I will follow my logic, no matter where it goes, after it has consulted with my heart. If you ever come to a conclusion without calling the heart in, you will come to a bad conclusion.
Nothing could add to the horror of hell, except the presence of its creator, God. While I have life, as long as I draw breath, I shall deny with all my strength, and hate with every drop of my blood, this infinite lie.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses a strong rejection of the idea of God and the concept of hell, emphasizing personal conviction against a perceived lie.
In this quote, Robert Green Ingersoll articulates his deep disdain for the concept of hell and the God he associates with it. He believes that the very presence of God would intensify the horror of hell, indicating a profound conflict between his values and the traditional notions of divine justice. The assertion that he will deny this 'infinite lie' with every fiber of his being speaks to his commitment to atheism and his determination to challenge the fear-based narratives of religion.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a debate about the morality of religion.
More from Robert Green Ingersoll
All quotes βIf the guardians of society, the protectors of 'young persons,' could have had their way, we should have known nothing of Byron or Shelley. The voices that thrill the world would now be silent.
The religion that has to be supported by law is without value, not only, but a fraud and a curse. The religious argument that has to be supported by a musket is hardly worth making.
There is no slavery but ignorance.
In all ages the people have honored those who dishonored them. They have worshiped their destroyers; they have canonized the most gigantic liars, and buried the great thieves in marble and gold. Under the loftiest monuments sleeps the dust of murder.
I believe that there is something far nobler than loyalty to any particular man. Loyalty to the truth as we perceive it - loyalty to our duty as we know it - loyalty to the ideals of our brain and heart - is, to my mind, far greater and far nobler than loyalty to the life of any particular man or God. . . .
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The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts.
Our sanity depends essentially on a narrowness of vision--the ability to select the elements vital to survival, while ignoring the great truths.
There is no slave but the creature that wills against its Creator.
Our destiny is not written for us, but by us.
If the Lord counts the natural beauty of the body inferior to that of the soul, what thinks He of spurious beauty, rejecting utterly as He does all falsehood?
The people cannot be all, and always, well informed. The part which is wrong will be discontented, in proportion to the importance of the facts they misconceive. If they remain quiet under such misconceptions, it is lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty. And what country can preserve its liberties, if its rulers are not warned from time to time, that this people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms.