Works of Nietzsche, Paine, Wilde

by SweetBabyCheezits 16 Replies latest jw friends

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  superpunk

  Reading through the Age of Reason again....so good, I'll just keep posting comments that make me go A-ha! as I go through it.

  If Jesus Christ was the being which those mythologists tell us he was, and that he came into this world to suffer, which is a word they sometimes use instead of 'to die,' the only real suffering he could have endured would have been 'to live.' His existence here was a state of exilement or transportation from heaven, and the way back to his original country was to die.--In fine, everything in this strange system is the reverse of what it pretends to be. It is the reverse of truth, and I become so tired of examining into its inconsistencies and absurdities, that I hasten to the conclusion of it, in order to proceed to something better.
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  Kinjiro

  Loved that quote of Heinlen, Mad Sweeny... right on the spot!
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  superpunk

  It is from the study of the true theology that all our knowledge of science is derived; and it is from that knowledge that all the arts have originated.

  The Almighty lecturer, by displaying the principles of science in the structure of the universe, has invited man to study and to imitation. It is as if he had said to the inhabitants of this globe that we call ours, "I have made an earth for man to dwell upon, and I have rendered the starry heavens visible, to teach him science and the arts. He can now provide for his own comfort, AND LEARN FROM MY MUNIFICENCE TO ALL, TO BE KIND TO EACH OTHER."
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  SweetBabyCheezits

  @MiseryLovesElders.... is this the quote you were talking about? "The sick are the greatest danger for the healthy; it is not from the strongest that harm comes to the strong, but from the weakest.”

  @MadSweeny, I'm not familiar with HeinLein but I am definitely adding that quote to my list. I'll have to look into his works.

  @Superpunk, I may have to start going door to door using The Age of Reason as my gospel.

  Here are a few more of my favorites that I've saved over the last couple of years (some of which I probably first heard on this site):

  “The religion of one seems madness unto another”

  Thomas Browne, Sr.

  “The discovery of truth is prevented more effectively, not by the false appearance things present and which mislead into error, not directly by weakness of the reasoning powers, but by preconceived opinion, by prejudice.”

  Arthur Schopenhauer

  “Let go of your attachment to being right, and suddenly your mind is more open. You're able to benefit from the unique viewpoints of others, without being crippled by your own judgment.”

  Ralph Marston

  “Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.”

  Marcus Aurelius

  “Religion is an insult to human dignity. With or without it, you'd have good people doing good things and evil people doing bad things, but for good people to do bad things, it takes religion.”

  Steven Weinberg
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  tec

  I really like the Ralph Marston quote.

  Tammy
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  Curtains

  this is an interesting thread that I must have missed. I am reading Neitzche at the moment and am also attending a philosophical debate next week.

  According to my understanding of Neitzsche the governing body mechanism of Jehovahs Witnesses are the lesser/weaker folk doing bad to the stronger folk. Neitsche was not suggesting that stronger folk take advantage of weaker folk although it is possible for people like Hitler to read him like that. Hitler was not a strong man, in my opnion. He was a weak man seeking to overthrow the strong. And this is what an organizaton like Jehovahs witnesses has in common with Hitler.

  Neitzsche can be very inspiring when read philosophically. He was against religion because he believed that religion in some forms holds people back by making them responsible and guilty for things they are not guilty of or responsible for. THis is another example of the lesser/weaker existence holding sway over a stronger existence and imo this is what Neitzsche was warning about. We can read him not as criticisng physical illness and phsical weakness but as criticisng a sickness/weakness of the will to do something. I don't think anyone here suffers from a weakness of the will to act
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  Curtains

  bringing this back as I didn't mention that I was arguing against Terry and I'd like to know what Terry has to say in answer.