Skip to content

What I'd like to read is a scientific review, by a…

“What I'd like to read is a scientific review, by a scientific psychologist--if any exists--of 'A Scientific Man and the Bible'. By what route do otherwise sane men come to believe such palpable nonsense? How is it possible for a human brain to be divided into two insulated halves, one functioning…” quote by H.L. Mencken
Download Open image
““What I'd like to read is a scientific review, by a scientific psychologist--if any exists--of 'A Scientific Man and the Bible'. By what route do otherwise sane men come to believe such palpable nonsense? How is it possible for a human brain to be divided into two insulated halves, one functioning normally, naturally and even brilliantly, and the other capable only of such ghastly balderdash which issues from the minds of Baptist evangelists? Such balderdash takes various forms, but it is at its worst when it is religious. Why should this be so? What is there in religion that completely flabbergasts the wits of those who believe in it? I see no logical necessity for that flabbergasting. Religion, after all, is nothing but an hypothesis framed to account for what is evidentially unaccounted for. In other fields such hypotheses are common, and yet they do no apparent damage to those who incline to them. But in the religious field they quickly rush the believer to the intellectual Bad Lands. He not only becomes anaesthetic to objective fact; he becomes a violent enemy of objective fact. It annoys and irritates him. He sweeps it away as something somehow evil...””

H.L. Mencken

About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Critiques religion as irrational, arguing it divides the mind and hinders objective truth.

In simple terms: Religion can cloud rational thinking.

Key Takeaway

Question beliefs critically.

Themes

religion reason science

Mood

critical inquisitive analytical

Type

philosophical skeptical

When to use this quote

  • academic debate
  • personal belief crisis
  • education curricula

Key Concepts

cognitive dissonance skepticism intellectual freedom

Questions to Reflect On

  • How do you reconcile faith and reason?
  • What evidence would change your view on religion?
A Different Perspective

May overlook positive social functions of faith.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet

More by H.L. Mencken

Explore all 99 H.L. Mencken quotes

More Balderdash quotes

Browse all 7 Balderdash quotes