Virginity and Corruption and Bertrand Russell

“There is not enough religion in the world,” Nietzsche once lamented, “to destroy the world’s religions.” As to what religion is, Bertrand Russell explained, “By religion, I mean a set of beliefs held as dogmas, dominating the conduct of life, going beyond or contrary to evidence, and inculcated by methods which are emotional or authoritarian, not intellectual.” “Religion is based,” Lord Russell also believed, “primarily and mainly on fear. It is partly the terror of the unknown, and partly the wish to feel that you have a kind of elder brother who will stand by you in all your troubles and disputes. Fear is the basis of the whole thing—fear of the mysterious, fear of defeat, fear of death. Fear is the parent of cruelty, and therefore it is no wonder if cruelty and religion go hand in hand.” Religion has attracted many, he added, because “belief in God serves to humanize the world of nature, and to make men feel that physical forces [of nature] are their allies. In like manner immortality removes the terror from death. People who believe that when they die they will inherit eternal bliss may be expected to view death without horror. It does soothe men’s fears somewhat even when it cannot allay them wholly.” Writing in 1969, Russell lamented that religion, “as embodied in the Churches, discourages honest thinking, in the main, and gives importance to things that are not very important. Its sense of importance seems to be quite wrong. [In ancient times] when the Roman Empire was falling, the Fathers of the Church didn’t bother much with the fall of the Roman Empire. What they bothered about was how to preserve virginity. That was what they thought important. In the present day, when the human race is falling, I find that eminent divines think it’s much more important to prevent artificial insemination . . . (indeed, if I may add, prevent the passage of the HR bill). Poch Suzara