"Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by rulers as useful."
Lucius Annaeus Seneca "the Younger," Roman stoic philosopher, writer, and politician (4-65 ACE).
**Remember this person lived during (4-65 ACE).. at the time, I would imagine, the common people were the people who would have been uneducated.
2007-07-20
05:11:00
·
31 answers
·
asked by
Sapere Aude
5
in
Society & Culture
➔ Religion & Spirituality
I think the wise would be considered the early Philosophers, Poets and Scientist of the day, and even some rulers of government...
2007-07-20
05:20:22 ·
update #1
By the way this quote has nothing to do with christianity, per se, it is about the religion in his time that was practised in his land...
2007-07-20
05:22:22 ·
update #2
Bares quite a shocking resemblance to our society now, doesn't it?
To the person below me, I think the wise would be considered the early Philosophers, Poets and Scientist of the day.
2007-07-20 05:13:57
·
answer #1
·
answered by Anonymous
·
4⤊
0⤋
While we're at it:
"Religion is the opiate of the masses" (Karl Marx).
I think blind faith is something that is easier to push off on people who are poor and uneducated than it is on people who actually have time and facilities to think about things. Philosophy is a rich man's game.
Certainly in the past rulers have used "be good now because although your life sucks now, it will be better after you die" as a way of keeping the bulk of the population in line. Of course that goes along with "suicide is a sin" or you'd end up having all your best workers jumping off tall bridges.
However, none of this cynicism proves that God does not (or does) exist. It is a statement about people.
Einstein believed in God. Clearly he had time to think.
However, Einstein did not believe in "blind faith" and he certainly was very cynical about organized religion - simply because it stopped looking like a spiritual thing and started looking like a power thing.
Militant agnostic: I don't know and NEITHER DO YOU.
2007-07-20 05:17:54
·
answer #2
·
answered by Elana 7
·
1⤊
0⤋
Well it sepends on whether you mean state organised "religion" or personal *belief*.
Didn't one of the Roman philosophers also talk about the gladiatorial "games" and so on being "bread and circuses for the masses" and Karl Marx talked of religion as "the opium of the people"/
I am a Christian and define that mainly by the statement "Do unto others as you would have them do to you" although there is more to it.
Seneca would have probably had me thrown to the lions but never mind!
Best wishes,
Joan
2007-07-20 06:46:25
·
answer #3
·
answered by Anonymous
·
0⤊
0⤋
I disagree.
Religion is regarded by the common people as probable, by the wise as possible, and by rulers as maleable.
Common people are limited by the knowledge they have, so they make the most of what they know, and religion explains things in a way that makes sense for what they know at the time. As their knowledge increases, they come to question much of their religion, and although they still value it as a means to get them to where they are, they learn to expand upon it and grow their own personal beliefs beyond it.
Wise people are knowledgeable enough to know that there is still so much that they do not know. So they look upon religion as a means to explain the unknowable, and recognize that even the science they follow is still limited by their current knowledge, and it is therefore really just a different type of religion. The truly wise appreciate religion for its attempts to explain things, and study it just as eagerly as they study their own science.
Rulers see religion (and science) as a means to control others, because control is what rulers do. They will embrace the religion and science that advances their control, but dismiss religion and science that challenges their control. So they are constantly trying to manipulate religion AND SCIENCE to fit their needs.
2007-07-20 05:23:11
·
answer #4
·
answered by Anonymous
·
2⤊
0⤋
Agree!
This statement will always ring true, no matter how "educated" the masses will be.
Leaders want to lead, followers want to follow, and the majority are always led away from truthfulness. Politicians don't keep their assets in Blind Trusts for no reason at all, they don't want you to know where your tax money is being invested. As long as people keep running after the shepherd for the flock they will be led where ever the shepherd leads them. A robe is a robe is a robe, that's why judges and ministers both wear them.
Baa, baa, baa...
2007-07-20 05:26:52
·
answer #5
·
answered by amberwolf_for_art 3
·
1⤊
0⤋
True.
Rulers find it useful to use religion and the religious beliefs of the lower classes (no, I'm not saying all believers are low class, but compared to kings of the time they were) to get what they want from them. Fealty, for one thing. Kings liked to say they were put in that position by god - that's a great way to get the proles to obey you. "God made me king, so what I want is what god wants," makes people do what they're told, for the most part.
Even today when a presidential candidate has to claim some kind of religion to even be in contention, it holds true. GW is a case in point here. He's really no different from the kings of old when he uses God as justification for his actions. I'm wary of anyone who claims to know the mind of god and uses it to hurt others.
2007-07-20 05:24:25
·
answer #6
·
answered by ReeRee 6
·
2⤊
0⤋
I do agree with the last part... far too often "rulers" use religion as a bludgeon to promote a certain agenda, usually at the expense of the rights of others.
On the first two... the common and wise typically screw it up equally. Face it, we're all screw ups.
That's why we don't need a religion, we need a relationship...
2007-07-20 05:15:59
·
answer #7
·
answered by Bryan A 3
·
2⤊
0⤋
it incredibly is in simple terms as real in the present day. look on the Muslim worldwide the place the poorly knowledgeable youthful men are led around by religious leaders into doing issues. yet another stable occasion is chanced on contained in the banning of books. religious leaders ban them for his or her very own ends and their greater naive flocks (the effortless human beings) obey. The greater knowledgeable do no longer and often bypass finding for brand spanking new church homes, which skill the religious leaders have effectively separated the sheep from the remainder of the flock. faith has continuously been used to steer the gullible and uneducated around. The sensible understand this. Rulers are conscious of the skill of religion and often use it for his or her very own ends. Heck, Bush has even tried it.
2016-09-30 09:19:27
·
answer #8
·
answered by gisriel 4
·
0⤊
0⤋
It's the truth. To those that are responding that it's a generalization, when you think of politics you are thinking of generalization. Why? Because of the laws of large numbers. Sure there are smart religious people, but statistically they are what is known as outliers.
BTW Elana, we can argue all day about whether Einstein believed in god. His definition of god was NOT what you are inferring.
2007-07-20 05:18:57
·
answer #9
·
answered by UpChuck 3
·
1⤊
0⤋
Disagree. It is a matter of opinion. The common people were the ones with the open minds. The wise were the ones full of unbelief and bigotry.
2007-07-20 05:16:27
·
answer #10
·
answered by Anonymous
·
0⤊
1⤋