If It Feels Good, Don't Do It!

This quote from George H. Smith is, to me, a brilliant and concise commentary on what I regard as one of the most unfortunate aspects of the Christian religion.

"Christianity cannot erase man's need for pleasure, nor can it eradicate the various sources of pleasure.

What it can do, however, and what it has been extremely effective in accomplishing, is to inculcate guilt in connection with pleasure.

The pursuit of pleasure, when accompanied by guilt, becomes a means of perpetuating chronic guilt, and this serves to reinforce one's dependence on God.

Christianity, with some exceptions, has never explicitly advocated human misery; it prefers instead to speak of sacrifices in this life so that benefits may be garnered in the life to come.

One invests in this life, so to speak, and collects interest in the next.

Fortunately for Christianity, the dead cannot return for a refund."
-- George H. Smith