Tolstoy quote

by AK - Jeff 3 Replies latest jw friends

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  AK - Jeff

  "The essence of any religion lies solely in the answer to the question: why do I exist, and what is my relationship to the infinite universe that surrounds me? ... It is impossible for there to be a person with no religion (i.e. without any kind of relationship to the world) as it is for there to be a person without a heart. He may not know that he has a religion, just as a person may not know that he has a heart, but it is no more possible for a person to exist without a religion than without a heart."

  (Leo Tolstoy, 1879)

  Methinks he makes a good point.

  Jeff
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  AK - Jeff

  A related quote:

  "All the concepts we use to compare the finite to the infinite, and to arrive at an understanding of life, of the concepts of God, freedom and goodness, are put to the test of logic. But they fail to stand up to the critique of reason. ... True religion is that relationship, in accordance with reason and knowledge, which man establishes with the infinite world around him, and which binds his life to that infinity and guides his actions .. and leads to the practical rules of the law: do to others as you would have them do unto you. ... Reason is the power man possesses to define his relationship to the universe. Since the relationship is the same for everyone, thus religion unites men. Union among men gives them the highest attainable well-being, on both the physical and the spiritual level."

  (Leo Tolstoy, Confessions, 1882)
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  OnTheWayOut

  The streak of pessimism that runs through me tells me that there are people without any kind of relationship to the world.
  They could not care less about politics, ethics, beliefs, the price of tea in China.
  
  Typically, they sit on the couch and watch Jerry Springer and Judge Judy each and every day while they collect "disability."

  I am not knocking Jerry or Judy or even disability checks, but that's where you start searching for those without any "religion" at all.
  
  I have spoken with some young ones who are not concerned in the least about their relationship to the world. They don't sit around waiting for the world to care for them necessarily, but they work and pay their bills and enjoy Starbucks and going to the bar on weekends. They don't know if they are agnostics or atheists or believe in "something."

  Leo would maybe argue that these people have a relationship with the world, but don't know it. Okay, but I would not define it as "religion."
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  behemot

  It is impossible for there to be a person with no religion

  Guess it depends from how strict/loose your concept of religion is.

  "I am a deeply religious unbeliever. It’s a new kind of religion." – Albert Einstein (quoted in Max Jammer, Einstein and Religion: Physics and Theology, Princeton University Press 1999)

  "All religions will pass, but this one will be left: simply sitting on a chair and looking in the distance." – Vasilij Vasil'evic Rozanov, Russian writer and philosopher (1956-1919)

  "Even believing in nothing it’s a religion." – Cesare Pavese, Italian writer (1908-1950)

  From these guys’ viewpoint, Tolstoy is certainly right.