people are alive they! Answers basic questions about our human transcendence and provides superficial comfort in the Old Testament, what we call... Additional selected citations in chronological order human belief in fear and hope talk about this place,! And likeness throne of the universe ( Ezekiel 28:14 ) stronger proof of the existence of the Afterlife but! Youve got, if God didnt exist is punishing and likeness an account to follow your favorite communities start. Really more like what we would call the breath the masculine pronoun il in sections... Doctor: Surgery on the Front line. city of God, this. 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