In matters of religion, it is very easy to deceive a man and very hard to undeceive him.
Pierre BayleRead
The antiquity and general acceptance of an opinion is not assurance of its truth.
Interpretation
Just because an idea is old and widely believed does not mean it is true.
This quote emphasizes the importance of skepticism and critical thinking. It suggests that the age and popularity of an opinion do not validate its truthfulness, encouraging individuals to seek evidence and reasoning rather than accept ideas solely based on tradition or majority belief.
In practice
This quote can be used in a debate about popular myths in society.
In matters of religion, it is very easy to deceive a man and very hard to undeceive him.
But it is important to know this, to know your roots. To know where you started as a person. If not, your own life seems unreal to you. Like a puzzle. Vous comprenez? Like you have missed the beginning of a story and now you are in the middle of it, trying to understand.
The moment you give up your principles, and your values, you are dead, your culture is dead, your civilization is dead. Period.
If space is infinite, we may be at any point in space. If time is infinite, we may be at any point in time.
I'm interested in exploring how an individual maintains a sense of power in a world that tends to make individuals feel powerless.
If you're going to be unreligious, it's likely going to be due to reflecting on it and finding some things that are hard to believe.
All I require of a religion is that it be tolerant of those who do not agree with it.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.