Bertrand Russell - Why I Am Not a Christian and Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects

I bought Why I Am Not a Christian earlier this week, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was particularly struck by the fact that despite the essays being written 70-90 years ago they were not just still relevant today but were also surprisingly progressive in terms of sexual ethics and other controversial topics.

One of the major points that Russell argues against is the idea that Christianity is the best source for morality in society. Firstly, he points out that the morals taught in the bible are not really the best morals for society, but rather than focusing on the old testament laws like so many critics do he looks at the new testament. He argues that even if Jesus actually said everything he is claimed to have said (which Russell says is very unlikely), he was neither very wise (he incorrectly predicted that he would return during the lifetimes of those alive when he was) or very kind (as he fully endorses the idea of eternal damnation). Second, Russell argues that despite what it claims, the church endorses an ethic of abandoning one's family as evidenced by Jesus' requirement that his disciples do so and Jesus' own disrespectful treatment of his mother. Third, Russell makes the claim that religion has in fact been a major source of cruelty and harm in the world, pointing out that the more religious a society is the more likely it is that that society is cruel. For evidence of this he points to events ranging from the Inquisition to witch hunts to the persecution of Christians by other Christians during the Reformation. Eighty years later, this argument is echoed by Harris' commentary on the Islamic countries of the Middle East. Finally, Russell counters the arguments of those who say that non-Christian dogmas like Nazism and Soviet communism do more harm than religion by arguing that it is unlikely that those dogmas would have received as wide a following as they did if their adherents had not been trained as children in unquestioning obedience to religious dogma. He says that Hitler and Stalin merely replaced one totalitarian dogma for another, and often used the same strategies.

Russell also takes aim at the legitimacy of religion itself, and argues that religious belief stems not from evidence but from fear (like children looking for the reassurance of an adult when things go wrong), a desire to be important (in the cosmic scale of things we are unimportant, but flatter ourselves that an all-powerful being takes an interest in the minutiae of our lives), and hatred (the desire to judge others in order to feel superior). He also points out that increasingly (in his time, although this still occurs frequently today) the religious argue for the existence of god based on their belief that it makes their lives and the world a better place, rather than on actual evidence that it is true. This is what Dawkins refers to as the belief in belief.

Why I Am Not a Christian was a brilliant book, and I could clearly see the arguments that likely inspired later writers like Dawkins, Hitchens, and Harris. I would definitely recommend it, especially to people who are beginning to question their faith.