"If God did not exist, we would have to invent him."

[LAGC]

That's a quote by Voltaire (François-Marie Arouet, French writer, deist, and philosopher who lived from November 21, 1694 – May 30, 1778).

It makes you wonder if belief in God isn't really a necessary part of humanity's evolution, something to explain the little mysteries of life and nature, until the point where we don't need God to explain things any more. I assume Voltaire died a deist even on his death-bed, but I can't help but think he had serious doubts...

Anyway, Christopher Hitchens mentioned it in his book and lambasted him for his insistence that God should have to be invented, but I think maybe he was too harsh on the poor fellow. Voltaire could have very well been an atheist had he been born in more modern, scientific times...

[rug]

1. A witty saying proves nothing.

That's another quote by Voltaire.

Le dîner du comte de Boulainvilliers (1767)

[BlueJazz]

2. I believe it's Ego. How can I possibly non-exist.? I'm much more important then that.

There HAS to be a God.

I don't buy it...

[GoneOffShore]

3. God - not a being - more of a job description.

And if there was one, I'd be giving him a pink slip right about now.

[Deep13]

4. Well, religion never explained anything...

...but only offered the semblance of an explanation. Even then, much of its explanations could be unraveled by a five-year-old's grasp of logic.

Belief means one accepts something as true. A subjective need for a god is not an argument for, let alone proof of, the existence of god.

[BurtWorm]

5. Voltaire was a very cagey fellow.

He claimed to have been a devout catholic his whole life, more catholic than the pope. But 'l'infame' that he urged one and all to 'ecrasez' was the church--or the power of the church over human liberty--which he took on in several famous cases of religious law.

This statement of his about God and the necessity to invent him strikes me as rather subversive, especially for someone who really was afraid of being called an atheist. I think he was afraid because he saw the horrific violence against individuals that the church was capable of. To me, while seeming to be saying god necessarily must exist, he's actually underscoring the distinct possibility that God does not exist and is in fact an invention of humans.

But maybe I feel this way because I'm extremely fond of Voltaire and want him to agree with me. No matter what he really meant, I'll remain fond of him--more fond of him than I could ever be of Hitchens.

[Jim__]

6. If anyone hasn't read it, Voltaire's claim appeared in a response to ...

The Three Impostors. Here is the beginning of his response (the entire response can be read here):

Insipid writer, you pretend to draw for your readers
The portraits of your 3 impostors;
How is it that, witlessly, you have become the fourth?
Why, poor enemy of the supreme essence,
Do you confuse Mohammed and the Creator,
And the deeds of man with God, his author?…
Criticize the servant, but respect the master.
God should not suffer for the stupidity of the priest:
Let us recognize this God, although he is poorly served.

My lodging is filled with lizards and rats;
But the architect exists, and anyone who denies it
Is touched with madness under the guise of wisdom.
Consult Zoroaster, and Minos, and Solon,
And the martyr Socrates, and the great Cicero:
They all adored a master, a judge, a father.
This sublime system is necessary to man.
It is the sacred tie that binds society,
The first foundation of holy equity,
The bridle to the wicked, the hope of the just.

If the heavens, stripped of his noble imprint,
Could ever cease to attest to his being,
If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him.
Let the wise man announce him and kings fear him.
Kings, if you oppress me, if your eminencies disdain
The tears of the innocent that you cause to flow,
My avenger is in the heavens: learn to tremble.
Such, at least, is the fruit of a useful creed.

But you, faulty logician, whose sad foolishness
Dares to reassure them in the path of crime,
What fruit do you expect to reap from your fine arguments?
Will your children be more obedient to your voice?
Your friends, at time of need, more useful and reliable?
Your wife more honest? and your new renter,
For not believing in God, will he pay you better?
Alas! let's leave intact human belief in fear and hope.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

7. Freud explained the psychological need for religion.

The need for a sky-daddy to protect us.

The need to feel like we belong to a group who accepts us.

He also wrote a piece called "Religious Faith as an expression of Neurosis".


Please read further in the Anthropology of Religion.