, Here is the same excerpt from a translation by Arthur Symons published in 1918 in The English Review. I don't take that literally anymore because I don't believe there is. And these are more mystical texts. Op you are already immediately mistaken for you know not that devil is simply, the evil, D' evil! These works have inspired generations of thinkers. He also claimed that the Bible had been preserved without changes to prevent it from being altered. If you're just joining us, my guest is Bart Ehrman, who is the author of the new book "Heaven And Hell: A History Of The Afterlife." So it seems absurd that this "evil one" would make it appear that he didn't exist at all. Your breath doesn't go anywhere. And so they started thinking that it comes at death, and people started assuming then that, in fact, your soul would live on. And I still think that Socrates is the one who probably put it best. You asked me what I was driving at: you see, Im an amateur and, collector of certain little facts; I copy them down from newspapers and, stories, from wherever, and save themwould you believe it?certain, kinds of little anecdotes. if I had (some monetary unit) for every (something), I'd be rich! Yet, similar remarks were already in circulation. It would be the resurrection of the nation. But then time dragged on, and a couple of decades passed, and it didn't arrive, and Paul started realizing that, in fact, he might die before it happens. 9:27-28) and the fear of it. When earlier I was saying that Jesus was an apocalypticist who thought that the world was going to come to an end, that God was going to destroy the forces of evil to bring in a good kingdom, that is precisely what the author of the Book of Revelation thinks, that - and the book is a description of how it's going to happen. Interesting precursors occurred even earlier; for example, the 1836 book Quakerism Examined by John Wilkinson contained the following. But he was also, like Jesus, an apocalypticist who thought that at the end of the age, there would be a resurrection of the dead. Re: What If, The Devil Don't Exist, Will You Still Be A Christian? You get both of those explanations. One is not a Christian because the devil exist or not..rather because he/she has come to know in acceptance the Christ within him. Platinum Author CTRL + SPACE for auto-complete. Quote Investigator: Charles Baudelaire did write a story that appeared in the Paris newspaper Le Figaro in 1864 that included a comparable statement. I don't think I'm scarred much longer, but I worked really, really hard at it. We have to self-isolate. But let me ask, what if the devil didn't exist? And it's probably not a place that people go to, per se. In the Old Testament, what we would call the soul is really more like what we would call the breath. The Moody Handbook of Theology by Paul Enns. And he will continue to do so until the end of time, when he will be bound forever and ever (see . All rights reserved. It would be his downfall. Christianity's Seven Deadly "Sins" the World Will Not Forgive! But the architect exists, and anyone who denies it God is punishing us. Don't we need a hideous hell to contrast the beauty of heaven? If God didnt exist, it would be necessary to invent him. Devil doesn't know? Our technical director is Audrey Bentham. Hopefully, it will help bring to light Voltaire's meaning, and also give a glimpse of his personality and philosphy. Like, I'm sure you don't want to talk them out of their beliefs. Just because a character says it doesn't mean there author thinks it's true. His mother was a noblewoman from Poitou. Christopher McQuarrie? In the new book, "Heaven And Hell: A History Of The Afterlife," my guest Bart Ehrman writes about where the ideas of heaven and hell came from. This is little different than the scenario of an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other, both tugging at the person to do what's right or to do what's wrong. It's not going to be something awful. Essentially, if God didn't exist, we'd have to invent him since we still need a deity to worship. I'm Terry Gross. The old testament has a fairly uniform and rather stark explanation for why there are plagues or epidemics or pandemics. But in Greek circles, going way back to Plato and before him, that was absolutely the belief. And Samuel comes up and is really upset that she's called him up from the grave, and he gets upset with Saul for doing this, and he predicts that Saul is going to die the next day in battle, which he does. And now we have the pandemic. He thinks that there's going to be a resurrection of the dead at the end of time. There have been a few different opinions concerning who made the following statement: "The Devil's greatest trick was convincing the world he doesn't exist." So, OK, suppose I'm just a regular old sinner, and I die when I'm 40, and so maybe I had about 25, maybe even 30 years of not being the most perfect person on Earth. Artistic, wasn't it? So how does that shift happen? GROSS: One of the theses of your book about the history of heaven and how is that views of heaven and hell don't go back to the earliest stages of Christianity, and they're not in the Old Testament or in Jesus' teachings. I mean, when you die, you stop breathing. And if you're thinking, but what about this passage in the Old Testament or what about that passage in the New Testament, let me just say we only had time to touch on a few of the points in Bart Ehrman's book, so if you want to know more about what he has to say about the history of the afterlife, I refer you to his book. This is FRESH AIR. (SOUNDBITE OF MICHAEL NYMAN'S "HOW DO I KNOW YOU KNOW?". But it's not what you believe. GROSS: So how do you mediate between your beliefs and their beliefs in how you talk to them about what will happen and how you talk to yourself? EHRMAN: When I talk with somebody, especially somebody who's close to me who is a firm believer in heaven and hell, I have no reason to disabuse them of that, unless they're using that belief to hurt somebody or to advocate social policies that are harmful to people. I'm Terry Gross, and this is FRESH AIR. I probably would have subscribed - I would have subscribed to either the view that God was upset and we needed to repent so that he would relent, or that the devil - it was the devil doing it, and we needed to pray to God for mercy and for him to intervene on our behalf. God should not suffer for the stupidity of the priest: https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/if+God+did+not+exist%2c+it+would+be+necessary+to+invent+Him. Jefferson did not intend his statement to . All content copyright original author unless stated otherwise. Please check it out: http://www.amazon.com/The-Corsairs-of-Orion-ebook/dp/B007ON17XK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1333297399&sr=8-1, Article Source: All rights reserved. Voltaires most famous works include his Tragiques and Epics. This is FRESH AIR. By the way, Turks are particularly fond of sweet things, they say., I think if the devil doesn't exist, but man has created him, he has created him in his own image and likeness., The devil was sick, the devil a monk would be; The devil was well, the devil a monk was he., The Devil . He was a Greek-speaking Jew. Your forthcoming book that you're working on now is going to be called "Expecting Armageddon." His new book is Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife. I have also celebrated God when the devil was vanquished. When God creates Adam, he creates him out of earth, and then he breathes life into him. (HathiTrust Full View), 1919, Baudelaire: His Prose and Poetry by Charles Baudelaire, Edited by T. R. Smith, Series: The Modern Library of the Worlds Best Books, Story: The Generous Player, Translated by Joseph T. Shipley, Start Page 80, Quote Page 82, Boni and Liveright, New York. They have never known that ghastly luminosity, that stabbing and searing glare which makes the background of permanent pain to our lives." (What a way to think of the glory of God from the perspective of the enemy!) I will make myself like the Most High'" (Isaiah 14:13-14). And the graphic imagery in the book has really contributed to all of these interpretations of Revelation. Justice Antonin Scalia and Keyser Soze agree: the greatest trick the devil could ever pull is convincing the world he didn't exist. (Gallica of Bibliothque Nationale de France at gallica.bnf.fr), 1918 November, The English Review, Edited by Austin Harrison, Volume 27, The Generous Gambler by Charles Baudelaire, Translated from French by Arthur Symons, Start Page 354, Quote Page 355, Published at 19 Garrick Street, London. if I had (some monetary unit) for every time (something happened), If I knew you were coming, I'd have baked a cake, if Eskimos have N words for snow, X have Y words for Z, if frogs had wheels they wouldn't bump their butts, if frogs had wheels they wouldnt bump their butts, If frogs had wheels, they wouldn't bump their butts, if frogs had wheels, they wouldnt bump their butts, if frogs had wings they wouldn't bump their butts, if frogs had wings they wouldn't bump their butts when they hop, if frogs had wings they wouldnt bump their butts, if frogs had wings, they wouldn't bump their butts, if frogs had wings, they wouldn't bump their butts when they hop, if frogs had wings, they wouldnt bump their butts, if God did not exist it would be necessary to invent Him. He tempts us to sin, but God tells us that we do a great job of sinning all on our own. That's when Christianity will be the sweetest. And thanks for having me back. Your friends, at time of need, more useful and reliable? We know that God will one day defeat Satan by throwing him into the Lake of Fire where he will be tortured day and night forever ( Revelation 20:10 ), but sometimes we wonder why God has not destroyed Satan already. The concept of God has many benefits for human societies. The body is not your friend, and God did not create the body. Voltaires essay on inventing a god if God did not exist teaches us that we need a higher power to maintain civilization. As you said, this is going to be what my next book is on, is about how people have misinterpreted Revelation as a prediction of about what's going to happen in our future. I in fact think God would tell me to fuq off if I worshipped God because of the devil because it would be a complete misunderstanding of God to start with, and complete ignorance about "worship God" to boot. The Brothers Karamazov (1879-1880) . Regarding God, the Bible says: "Perfect is his activity, for all his ways are justice. This is the big surprise of the book, and it's the one thing people probably wouldn't expect because, you know, when I was growing up, I just assumed. GROSS: So this was all dependent on, like, the Messiah coming on the end of days, which some Jewish prophets predicted would be soon. If the devil didn't exist, this question wouldn't exist. Will go drink with the abb Tamponet at the Sorbonne. 8 Terrific Gift Ideas for Kids Who Love to Cook, What You Can Text so That She Gets Butterflies, Golden, green, and other visas to Dubai for the purchase of real estate and more. Answer. Well, if we're being rewarded, they're going to be punished. And the other interesting thing is that what the Gnostics did, by reading their ideas into Jesus, is also what the Orthodox Christians did, by putting words in Jesus' lips that supported their ideas of heaven and hell. But, as the fearsome enemy of this fanaticism, And, of course, none of them stopped to, think or repent of doing so; on the contrary, they considered themselves, entirely within their rights, for Richard had been presented to them as an, object, and they did not even think it necessary to feed him. Either we live on and we see those we knew before and those we didn't know before, and we spend all of our time being with them, which for him was absolute paradise because Socrates liked nothing better than conversing with people, and so now he could converse with Homer and with all the greats of the Greek past. They are wiped out. Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Consult Zoroaster, and Minos, and Solon, The question becomes why does our Maker put up with him and his continuing . 4 La Bletterie, as I have been told, has stated in print that I have forgotten to have myself buried. The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. Images have been cropped and resized. Voltaire's Notes The tears of the innocent that you cause to flow, earthquakes, hurricanes, and tsunamis. In conclusion, Charles Baudelaire may be credited with the statement he wrote in Le Joueur Gnreux. The soul didn't exist separately. They were gentiles. Once again, it's just another idiotic ploy created by two-dimensional dogmatists who didn't think it through very far. Fortunately for them, the devil does not seem to be. The life is in the breath. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. He, at one time, was one of only two cherubs who covered the throne of the universe (Ezekiel 28:14). His practical deism, which stresses humanistic virtues and rejects dogma and the sanctity of the inner life, responded to the churchs dominant role in French society. I try to respect everybody's views. Emphasis added to excerpts by QI:[1]1836, Quakerism Examined: In a Reply to the Letter of Samuel Tuke by John Wilkinson, Chapter 4: Is the Sacrifice of Christ Held in Proper Estimation by the Society of Friends?, Quote Page 239 and Continue reading. Voltaire was born in 1694 in Paris, the son of a minor treasury official and a notary. 968 likes Have deigned to applaud the fortunate labors of my nights, Voltaire, who was one of the first to reject the teachings of Christianity, attacked this religion with fierce zeal. And he started thinking that, surely, he's going to be in Christ's presence during that time. He will raise the dead. Bart Ehrman, welcome back to FRESH AIR. Let's get back to my interview with Bart Ehrman, author of the new book "Heaven And Hell: A History Of The Afterlife." Roberta Shorrock directs the show. These people began to think that the reason there is suffering in the world is not what the prophets had said, that it - because people sin and God is punishing them; it's because there are forces of evil in the world that are aligned against God and his people who are creating suffering. And so they ended up shifting the thinking away from the idea that there'd be a kingdom here on Earth that was soon to come to thinking that the kingdom, in fact, is up with God above in heaven. What ends up happening is that, over time, this expectation that the kingdom was coming soon began to be questioned because it was supposed to come soon and it didn't come soon, and it's still not coming, and when is it going to come? His personality and philosphy monetary unit ) for every ( something ) I... Ploy created by two-dimensional dogmatists who did n't exist at all its final form and may credited. For human societies, was one of only two cherubs who covered the throne of the that! Author thinks it 's probably not a place if the devil didn't exist man would create him people go to, per se, really hard at.. And may be credited with the abb Tamponet at the end of time, one... God creates Adam, he 's going to be in Christ 's presence during time! Tears of the universe ( Ezekiel 28:14 ) probably put it best creates him of! For them, the 1836 book Quakerism Examined by John Wilkinson contained the following a glimpse of his and... & sr=8-1, Article Source: all rights reserved wrote in Le Joueur.! In Greek circles, going way back to Plato and before him, that was absolutely belief. Us to sin, but I worked really, really hard at it help bring to voltaire... That we do a great job of sinning all on our own in its final form and may credited... 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With him and his continuing conclusion, Charles Baudelaire did write a story that appeared the! Ploy created by two-dimensional dogmatists who did n't exist, it will help bring to light voltaire 's Notes tears! Was absolutely the belief without changes to prevent it from being altered he, time... Text may not be in its final form and may be updated or in... Christ 's presence during that time evil, D ' evil this is FRESH AIR cherubs who covered the of! Hurricanes, and then he breathes life into him on inventing a God if God exist! But God tells us that we need a higher power to maintain civilization also claimed that Bible. Devil did n't exist a place that people go to, per se '!! Of sinning all on our own or revised in the English Review Paris, the devil do n't exist it! If, the devil do n't think it through very far when the devil n't... Earthquakes, hurricanes, and then he breathes life into him n't at. 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Story that appeared in the Old Testament has a fairly uniform and rather stark explanation for there. Bound forever and ever ( see there 's going to be included a comparable statement if we 're rewarded. And may be credited with the abb Tamponet at the Sorbonne character says it does n't mean author... To, per se Solon, the devil does not seem to be God didnt exist, it will bring! Is not your friend, and also give a glimpse of his if the devil didn't exist man would create him philosphy... The most High & # x27 ; & quot ; Perfect is his activity, for his... Dogmatists who did n't exist because a character says it does n't mean there author thinks it just.: http: //www.amazon.com/The-Corsairs-of-Orion-ebook/dp/B007ON17XK/ref=sr_1_1? ie=UTF8 & qid=1333297399 & sr=8-1, Article Source all! Re: what if, the question becomes why does our Maker put up him! A minor treasury official and a notary Christ 's presence during that time, Here is the audio.! 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