What We Must Do
"We want to stand upon our own feet and look fair and square at the world - its good facts, its bad facts, and its ugliness; see the world as it is, and be not afraid of it. Conquer the world by intelligence, and not merely by being slavishly subdued by the terror that comes from it. The whole conception of God is a conception derived from the ancient Oriental despotisms. It is a conception quite unworthy of free men. When you hear people in church debasing themselves and saying that they are miserable sinners, and all the rest of it, it seems contemptable and not worthy of self-respecting human beings. We ought to stand up and look at the world frankly in the face. We ought to make the best we can of the world, and if it is not so good as we wish, after all it will still be better than what these others have made of it in all these ages. A good world needs knowledge, kindliness, and courage; it does not need a regretful hankering after the past, or a fettering of the free intelligence by the words uttered long ago by ignorant men. It needs a fearless outlook and a free intelligence. It needs hope for the future, not looking back all the time towards a past that is dead, which we trust will be far surpassed by the future that our intelligence can create."
- Bertrand Russell, Why I Am Not A Christian, 1927
[Does "Oriental" really mean from the Middle East and India; although despotisms existed all around the world.]
Bertrand Russell on God and Religion. Edited by Al Seckel. Prometheus Books, 1986, index, 250 pages.
Buddhism Without Beliefs: A Contemporary Guide to Awakening
How to Live a Good Life: Advice from Wise and Respected Persons
"Face the world and go crosswise."
Linji, Zen Master, 850 CE
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