Interlude on an Objection

‘Christianity is not a religion; it is the announcement of the end of religion. Religion consists of all the things (believing, behaving, worshiping, sacrificing) the human race has ever thought it had to do to get right with God…

…the reason for not going out and sinning all your like is that same reason for not going out and putting your nose in a slicing machine: it’s dumb, stupid and no fun. Some individual sins may have pleasure still attached to them because of the residual goodness of the realities they are abusing: adultery can indeed be pleasant ,and trying one on can amuse. But betrayal, jealousy, love grown cold, and the gray dawn of the morning are nobody’s idea of a good time.

On the other hand, there’s no use belaboring that point, because it never stopped anybody. And neither did religion. The notion that people won’t sin as long as you keep them well supplied with guilt and holy terror is a bit overblown. Giving the human race religious reasons for not sinning is about as useful as reading lectures to an elephant in a rut…

Furthermore, the usual objection to God’s silence, namely, that people will take such graciousness on his part as permission to sin, is equally nonsensical. For one thing, he made us free, so we already have his permission- not his advice, mind you, nor his consent, nor his enthusiasms- but definitely his promise not to treat us like puppets.’