- Why I Am Not a Christian
"Why I Am Not a Christian" is an
essay by the British philosopherBertrand Russell hailed by "The Independent " as "devastating in its use of cold logic," [ [http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0415325102 Amazon entry] ] and listed in theNew York Public Library 's list of the most influential books of the 20th century. [ [http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/events/booklist.html New York Public Library website] ]History
Originally a talk given
March 6 ,1927 atBattersea Town Hall, under the auspices of the South London Branch of theNational Secular Society , it was published that year as apamphlet and was later published, with other essays, in the book, "Why I Am Not a Christian: And Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects" (ISBN 0-671-20323-1).Contents
Russell considers a number of logical arguments for the existence of God, including the
cosmological argument , thenatural-law argument , theteleological argument and moral arguments. He also goes into specifics aboutChristian theology , alleging defects inJesus 's teaching and his moral character, in particular because Jesus believed inhell and everlasting punishment.Russell also expresses doubt over the historical existence of Jesus and questions the morality of religion: "I say quite deliberately that the Christian religion, as organized in its churches, has been and still is the principal enemy of moral progress in the world. "cite web |last=Russell |first=Bertrand
url=http://www.positiveatheism.org/hist/russell0.htm| title="Why I Am Not a Christian"| accessdate=2007-04-20] Russell concludes:Related works by other authors
*"
Why I Am Not a Muslim ", byIbn Warraq , is also critical of the religion in which the author was brought up — in this case,Islam . The author mentions "Why I Am Not a Christian" towards the end of the first chapter, stating that many of its arguments also apply to Islam.
*"Why I Am Not a Hindu", a 1996 book in a similar vein byKancha Ilaiah , an activist opposed to theIndian caste system .
*"Why I Am Still a Christian" is a book by Catholic theologianHans Küng , published in 1987.References
External links
* [http://xahlee.org/Periodic_dosage_dir/_p2/why_not_christian.html Complete text with annotations]
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