THE EVIL THAT MEN DO
William Shakespeare once wrote, "The evil that men do lives after them, but the good is oft interred with their bones."1 An apt description of the life of François-Marie Arouet (1694–1778), better known by his nom de plume or pen name, “Voltaire”. This brilliant man, described and honored as an intellectual savant, epitomized the arrogant and affluent, French aristocracy of the 18th century, and he became one of the leading foundational figures of the Enlightenment period. His shocking literary career extended for more than 60 years, with a surgical wit and provocative, often caustic disposition, that resulted in him being both applauded and disdained throughout Europe. Voltaire’s philosophic ambitions did not foment until later in life, but he ultimately influenced modern philosophic thought profoundly with his, “…conception of the program for Enlightenment philosophy... he was a critical public citizen and ...systematic thinker only when absolutely necessary…”3 A potent combination resulting in him being banished and twice imprisoned in the dreaded dungeons of the Bastille.
Oddly enough, Voltaire isn’t even considered a philosopher in some respects, but “At the center of his work was a new conception of philosophy and the philosopher that in several crucial respects influenced the modern concept of each.” Actually, we should probably say that Voltaire was more of a skeptic of philosophy than a philosopher himself, but he was a vigorous defender of the philosophy of natural science, which he believed to be an antidote to the vanity of rationalistic philosophy. More than any other thinker, “Voltaire personified the skepticism of the eighteenth century toward traditional religion and the evils of the time.”4 clearly championing the empirical side of the philosophic argument, with men such as, “Bacon, Locke, and Newton… as a remedy for the perceived errors and illusions perpetuated on the French by René Descartes.", who proclaimed that reason demands that God exists.
But if Thomas Huxley was the “Bulldog of Darwinism” in his day, Voltaire has to be considered the bulldog of Newtonian physics, and he energetically developed philosophies designed to aid with its acceptance within the scientific and philosophic fraternities of Europe. Voltaire’s determinant goal was to illuminate the new distinction between science and philosophy, but there was a much darker side of his philosophy, which saw him fighting viciously against what he falsely perceived to be the enemy of science – the Christian Faith. It wasn’t the case that he was an atheist however, in fact he once said, “If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent Him.”6, but he was, “…unwavering in his hostility to church authority and the power of the clergy.", with their proclivity toward what he saw as, superstition, narrow-mindedness, and intolerant beliefs. He argued that, “…no authority, no matter how sacred, should be immune to challenge by critical reason.”, which is absolutely the case given human nature and its failings.
Nevertheless, it is always fascinating to discover the ulterior motives of those who strive so desperately against the Christian faith, and such is certainly the case with Voltaire. Indeed, neither rational nor empirical skepticisms are the primary reason that people chose to reject a faith in God, but rather, it is usually a philosophic framework that frees their mind enough to justify an illicit lifestyle which they desire to indulge in, while at the same time eliminating the fear of retribution from their Creator. Accordingly, we find that, “Voltaire's notion of liberty anchored his hedonistic morality, a key feature of his Enlightenment philosophy. [disseminated via] …salacious poetry, …that both reflected in its eroticism, sexual innuendo… and hedonism… a celebration of moral freedom through sexual liberty.” Isn't it interesting, that Satan’s temptation to eat the forbidden fruit of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was that, “Your eyes will be opened.”10
Voltaire unashamedly became a leading advocate of the so-called “Enlightenment articulation of a morality grounded in the positive valuation of personal, and especially bodily, pleasure, and an ethics rooted in a hedonistic calculus of maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain.” He ruthlessly advanced his cause with unending attacks against the church, bemoaning what he alleged to be the, “…repressive and… anti-human demands of traditional Christian asceticism… and the moral codes of sexual restraint and bodily self-abnegation that were still central to the traditional moral teachings of the day.” Much like the psudo-scientism of the 20th century who admitted that, “The philosophy of meaninglessness was essentially an instrument of liberation from a certain system of morality. We objected to the morality because it interfered with our sexual freedom.”13, which has no doubt contributed to the hedonism of our generation as well. Voltaire is long dead, but the effects of the sexual revolution that he spawned lives on.
Ironically, in a bizarre twist of fate that only God could engineer; Voltaire, the man who once made the bold statement that: “One hundred years from today the Bible will be a forgotten book.”, would see his house in Geneva being used by a Bible Society for nearly 100 years, beginning just 25 years after his death.
By Pastor Glen Mustian
Works Cited:
1 https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/w/williamsha125015.html, Web. 07-05-17.
3 Shank,
J.B. Voltaire. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Web. 08-31-09. (All unmarked)
4 Wallbank, Walter. Civilization Past and Present. Scott-Foreman Co. Print. 1962.
(pg. 397)
6 http://www.ranker.com/list/a-list-of-famous-voltaire-quotes/reference
10 New King
James Version. Holy Bible. Thomas Nelson. Print. 2001. (Genesis 3:5).
13 http://rzim.org/a-slice-of-infinity/too-good-to-be-true-4/.
Web. July 5, 2017.
