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INGLES
Believer: But ... the facts show that the vast majority of people, including educated and
enlightened people, "believe", and this is projected into their daily lives in "practice". Do not
you think so?
Russell: "For my part, I disagree with all known religions, and I hope that all kinds of beliefs will
disappear ... I consider religion as pertaining to the childhood of human reason and in a phase of
development that we are now overcoming"
Believer: Throughout history, the theme of God has been treated by the greatest geniuses of
mankind. Plato identified it with the idea of Well, Aristotle with the Pure Act and St. Augustine
as St. Thomas in the Middle Ages joined the Christian God. And in modernity, for example, the
founder of existentialism, Kierkegaard, confessed himself a fervent believer. Do you think that
they were all "infants of reason"?
Russell: "What really makes people believe in God is not intellectual arguments. Most people
believe in God because they have been taught to believe since childhood, and that is the main
reason ... after this is the desire for security "
Believer: I grant the first thing you say. Who are Christians teach catechism to children because
in this age is when the truths of our faith are captured with greater innocence and depth. In the
history of our religion it is proven that the life of faith not only gives security to the believer, but
also gives him a reason and a meaning for his life.
Russell: "The Christian religion -in my opinion-, as it has been organized in its churches, has been
and is the main enemy of the moral progress of the world"
Believer: That which you affirm is quite strong and unjust. At the moment I think that
categorical statement, unjustified and without real foundations, is fueled by certain prejudices
and resentments, products, perhaps, of the scandals that have led some bad Christians. What
can you say about it?
Russell: "Historically it is very doubtful that Christ existed. And if it existed, we do not know
anything about it, so I do not deal with the historical question. I can not think that, neither in
virtue nor in wisdom, Christ is as tall as other historical figures. In these things, I put Buddha and
Socrates above him. "
Believer: I honestly do not understand how you, being so intelligent and enlightened, make such
a comparison. Also, you yourself have said that you do not deal with History. Why have you
dared to doubt the historical existence of Christ without (historical) arguments to sustain it?
Could there be a comparison between an incarnated God and two human beings such as Buddha
and Socrates? We firmly and dogmatically believe that Jesus is the Son of the living God, that is,
the God made Man.
Russell: "I believe that all the great religions of th ><<< a e world - Buddhism,
Hinduism, Christianity, Islam and communism - are, at the same time, liars and harmful"
Believer: So you are now making an act of faith by saying "I believe." His statement, which
shows absolutely nothing, seems more like a projection or product of his atheist faith. Do not
you think? In addition, all these religions have in many aspects beautiful coincidences as
irreconcilable differences. Do not you think that some or most of them have a lot of truth
regarding the reform of the behavior and destiny of the Human Being?
Russell: "The question of the truth of a religion is one thing, plus the question of utility is
another. I am firmly convinced that religions do harm, as I am that they are not real "
Believer: I do not agree with you that religion is useless. For example, pagan philosophers prided
themselves on being virtuous and wise. They considered that the purpose and meaning of life
was to become like them. In contrast, in the Christian religion, both moral reform of behavior
and knowledge of the truths of faith are "useful" to achieve a better life here and in the other
world. St. Augustine said: "We must live well to live forever" Do not you think that this "utility"
is the best that can be conceived to achieve happiness?
Russell: "The secret of happiness lies in accepting the fact that the world is horrible"
Believer: We believe the opposite. This world is the creation on the part of a wise God. The
existence of evil collaborates to a certain extent for the triumph of the final good. St. Augustine
himself said: "God allows evils to take greater good from them." In addition, the goodness and
beauty of nature can always remind us of the goodness and beauty of its craftsman. There is no
ugliness except in the sin or evil that man has introduced into the world.
Russell: "The idea that we would all be bad if we did not have the Christian religion, to me it
seems the opposite, that the people who have it are, for the most par t, extremely bad"