Without free speech no search for truth is possible... no discovery of truth is useful.
Charles BradlaughRead
The atheist does not say 'there is no God,' but he says 'I know not what you mean by God; I am without idea of God'; the word 'God' is to me a sound conveying no clear or distinct affirmation. ... The Bible God I deny; the Christian God I disbelieve in; but I am not rash enough to say there is no God as long as you tell me you are unprepared to define God to me.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses skepticism about the concept of God, emphasizing the need for clarity in definitions rather than outright denial of existence.
In this quote, Charles Bradlaugh articulates a critical view toward theistic claims by highlighting the necessity of a clear definition of 'God' before one can affirm or deny His existence. He distinguishes between rejecting specific interpretations of God found in religious texts, while acknowledging that without a shared understanding of the term, any declaration about God's existence or non-existence becomes problematic and presumption-filled. This perspective emphasizes the importance of language and clarity in philosophical and theological discussions.
Themes
AtheismPhilosophyGodSkepticismDefinition
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about the nature of belief and skepticism in a philosophy class.
More from Charles Bradlaugh
All quotes →Similar quotes
Serious people have few ideas. People with ideas are never serious.
Paul ValeryRead
Historians are like deaf people who go on answering questions that no one has asked them.
Leo TolstoyRead
Drink is the feast of reason and the flow of soul.
Alexander PopeRead
Man, by his very nature, tends to give himself an explanation of the world into which he is born. And this is what distinguishes him from the other species. Every individual, even the least intelligent, the lowest of outcasts, from childhood on gives himself some explanation of the world. And with it he manages to live. And without it, he would sink into madness.
Elsa MoranteRead
The scariest monsters are the ones that lurk within our souls.
Edgar Allan PoeRead
Society can give its young men almost any job and they'll figure how to do it. They'll suffer for it and die for it and watch their friends die for it, but in the end, it will get done. That only means that society should be careful about what it asks for. ... Soldiers themselves are reluctant to evaluate the costs of war, but someone must. That evaluation, ongoing and unadulterated by politics, may be the one thing a country absolutely owes the soldiers who defend its borders.
Sebastian JungerRead