Religion A Curse, Religion A Disease, Religion A Lie Dedicated To The American Congress Which For The Sake Of Religion Has Stabbed Liberty To The Heart: Dedicated To The American Congress Which For The Sake Of Religion Has Stabbed Liberty To The Heart

Book Code: 1111000401596

Samuel P. Putnam

ABOUT THE BOOK

The essay titled "Religion: A Curse, A Disease, A Lie" passionately criticizes the American Congress for prioritizing religion over liberty. It argues that religion, linked to beliefs in God and immortality, acts as a coping mechanism for current challenges. Theologians turn to the promise of an afterlife to justify God amid human suffering. The text contends that religion is a curable disease through mental hygiene and deems God and immortality as monstrous falsehoods. Orthodoxy is condemned as inherently hateful and an ally of tyranny, suppressing freedom of thought. The narrative advocates for freethought as crucial for civilization's progress and hope. The exploration of religion underscores its dependency on beliefs in God and immortality. Without these, religion lacks a foundation, and the text asserts that belief in God logically leads to belief in immortality. Religion seeks comfort in the idea of an endless afterlife, defending God against human suffering. Defined as a feeling resulting in worship and belief in God and immortality, the author deems religion a curse, unfit for civilization and an adversary of progress. The text characterizes religion as a destructive force, likening it to a bloody dagger. Additionally, it challenges the flawed design argument for God's existence, presenting evolution as a counterargument and ultimately rejecting God and immortality as falsehoods.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Samuel Porter Putnam (1838-1896), an American freethinker, critic, and publicist, born in Chichester, New Hampshire, graduated from Dartmouth College in 1861. Rising to captaincy in the Union Army during the Civil War, he later studied theology in Chicago and became a Congregationalist and then a Unitarian minister. Eventually embracing freethought, Putnam ardently criticized Christianity for two decades. Married for eighteen years, he divorced in 1885 over religious differences. In 1888, he co-founded the Freethought journal and became the president of the Freethought Federation of America in 1892. Tragically, he died in Boston on December 11, 1896, from a gas leakage, found with lecturer May Collins in her hotel room, attributed to illuminating gas poisoning.