13 Denis Diderot Quotes on Religion

Denis Diderot quotes on religion

17. Et ses mains ourdiraient les entrailles du pretre, Au defaut d'un cordon pour etrangler les rois.

25. I believe in God, although I live very happily with atheists... It is very important not to mistake hemlock for parsley; but not at all so to believe or not in God.

30. The God of the Christians is a father who makes much of his apples, and very little of his children.

32. There is no good father who would want to resemble our Heavenly Father

35. Superstition is more injurious to God than atheism.

67. Disturbances in society are never more fearful than when those who are stirring up the trouble can use the pretext of religion to mask their true designs.

68. The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has killed a great many philosophers.

75. The blood of Jesus Christ can cover a multitude of sins, it seems to me.

76. The most dangerous madmen are those created by religion, and ... people whose aim is to disrupt society always know how to make good use of them on occasion.

77. There is not a Musselman alive who would not imagine that he was performing an action pleasing to God and his Holy Prophet by exterminating every Christian on earth, while the Christians are scarcely more tolerant on their side.

78. Jacques said that his master said that everything good or evil we encounter here below was written on high.

93. Diderot took the ground that, if orthodox religion be true Christ was guilty of suicide. Having the power to defend himself he should have used it.

    Attribution disputed; shown as originally published.

94. Of course it would not do for the church to allow a man to die in peace who had added to the intellectual wealth of the world. The moment Diderot was dead, Catholic priests began painting and recounting the horrors of his expiring moments. They described him as overcome with remorse, as insane with fear; and these falsehoods have been repeated by the Protestant world, and will probably be repeated by thousands of ministers after we are dead. The truth is, he had passed his threescore years and ten. He had lived for seventy-one years. He had eaten his supper. He had been conversing with his wife. He was reclining in his easy chair. His mind was at perfect rest. He had entered, without knowing it, the twilight of his last day. Above the horizon was the evening star, telling of sleep. The room grew still and the stillness was lulled by the murmur of the street. There were a few moments of perfect peace. The wife said, 'He is asleep.' She enjoyed his repose, and breathed softly that he might not be disturbed. The moments wore on, and still he slept. Lovingly, softly, at last she touched him. Yes, he was asleep. He had become a part of the eternal silence.