Bertrand Russell: Why I Am Not a Christian - review

"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."

I think this quote has everything you need to know about this essay. Intelligence as a good in itself? Really? What guides intelligence? — Freedom? The lack of explanation for his own arguments bothered me throughout this work. The criticisms were OK, albeit full of platitudes; but a proper explanation and actual philosophy was severely lacking. It rather seemed to me as a set of opinions which were neither original nor very convincing (for me).

This essay was a lecture delivered at Battersea Town Hall in London, on 6th of March 1927. It has some arguments that I agree with, but which are, frankly, too obvious and intellectually vacuous. Being an agnostic I tend to look at both sides of this issue and give credit where it's due when I hear good criticisms. But this time I expected more from Russell.

Rating: 1/5