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INADMISSIBLE- Not competent to be considered. Hearsay evidence is inadmissible ... but there is no religion in the world that has any other basis than hearsay evidence.
Ambrose Bierce
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Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote highlights the idea that many religious beliefs lack direct evidence and are instead based on hearsay.

Ambrose Bierce's quote reflects on the nature of religious beliefs, suggesting that they often rely on second-hand accounts rather than direct evidence. By stating that hearsay is inadmissible in a legal context yet serves as the foundation for religions, Bierce challenges the validity and credibility of faith as a solid basis for belief systems. This raises philosophical questions about the nature of truth and understanding in relation to spiritual and existential matters.

Themes

ReligionHearsayEvidenceBeliefPhilosophy

In practice

Example use cases

In a debate about the validity of religious texts, one might use this quote to illustrate the importance of evidence in belief systems.

More from Ambrose Bierce

PALM, n. A species of tree . . . of which the familiar "itching palm" ("Palma hominis") is most widely distributed . . . . This noble vegetable exudes a kind of invisible gum, which may be detected by applying to the bark a piece of gold or silver.
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Human nature is pretty well balanced; for every lacking virtue there is a rough substitute that will serve at a pinch--as cunning is the wisdom of the unwise, and ferocity the courage of the coward.
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Indigestion: A disease which the patient and his friends frequently mistake for deep religious conviction and concern for the salvation of mankind. As the simple Red Man of the Western Wild put it, with, it must be confessed, a certain force: 'Plenty well, no pray; big belly ache, heap God.'
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Disobey n:To celebrate with an appropriate ceremony the maturity of a command
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NOUMENON, n. That which exists, as distinguished from that which merely seems to exist, the latter being a phenomenon. The noumenon is a bit difficult to locate; it can be apprehended only by a process of reasoning - which is a phenomenon.
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PARDON, v. To remit a penalty and restore to the life of crime. To add to the lure of crime the temptation of ingratitude.
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