But what of my religion? I am a lover of truth, a worshipper of freedom, a celebrant at the altar of language and purity and tolerance. That is my religion, and every day I am sorely, grossly, heinously and deeply offended, wounded, mortified and injured by a thousand different blasphemies against it. When the fundamental canons of truth, honesty, compassion, and decency are hourly assaulted by fatuous bishops, pompous, illiberal and ignorant priests, politicians and prelates, sanctimonious censors, self-appointed moralists and busy-bodies, what recourse to ancient laws have I? None whatever. Nor would I ask for any. For unlike these blistering imbeciles my belief in my religion is strong and I know that lies will always fail and indecency and intolerance will always perish.
The above words were uttered on Radio 4′s Loose Ends, somewhere around the late 1980s, by Donald Trefusis, Professor of Philology at the University of Cambridge and Extraordinary Fellow of St Matthew’s College. The character of Donald Trefusis was regularly written and performed by Stephen Fry, and I read the above section today amidst a transcript of an essay on blasphemy, in a collection of Fry’s writings called Paperweight.
I’m quoting it here because I don’t think I’ve seen it put better in the years since.
There exist one problem with that Paperweight, You see while religion is a personal and private thing it is not…. While it is true it is yours or my religion that two is not true as well.
I did not write the bible, am not the author yet I believe it is the inspired word of GOD. so though it is my religion it also on another level is what GOD says..
On that level I would defend what GOD says as though it were GOD saying it and not my own religion…
This is the dividing line between some peoples made up religion’s and what would be really what GOD says…
If I believe that God says something is sin then I can not very well tolerate it..
I can’t agree with it… I may not like it and may voice out that that is so… But by the same right that someone who believes their religion or their lack there of religion I too have the right to say That isn’t what I see as right according to my religion.