LEGITIMIZING IT, AND AUTHORIZES CRIME BY TEACHING THAT IT CAN BE USEFUL
TO THE DESIGNS OF GOD.
"Never," says Pascal, "do we do evil so thoroughly and so willingly as
when we do it through a false principle of conscience." Nothing is more
dangerous than a religion which licenses the ferocity of the people, and
justifies in their eyes the blackest crimes; it puts no limits to their
wickedness as soon as they believe it authorized by their God, whose
interests, as they are told, can justify all their actions. If there is
a question of religion, immediately the most civilized nations become
true savages, and believe everything is permitted to them. The more
cruel they are, the more agreeable they suppose themselves to be to
their God, whose cause they imagine can not be sustained by too much
zeal. All religions of the world have authorized countless crimes. The
Jews, excited by the promises of their God, arrogated to themselves the
right of exterminating whole nations; the Romans, whose faith was
founded upon the oracles of their Gods, became real brigands, and
conquered and ravaged the world; the Arabians, encouraged by their
Divine preceptor, carried the sword and the flame among Christians and
idolaters. The Christians, under pretext of spreading their holy
religion, covered the two hemispheres a hundred times with blood. In all
events favorable to their own interests, which they always call the
cause of God, the priests show us the finger of God. According to these
principles, religious bigots have the luck of seeing the finger of God
in revolts, in revolutions, massacres, regicides, prostitutions,
infamies, and, if these things contribute to the advantage of religion,
we can say, then, that God uses all sorts of means to secure His ends.
Is there anything better calculated to annihilate every idea of morality
in the minds of men, than to make them understand that their God, who is
so powerful and so perfect, is often compelled to use crime to
accomplish His designs?
CLIX.--REFUTATION OF THE ARGUMENT, THAT THE EVILS ATTRIBUTED TO RELIGION
ARE BUT THE SAD EFFECTS OF THE PASSIONS OF MEN.
When we complain about the violence and evils which generally religion
causes upon earth, we are answered at once, that these excesses are not
due to religion, but that they are the sad effect of men's passions. I
would ask, however, what unchained these passions? It is evidently
religion; it is a zeal which renders inhuman, and which serves to cover
the greatest infamy. Do not these disorders prove that religion, instead
of restraining the passions of men, does but cover them with a cloak
that sanctifies them; and that nothing would be more beneficial than to
tear away this sacred cloak of which men make such a bad use? What
horrors would be banished from society, if the wicked were deprived of a
pretext so plausible for disturbing it!
Instead of cherishing peace among men, the priests stirred up hatred and
strife. They pleaded their conscience, and pretended to have received
from Heaven the right to be quarrelsome, turbulent, and rebellious. Do
not the ministers of God consider themselves to be wronged, do they not
pretend that His Divine Majesty is injured every time that the
sovereigns have the temerity to try to prevent them from doing injury?
The priests resemble that irritable woman, who cried out fire! murder!
assassins! while her husband was holding her hands to prevent her from
beating him.