“Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from a religious conviction.”
Blaise Pascal, French mathematician, physicist, inventor, philosopher, and Catholic theologian
Blaise Pascal died in 1662, but some of us (like me) believe what he said four centuries ago is still true today.
Be kind — or at least courteous — in your comments, please.
Written for Linda G. Hill’s One-Liner Wednesday prompt.
This, That, and The Other 
Good one Fandango! Don’t know if I believe it though? ❤
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I totally agree, Fandango!
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Absolutely agree! Even though your post freaked me out cos I thought I’d lost a day… had to check it was still Tuesday – phew! 🙂
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Same. So confusing! But my phone says it’s Tuesday…
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Damn, did I schedule it a day early????
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Just keeping us on our toes… I had to check to be sure! 🙂
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Always has been and always will be
Sent from my iPhone
>
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Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from a religious conviction.
I wouldn’t use the “never” characterization for that. It might’ve been what he observed most, or only.
I disagree with something else he famously said, too; along the lines that you might as well “believe” [whatever word or similar word(s) he used and whatever one might mean by it] in God — in the sense of playing the odds or choosing the safest bet or selecting for the best possible reward. I don’t see that as faith or belief. (However, it could cause some people to behave better than they otherwise would.) But I haven’t read him in depth, so there may be a mitigating context.
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I take exception to the word “cheerfully”. I do believe that in the name of religion way too much evil is discounted.
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Yes, “cheerfully” is a pretty strong word in this context.
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Agreed
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2022, and it can still be sadly true.
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