--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every church became a theatre, where…" description: "\"“Every church became a theatre, where orators, instead of church teachers, harangued, caring not to instruct the people, but striving to attract admira..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/701/christopher-hitchens-117_bible_every-church-became-a-theatre-where-orat_1050897.jpg" --- # Every church became a theatre, where orators, instead of… ![“Every church became a theatre, where orators, instead of church teachers, harangued, caring not to instruct the people, but striving to attract admiration, to bring opponents to public scorn, and to preach only novelties and paradoxes, such as would tickle the ears of their congregation. This…” quote by Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/701/christopher-hitchens-117_bible_every-church-became-a-theatre-where-orat_1050897.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/701/christopher-hitchens-117_bible_every-church-became-a-theatre-where-orat_1050897.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/701/christopher-hitchens-117_bible_every-church-became-a-theatre-where-orat_1050897.jpg) > ““Every church became a theatre, where orators, instead of church teachers, harangued, caring not to instruct the people, but striving to attract admiration, to bring opponents to public scorn, and to preach only novelties and paradoxes, such as would tickle the ears of their congregation. This state of things necessarily stirred up an amount of controversy, envy, and hatred, which no lapse of time could appease; so that we can scarcely wonder that of the old religion nothing survives but its outward forms (even these, in the mouth of the multitude, seem rather adulation than adoration of the Deity), and that faith has become a mere compound of credulity and prejudices—aye, prejudices too, which degrade man from rational being to beast, which completely stifle the power of judgment between true and false, which seem, in fact, carefully fostered for the purpose of extinguishing the last spark of reason! Piety, great God! and religion are become a tissue of ridiculous mysteries; men, who flatly despise reason, who reject and turn away from understanding as naturally corrupt, these, I say, these of all men, are thought, O lie most horrible! to possess light from on High. Verily, if they had but one spark of light from on High, they would not insolently rave, but would learn to worship God more wisely, and would be as marked among their fellows for mercy as they now are for malice; if they were concerned for their opponents’ souls, instead of for their own reputations, they would no longer fiercely persecute, but rather be filled with pity and compassion. Furthermore, if any Divine light were in them, it would appear from their doctrine. I grant that they are never tired of professing their wonder at the profound mysteries of Holy Writ; still I cannot discover that they teach anything but speculations of Platonists and Aristotelians, to which (in order to save their credit for Christianity) they have made Holy Writ conform; not content to rave with the Greeks themselves, they want to make the prophets rave also; showing conclusively, that never even in sleep have they caught a glimpse of Scripture’s Divine nature. The very vehemence of their admiration for the mysteries plainly attests, that their belief in the Bible is a formal assent rather than a living faith: and the fact is made still more apparent by their laying down beforehand, as a foundation for the study and true interpretation of Scripture, the principle that it is in every passage true and divine.”” [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Religion is portrayed as a theatrical performance that prioritizes spectacle over genuine teaching, leading to manipulation and loss of reason. **In simple terms:** Religion is shown as showy and misleading. Key Takeaway Seek truth beyond ritual. Themes religion reason manipulation Mood critical analytical Type philosophical controversial When to use this quote - public discourse - educational reform - personal belief systems Key Concepts skepticism authority faith Questions to Reflect On - How does spectacle affect belief? - Can reason and faith coexist peacefully? A Different Perspective Critique may overlook positive aspects of faith for some. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bible/) [Divine light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divine-light/) [Divine nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divine-nature/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Scripture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scripture/) [True and false](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-and-false/) ## Related quotes > [Before the 3rd century you're having several philosophical schools still as a going concern. 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This state of things necessarily stirred up an amount of controversy, envy, and hatred, which no lapse of time could appease; so that we can scarcely wonder that of the old religion nothing survives but its outward forms (even these, in the mouth of the multitude, seem rather adulation than adoration of the Deity), and that faith has become a mere compound of credulity and prejudices—aye, prejudices too, which degrade man from rational being to beast, which completely stifle the power of judgment between true and false, which seem, in fact, carefully fostered for the purpose of extinguishing the last spark of reason! Piety, great God! and religion are become a tissue of ridiculous mysteries; men, who flatly despise reason, who reject and turn away from understanding as naturally corrupt, these, I say, these of all men, are thought, O lie most horrible! to possess light from on High. Verily, if they had but one spark of light from on High, they would not insolently rave, but would learn to worship God more wisely, and would be as marked among their fellows for mercy as they now are for malice; if they were concerned for their opponents’ souls, instead of for their own reputations, they would no longer fiercely persecute, but rather be filled with pity and compassion. Furthermore, if any Divine light were in them, it would appear from their doctrine. I grant that they are never tired of professing their wonder at the profound mysteries of Holy Writ; still I cannot discover that they teach anything but speculations of Platonists and Aristotelians, to which (in order to save their credit for Christianity) they have made Holy Writ conform; not content to rave with the Greeks themselves, they want to make the prophets rave also; showing conclusively, that never even in sleep have they caught a glimpse of Scripture’s Divine nature. The very vehemence of their admiration for the mysteries plainly attests, that their belief in the Bible is a formal assent rather than a living faith: and the fact is made still more apparent by their laying down beforehand, as a foundation for the study and true interpretation of Scripture, the principle that it is in every passage true and divine.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Christopher Hitchens" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/every-church-became-a-theatre-where-orators-instead-of-church/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bible" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/every-church-became-a-theatre-where-orators-instead-of-church/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/701/christopher-hitchens-117_bible_every-church-became-a-theatre-where-orat_1050897.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/701/christopher-hitchens-117_bible_every-church-became-a-theatre-where-orat_1050897.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/701/christopher-hitchens-117_bible_every-church-became-a-theatre-where-orat_1050897.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Every church became a theatre, where orators, instead of church teachers, harangued, caring not to instruct…” — Christopher Hitchens", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Christopher Hitchens", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Every church became a theatre, where...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/every-church-became-a-theatre-where-orators-instead-of-church/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/every-church-became-a-theatre-where-orators-instead-of-church/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```