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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 4 page book review that examines Russell's text Why I Am Not A Christian. In this book, Russell, the imminent British philosopher, presents his arguments against religion and specifically against Christianity. Russell carefully delineates all of the historical arguments for religious belief and systematically refutes them. His basic argument against religion, focusing specifically on the dogmas and rigid rules of the Catholic church, is that religion has retarded both the progress and happiness of the human race. Rather than look to divine intervention from a basis of fear, Russell advocates that humanity should rely on its own intrinsic powers in order to promote the social requirements for making a better world. No additional sources cited.
Page Count:
4 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khruswch.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
Christianity. In this text, Russell carefully delineates all of the historical arguments for religious belief and systematically refutes them. His basic argument against religion, focusing specifically on the
dogmas and rigid rules of the Catholic church, is that religion as retarded both the progress and happiness of the human race. Rather than look to divine intervention from a
basis of fear, Russell advocates that humanity should rely on its own intrinsic powers in order to promote the social requirements for making a better world. Russell begins his
examination of religion by discussing the various rationales that have been proposed through the ages as "proofs" of Gods existence. For example, Russell refutes the argument that there must be
a God because there must be a first cause. He argues that there is no reason to believe that there has to be a first cause, that is, something that
started the long causal chain of cause and effect that characterizes reality, because it is a relatively simple matter to believe that the world has always existed. Furthermore, Russell argues
that people embrace belief in a deity, not from any logical basis for that belief, bur rather because they have been taught to do so since infancy. Also, Russell states
that the "most powerful reason (for believing in religion) is the wish for safety, a sort of feeling that there is big brother who will look after you (Russell
20). According to Russell, this desire plays a very profound part in influencing peoples desire to believe in God (Russell 20). This belief also ties in with Russells stance
that religion is primarily due to fear, that is, that people look to religion in order to alleviate anxiety about the future and fear of death. Russell posits that
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