Voltaire

Voltaire, the 18th century French atheist who was one of the greatest writers of his time, weilded a bitter pen against Christianity. in a moment of triumph he once boasted, "In twenty years Christianity will be no more. My single hand shall destroy the edifice it took twelve apostles to rear."
But Voltaire's arrogance was swallowed up on his death. he died, in his own words, "abandoned by God and man." [Hopefully no one on this web site will follow Voltaire in death!]
Shortly after his death, the very house in which Voltaire wrote was made depot of the Geneva Bible Society! Thousands upon thousands of Bibles have been printed and distributed around the world from this place!
Our Lord Jesus Christ quotes Isaiah when He says, "The grass withers and the flowers fades, but the Word of our God shall stand forever!"
"The fear of the Lord", not Voltaire or naturalistic humanism, "is the beginning of knowledge." (Proverbs 1:7)

[Bill]

[URL=http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/voltaire/index.shtml]Voltaire (][/URL) left humanity with several great accomplishments that not even two centuries of constant Christian efforts have been able to wipe out. Among these are the Encyclopedia (Voltaire helped organize and write the first great encyclopedia) and the human-focused philosophies of the Enlightenment.

Voltaire (http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/voltaire/index.shtml) did not realize how central Christianity was to Western Civilization. Voltaire (http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/voltaire/index.shtml) also refused to acknowledge the power of numbers that the Church possessed by controlling the minds of the illiterate. Both of these facts made Voltaire's (http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/voltaire/index.shtml) boast a rather hollow one.

However, through the progress of Western Civilization, we are gradually erasing illiteracy all around the world. As illiteracy is removed, the reliance upon the church for pre-formed opinions wanes. And as Western Civilization itself declines, much as the Roman Empire declined two millennia ago, Christianity will also gradually wane away. Every great religion has been closely identified with a single great civilization, and its fortunes rise and fall based upon what happens with that civilization.

One of the great arguments I have with my fellow atheists is the question of what institution ought to replace religion when the next human civilization is formed. History teaches us that Christianity and Western Civilization have, at best, only a few more centuries left before they, too, like the Roman Empire and its paganism, evaporate into the mists of history. Yes, some residual communities will be left behind long after Christianity has ceased to be a major driving force behind human motivations. But in the long run, all human institutions, including Western Civilization and Christianity, are doomed to die and be replaced (always assuming that human life continues on).

But most people cannot understand this sort of long-term historical view. Voltaire (http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/voltaire/index.shtml) was too much the optimist and predicted the fall of Christianity centuries before its eventual death. On the other hand, you (presumably) predict that Christianity will continue "forever" (or until Jesus returns; which will never happen, so that is the same as "forever"). You, too, are displaying the eternal optimism of your faith in the validity of your own position.

The Word of your God is already withering away. The Old Testament is a tribute to a genocidal maniac of a God, as I clearly demonstrate in my essay, Is God A Criminal? (http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/bill_schultz/criminal-god.html) As human moral values evolve (and they are clearly evolving, as the history of the 20th century clearly demonstrates), and as the "interpretations" of the Bibles you gloat about become increasingly strained to adapt to the newly evolved morality, Christianity will necessarily become less and less relevant to the affairs of mankind. Its days are clearly numbered, even if Voltaire (http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/voltaire/index.shtml) himself was an optimist about the level of effort required to dethrone Christianity.

Knowing far more about the cycles of history and their underlying forces than Voltaire (http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/voltaire/index.shtml) apparently did, I would not venture to predict the demise of Christianity in even the next century, let alone the next two decades. But I do not doubt for one moment that its demise will eventually occur, sooner or later, in the fullness of human history. And Voltaire (http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/voltaire/index.shtml) will remain a shining signpost on the road of history to all humans who strive to understand the whole of human accomplishments, no matter how far into the future you might care to peek. The only events that might change that prediction would be the actual or effective extermination of humanity or human knowledge. Because I have no choice but to hope that does not occur, I am forced to agree with Voltaire (http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/voltaire/index.shtml) that, eventually, Christianity will die.

== Bill

[Edited only to convert old HTML code to vBulletin code for proper display of links. -DM-]

[nzarh]

I'm interested in the truth behind this oft-repeated boast about Voltaire and the "Bible Society". Most people who repeat the story incorrectly describe Voltaire as an "Atheist" rather than the Deist he actually was. There are also several versions of the story in circulation. What I would like to know is:

1. Was it the "Geneva Bible Society" or the "British & Foreign Bible Society" that commandeered Voltaire's house?

2. How long after Voltaire's death did this happen? "20 years," "50 years" or "soon after"?

3. Is Voltaire's house still occupied by this Bible Society *today* as some claim?

4. What is the exact quote from Voltaire about the Bible/Christianity dying out within a century or so?

Accurate information would be much appreciated :)

[-DM-]

I'm sorry, but we do not provide a research service. Of course, if I knew who to ask or where to find the answers, I would be happy to pass that information on. What I am going to do is to ask a couple of people who might possibly have some answers to respond.

For what it's worth, one suggestion: a good place to start your search might be with the biographies of Voltaire at the Positive Atheism (http://www.positiveatheism.org/tochvolt.htm) site.

Another [slim] possibility: inasmuch as you are a registered user of our discussion board, you might also want to inquire of those who participate in an appropriate forum such as Miscellaneous Discussions (http://www.iidb.org/vbb/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=53). It's possible that someone there might be able to point you in the right direction.

-DM-

[Aethernaut]

According to their website The Geneva Bible Society (http://www.librairiechretienne.com/societe_biblique/ang/qui.htm) was established in Paris in 1917.

I could not find a link that wasn't one version or another of the story in the original post or that connected Voltaire to the Society in any way other than that story. Funny that depending on who you ask the Society supposedly occupied the house "shortly," "20 years," "50 years," or "100 years" after Voltaire's death. Voltaire having died on May 30, 1778, the story just doesn't add up. Urban legend or religious glurge perhaps?

The "British & Foreign Bible Society" was established in 1804. I could find no common link between this society and Voltaire.

[peartree]

Originally posted by
Voltaire, the 18th century French atheist who was one of the greatest writers of his time, weilded a bitter pen against Christianity. in a moment of triumph he once boasted, "In twenty years Christianity will be no more. My single hand shall destroy the edifice it took twelve apostles to rear."
But Voltaire's arrogance was swallowed up on his death. he died, in his own words, "abandoned by God and man." [Hopefully no one on this web site will follow Voltaire in death!]
Shortly after his death, the very house in which Voltaire wrote was made depot of the Geneva Bible Society! Thousands upon thousands of Bibles have been printed and distributed around the world from this place!
Our Lord Jesus Christ quotes Isaiah when He says, "The grass withers and the flowers fades, but the Word of our God shall stand forever!"
"The fear of the Lord", not Voltaire or naturalistic humanism, "is the beginning of knowledge." (Proverbs 1:7)

The fear of any god is not the beginning of knowledge, but the end of it. It is a self serving statement by whoever wrote such drivel in order to gain control over someones life, and extract power and income without producing anything useful.

The definition of all religion is "the substitution of fear for reason"

Voltaire summed it up, "the first devine was the first rogue who met the first fool". There are, unfortunately, still a lot of fools in the world. The US Constitution was written by brilliant men who were atheists or deists, and the 1st admentment basically says we don't have to suffer fools, and are protected from them,unlike historical religion.

If Voltaires house became a bible factory, what does that prove? I have seen churches turned into McDonalds, which proves nothing. Instead of quoting bibles, the challanges to all religionists are:

1) Make your god, whoever it is, appear. We'll take Jesus, or Zeus, Mohammod, whichever one you can conjur up.

2)If you are brazen enough to claim you can personnally speak for some god, let me see your power of attorney. A burning tablet will do.

Without men like Voltaire, there would not have been any Renainssance nor Age of Reason.