宗教永生 財源廣進

宗教﹐一個每個人也要面對﹐在現代不得不思考的問題﹐但這問題很多時也要避忌:"I am a strong advocate for free thought on all subjects, yet it appears to me (whether rightly or wrongly) that direct arguments against christianity & theism produce hardly any effect on the public;and freedom of thought is best promoted by the gradual illumination of men's minds, which follow[s] from the advance of science. It has, therefore, been always my object to avoid writing on religion, & I have confined myself to science. I may, however, have been unduly biassed by the pain which it would give some members of my family, if I aided in any way direct attacks on religion" - Charles Darwin。因為"The problem with writing about religion is that you run the risk of offending sincerely religious people, and then they come after you with machetes." - Dave Barry﹐和馬克。吐溫說 "Man is a Religious Animal. He is the only Religious Animal. He is the only animal that has the True Religion—several of them. He is the only animal that loves his neighbor as himself and cuts his throat if his theology isn’t straight." ﹐雖然可能誇張了點﹐但你可以得到的安慰是:"One of the few good things about modern times: If you die horribly on television, you will not have died in vain. You will have entertained us." - Kurt Vonnegut, "Cold Turkey", In These Times, May 10, 2004 。

相信很多人也聽過 Voltaire 的說法:"If there were no God, it would be necessary to invent him."﹐我們暫時姑且不論神的真假﹐但宗教對社會的重要性是不庸置疑的:"Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful."-Seneca 為何導人向善的宗教會掀涉到這麼多的暴力?難道一切宗教信仰的權力根源就是來自恐懼? "All religions are founded on the fear of the many and the cleverness of the few." - Stendhal﹐ 難道人類對生命﹐唯一可以做的就是自欺欺人? "Religion is the human response to being alive and having to die." - F. Forrester Church 。難道為了恐懼死亡﹐我們便要盲目的﹑無條件的去信?"I do not feel obligated to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reasons, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use." - Galileo Galilei。相信了﹐便能分好壞? "People are divided into two groups﹐the righteous and the unrighteous﹐and the righteous do the dividing." 做了好人便一勞永逸? "A religion, even if it calls itself a religion of love, must be hard and unloving to those who do not belong to it. " - Sigmund Freud

而且...而且假設真的有了一個全能的神﹐這一切﹐就是他的偉大? "I sometimes think that God in creating man somewhat overestimated his ability." - Oscar Wilde。去這樣的懷疑﹐我知在教徒的心中我是罪大惡極了﹐但是原諒我吧! "Forgive, O Lord, my little jokes on Thee, and I'll forgive Thy great big joke on me.” - Robert Frost 我也是無可奈何的:"In conclusion, there is a marvelous anecdote from the occasion of Russell's ninetieth birthday that best serves to summarize his attitude toward God and religion. A London lady sat next to him at this party, and over the soup she suggested to him that he was not only the world's most famous atheist but, by this time, very probably the world's oldest atheist. "What will you do, Bertie, if it turns out you're wrong?" she asked. "I mean, what if -- uh -- when the time comes, you should meet Him? What will you say?" Russell was delighted with the question. His bright, birdlike eyes grew even brighter as he contemplated this possible future dialogue, and then he pointed a finger upward and cried, "Why, I should say, 'God, you gave us insufficient evidence.'" -Al Seckel, in Preface to Bertrand Russell on God and Religion 。看著茫茫眾生﹐看著浩瀚歷史的黠桀﹐怎能不提出疑問? "I always distrust people who know so much about what God wants them to do to their fellows." - Susan B. Anthony。到底我們在信神﹐還是在信人?"People fashion their God after their own understanding. They make their God first and worship him afterwards. " - Oscar Wilde 這種問題﹐畢竟也要提出﹐不發問﹐反而不夠虔誠呀!" Doubt is part of all religion. All the religious thinkers were doubters." - Isaac Bashevis Singer

在一個基督教的家庭﹐在一個天主教的學校﹐聖經是看得多了﹐ 但是信仰就是一本書嗎?"I've often thought the Bible should have a disclaimer in the front saying this is fiction." -- Ian McKellen。小時隨著父母去教堂﹐牧師每個星期也是在反反複複說著同一個人﹐浪費了我看卡通的寶貴時間﹐說實是沒甚麼好感謝的。"The secret of a good sermon is to have a good beginning and a good ending, then having the two as close together as possible." - George Burns 。有時想到這個宗教﹐也會不寒而慄:"Of all religions, Christianity is without a doubt the one that should inspire tolerance most, although, up to now, the Christians have been the most intolerant of all men" - Voltaire 打著正義的旗號徜當如此 "Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction." - Blaise Pascal﹐還有什麼是沒籍口可以做的? "For seventeen hundred years the Christian sect has done nothing but harm" - Voltaire。難怪宗教可帶來恐懼。"Religion is poison. " - Mao Zedong

無知的黎民﹐三份四也拿著這種殘酷的‘寶劍’﹐肆意弒弱。 "Americans are the best entertained and the least informed people in the world." --Neil Postman。而當政治家﹑具影響力的人受到宗教的左右﹐受害的始終是凡人。"Those who say religion has nothing to do with politics do not know what religion is." -Mahatma Gandhi 受矇騙的也是凡人。人﹐就是如此容易受騙, 我其實也想做神。"Writing a penny a word is ridiculous. If a man really wants to make a million dollars, the best way would be to start his own religion." "I’d like to start a religion. That’s where the money is." - L. Ron Hubbard ﹐Scientology 1 Scientology2 。這類的教會可真興旺Mormon。 銀彈充足了﹐便可擴充營業 Latter day saints temple 。

這樣長篇﹐其實還在信仰的邊上走著 Religion chart 。我們唯一可以希望的便是宗教有天會尋找到自己融和的方法。"If you have two religions in your land, the two will cut each other's throats; but if you have thirty religions, they will dwell in peace." - Voltaire 到最後﹐可能[這]﹐ 就是宗教﹐就是沒結果。人可能虛幻的事是不可能認同的了﹐但是實物還是可以認同的 : "When it's a question of money, everybody is of the same religion." - Voltaire 打了這麼多﹐你的信心有沒有被我打得有點動搖?可能這便是魔鬼的能力 "The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose. " -William Shakespeare