Voltaire Quotes
Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror.
This particular quotation was very damaging to Christians of the era. Voltaire was almost universally regarded as the greatest mind of Europe at the time. He was consulted by powerful monarchs and others throughout Europe. He influenced major figures of the day like Catherine the Great. Voltaire did believe in God. See {621200}.
Voltaire, 1694-1778, [Francois-Marie Arouet], French Historian & Dramatist Examen important de milord Bolingbroke, 1736
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Voltaire was also an amateur scientist and was familiar with the new physics of Newton. His mistress, was one of the best scientists in France and the translator of Newton into French. Voltaire marveled at the logic that drove the universe and assumed that there must have been a prime mover. At the same time, although believing in God, Voltaire, like many other intellectuals of the time, were major enemies of organized religion in general and the Catholic Church in particular. See {621191} .
Voltaire had little respect for any organized religion, but found Islam particularly barbaric and absurd. However he was also very negative about Christianity. See {621191} . The Ottoman Empire, centered in Turkey, then controlled all the Islamic countries of the Middle East. Europeans then often referred to all Muslims as “Turks.”
François-Marie Arouet, known by his nom de plume Voltaire (/vɒlˈtɛər, voʊl-/; also US: /vɔːl-/; French: [vɔltɛːʁ]), was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher famous for his wit, his criticism of Christianity—especially the Roman Catholic Church—as well as his advocacy of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and separation of church and state.
