"Now, gentlemen, what is blasphemy? Of course nobody knows what it is, unless he takes into consideration where he is. What is blasphemy in one country would be a religious exhortation in another. It is owing to where you are and who is in authority. And let me call your attention to the impudence and bigotry of the American Christians, We send missionaries to other countries. What for? To tell them that their religion is false, that their gods are myths and monsters, that their saviors and apostles were impostors, and that our religion is true. You send a man from Morristown — a Presbyterian, over to Turkey. He goes there, and he tells the Mohammedans — and he has it in a pamphlet and he distributes it — that the Koran is a lie, that Mohammed was not a prophet of God, that the angel Gabriel is not so large that it is four hundred leagues between his eyes — that it is all a mistake — there never was an angel so large as that. Then what would the Turks do? Suppose the Turks had a law like this statute in New Jersey. They would put the Morristown missionary in jail, and he would send home word, and then what would the people of Morristown say? Honestly -- what do you think they would say? They would say, "Why, look at those poor, heathen wretches. We sent a man over there armed with the truth, and yet they were so blinded by their idolatrous religion, so steeped in superstition, that they actually put that man in prison." Gentlemen, does not that show the need of more missionaries? I would say, yes."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Activists from the United StatesMilitary leaders from the United StatesHumanistsSocial activistsAgnostics from the United States
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Imported from EN Wikiquote
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_G._Ingersoll
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Robert G. Ingersoll
lawyer, politician, writer
1833 – 1899 · United States
Robert Green Ingersoll (August 11, 1833 – July 21, 1899) was a lawyer, a Civil War veteran, political leader, and orator of the United States during the Golden Age of Freethought, noted for his broad range of culture and his defense of agnosticism. He was nicknamed "The Great Agnostic".
372 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Robert G. Ingersoll →
Related Quotes
"Would an infinitely wise, good, and powerful God, intending to produce man, commence with the lowest possible forms o…"
"In nature I see, or seem to see, good and evil—intelligence and ignorance—goodness and cruelty—care and carelessness—…"
"If Christ wished to convince his fellow-men by miracles, why did he not do something that could not by any means have…"
"The resurrection. I want to speak about it as we would about any ordinary transaction. In the first place, I do not b…"
"Let us be honest. Suppose a man came into this city and should meet a funeral procession, and say, “Who is dead?” and…"
"Stories that made Christianity powerful then, weaken it now."
"The Christians mistake an incident for a cause, and honestly imagine that the Bible is the foundation of modern liber…"
"Rome had no Bible. God cared nothing for the Roman Empire. He let the men come up by chance. His time was taken up wi…"
"Besides, God may have changed his mind on many things; he has on slavery, and polygamy at least, according to the chu…"
"I cannot believe in the miraculous origin of Jesus Christ. I believe he was the son of Joseph and Mary; that Joseph a…"