Single Idea 23930

[catalogued under 29. Religion / D. Religious Issues / 1. Religious Commitment / a. Religious Belief]

Full Idea

The essence of religion is a conviction that because some things are of infinite value most are profoundly unimportant.

Gist of Idea

Religion sees infinite value in some things, and irrelevance in the rest

Source

Clive Bell (Art [1913], II.I)

Book Reference

Bell,Clive: 'Art' [nk 2010], p.31


A Reaction

The aspect of religion which most worries atheists like Nietzsche. You can end up with a rather cool and detached view of genocide, if you really believe that worldly matters are unimportant. Do souls in heaven worry about the next life after that?