Charles Kingsley Quotes
Clergy had not only identified themselves with the repression of free thought, and of physical science … but that they had proved themselves utterly unfit, for centuries past, to exercise any censorship whatsoever over the thoughts of men: that they had identified themselves with the cause of darkness, not of light; with persecution and torture … the clergy interfered perpetually with the sanctity of family life, as well as with the welfare of the state; that their evil counsels, and specially those of the Jesuits, had been patent and potent causes of much of the misrule and misery of Louis XIV.'s and XV.'s reigns
Charles Kingsley, 1819-1875, Historian, Writer and Chaplain to the Queen, Description of France before the Revulution, The Ancien Regim
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Executed by the English for his part in the Easter Uprising. His observations seem even more prescient as later theocracies like Iran ruined their societies and progress and twisted the Islamic religion. Ireland’s independence did not separate the state from the control and influence of the Roman Catholic Church despite the warnings of Connolly and others. However, conflict with the Church in 2010 over the church sexually assaulting children and impeding the civil authorities from investigating and protecting the criminals led to a reexamination and a diminution of the role of the church in Ireland.
Islam had been the center of intellectual thought in the world, until the clerics had decided that innovation itself was a sin and one that called for the death penalty. Although most non-Muslim religions went through stages of death for religious dissent. However, the Koran deals with every part of society. There is no separation of church and state. All knowledge is in the Koran the fundamentalist believes and anyone who expresses a new idea is not only wrong and a heretic, but is dangerous and must be executed. It is therefore not very surprising that the Islamic contributions to science, medicine, and the arts has been so small. The Islamic fundamentalists are opposed by Muslim modernists who try to change the Islamic culture but they are on the minority. Most religions have gone through bad earlier periods where dissent was heresy and warranted death. Fundamentalist Islam is the only one which bans original thought of any kinds even it does not contradict established doctrine.
Jefferson wrote his friend that the New England clergy had opposed him because he would block their efforts to merge church and state. Inscribed in the rotunda of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington DC. The third sentence is often quoted without the first two.
Zealous pursuit of religion causes men
Both Puritans and Quakers were persecuted and physically abused in England by the Anglican Church. The Puritans as soon as they became dominant in part of the American colonies began persecuting Quakers. The Quakers who were the majority in the Pennsylvania colony, however were tolerant of other religions. This history was another of the many reasons the Founding Fathers wanted no established church. A “scorpion” was a type of whip that was particularly painful.
Ingersoll was considered to be the greatest orator and political thinker of his day, but his overt atheistic views curtailed his elected political career.
This quote is significant for several reasons. First, it illustrates the theological dimension of the Saudi Arabian kingdom where the Royal Family maintains its position by always accommodating and financing the Wahabi fundamentalist version of Islam. Second, it shows how difficult it is for modern science to be taught and understood in fundamentalist Islamic societies. Third, it illustrates a historically classic repressive logic: He who disagrees with the current religious orthodoxy is disagreeing with the espousers of that religion. And if the espousers are wrong, they are lying. Therefore the dissenter is accusing God and his prophets of being liars. That is blasphemy and an insult to all believers. Last, it illustrates the parallel between Islam and Christianity in development. The latter is 700 years older than Islam, and about that long ago, the Roman Catholic Church repressed Galileo for claiming that the Earth was not the center of the universe.
Charles Kingsley was a broad church priest of the Church of England, a university professor, social reformer, historian, novelist and poet. He is particularly associated with Christian socialism, the working men's college, and forming labour cooperatives, which failed, but encouraged later working reforms. He was a friend and correspondent of Charles Darwin.
