--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Since the earliest days the church as an…" description: "\"“Since the earliest days the church as an organization has thrown itself violently against every effort to liberate the body and mind of man. It has be..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/162/s-t-joshi-37452_bad-government_since-the-earliest-days-the-church-as-an_1797242.jpg" --- # Since the earliest days the church as an organization has… ![“Since the earliest days the church as an organization has thrown itself violently against every effort to liberate the body and mind of man. It has been, at all times and everywhere, the habitual and incorrigible defender of bad governments, bad laws, bad social theories, bad institutions. It was…” quote by S.T. Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/162/s-t-joshi-37452_bad-government_since-the-earliest-days-the-church-as-an_1797242.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/162/s-t-joshi-37452_bad-government_since-the-earliest-days-the-church-as-an_1797242.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/162/s-t-joshi-37452_bad-government_since-the-earliest-days-the-church-as-an_1797242.jpg) > ““Since the earliest days the church as an organization has thrown itself violently against every effort to liberate the body and mind of man. It has been, at all times and everywhere, the habitual and incorrigible defender of bad governments, bad laws, bad social theories, bad institutions. It was, for centuries, an apologist for slavery, as it was apologist for the divine right of kings… In the domain of pure ideas one branch of the church clings to the archaic speculations of Thomas Aquinas and the other labors under the preposterous nonsense of John Calvin… The only real way to reconcile science and religion is to set up something that is not science and something that is not religion… To argue that the gaps in knowledge which still confront the seeker must be filled, not by patient inquiry, but by intuition or revelation, is simply to give ignorance a gratuitous and preposterous dignity. When a man so indulges himself it is only to confess that, to that extent at least, he is not a scientist at all, but a theologian, for he attempts to reconcile science and religion by the sorry device of admitting that the latter is somehow superior to the former, and is thus entitled to all territories that remain unoccupied. (TG 260-61)”” [S.T. Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-t-joshi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage criticizes organized religion for historically supporting oppression and opposing scientific progress, urging separation of faith and empirical inquiry. **In simple terms:** Religion often resists change and can hinder science. Key Takeaway Question authority; value evidence. Themes religion science power history Mood critical thoughtful Type analysis philosophical When to use this quote - education - policy - public discourse - activism Key Concepts institutionalism intellectual freedom skepticism Questions to Reflect On - What role should faith play in modern society? - How can science and religion coexist constructively? 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It represents a miracle that springs from the brain's unique capacity to rearrange itself to learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/i-am-an-apologist-for-the-reading-brain-it-represents-a-miracle-that/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [I don't think I need to be an apologist for working hard and being a very large taxpayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-scaramucci/i-don-t-think-i-need-to-be-an-apologist-for-working-hard-and-being-a/) [Anthony Scaramucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-scaramucci/) > [I am not a Republican apologist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darryl-glenn/i-am-not-a-republican-apologist/) [Darryl Glenn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darryl-glenn/) > [It is never just disagreement but always intellectual dishonesty that is the apologist's worst enemy. And its apprentice is ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/it-is-never-just-disagreement-but-always-intellectual-dishonesty-that/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) ## More by S.T. Joshi > [“Even a superstitious man has certain inalienable rights. He has a right to harbor and indulge his imbecilities as long as he pleases, provided…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-t-joshi/even-a-superstitious-man-has-certain-inalienable-rights-he-has-a/) [S.T. Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-t-joshi/) > [“Since it is impossible for us to know, prior to engaging in a discussion, which opinion is true and which is false, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-t-joshi/since-it-is-impossible-for-us-to-know-prior-to-engaging-in-a/) [S.T. Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-t-joshi/) > [“The atheist, agnostic, or secularist ... should not be cowed by exaggerated sensitivity to people's religious beliefs and fail to speak vigorously and pointedly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-t-joshi/the-atheist-agnostic-or-secularist-should-not-be-cowed-by-exaggerated/) [S.T. Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-t-joshi/) > [“Who knows what wonders, what horrors, may have transpired in the dim past, before our race stood erect? Who can guess at the mysteries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-t-joshi/who-knows-what-wonders-what-horrors-may-have-transpired-in-the-dim/) [S.T. Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-t-joshi/) > [“I have long ago lost my belief in immortality also my interest in it… I have sampled this life and it is sufficient… Annihilation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-t-joshi/i-have-long-ago-lost-my-belief-in-immortality-also-my-interest-in-it/) [S.T. Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-t-joshi/) > [“Malcolm Muggeridge, once a keen British social and cultural critic who in his old age became something of a religious fanatic. While working on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-t-joshi/malcolm-muggeridge-once-a-keen-british-social-and-cultural-critic-who/) [S.T. Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-t-joshi/) > [“The social-political future of the United States is one of domination by vast economic interests devoted to ideals of material gain, aimless activity, &…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-t-joshi/the-social-political-future-of-the-united-states-is-one-of-domination/) [S.T. Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-t-joshi/) > [“I am He who howls in the night; I am He who moans in the snow; I am He who hath never seen light;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-t-joshi/i-am-he-who-howls-in-the-night-i-am-he-who-moans-in-the-snow-i-am-he/) [S.T. Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-t-joshi/) > [“The dog appeals to cheap and facile emotions; the cat to the deepest founts of imagination and cosmic perception in the human mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-t-joshi/the-dog-appeals-to-cheap-and-facile-emotions-the-cat-to-the-deepest-2/) [S.T. Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-t-joshi/) > [“There are things beyond the veil of human understanding, strange, antediluvian monstrosities that stalk the shadows, preying on dark, lost minds, waiting at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-t-joshi/there-are-things-beyond-the-veil-of-human-understanding-strange/) [S.T. Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-t-joshi/) > [“any system of morals which has a theological basis becomes one of the tools by which the holders of power preserve their authority and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-t-joshi/any-system-of-morals-which-has-a-theological-basis-becomes-one-of-the/) [S.T. Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-t-joshi/) [Explore all 12 S.T. Joshi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-t-joshi/) ## More Apologist quotes > [It is never just disagreement but always intellectual dishonesty that is the apologist's worst enemy. And its apprentice is ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/it-is-never-just-disagreement-but-always-intellectual-dishonesty-that/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [I'm an unabashed apologist for strong national-security authority. 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Beckwith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-j-beckwith/) > [I am not a Republican apologist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darryl-glenn/i-am-not-a-republican-apologist/) [Darryl Glenn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darryl-glenn/) > [I don't think I need to be an apologist for working hard and being a very large taxpayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-scaramucci/i-don-t-think-i-need-to-be-an-apologist-for-working-hard-and-being-a/) [Anthony Scaramucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-scaramucci/) > [Some Western biographies are apologist, and do not portray the negative side at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/some-western-biographies-are-apologist-and-do-not-portray-the/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [“It is not that men become too intelligent for God,' says the Apologist, 'but rather they become too arrogant for intelligence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/it-is-not-that-men-become-too-intelligent-for-god-says-the-apologist/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [“Reason, it seems to me, is useless in these matters, becomes either an apologist for faith or its persecutor. Catch me tomorrow; I may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-chester/reason-it-seems-to-me-is-useless-in-these-matters-becomes-either-an/) [Chris Chester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-chester/) > [When an apologist attempts to be autonomous in his reasoned argumentation he indicates that he considers God to be less certain than his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-l-bahnsen/when-an-apologist-attempts-to-be-autonomous-in-his-reasoned/) [Greg L. Bahnsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-l-bahnsen/) > [“Christian apologetics is a defense of religious faith, thus pertaining to the question of one's ultimate commitment in life. Apologetics entails intellectual reasoning in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-l-bahnsen/christian-apologetics-is-a-defense-of-religious-faith-thus-pertaining/) [Greg L. Bahnsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-l-bahnsen/) > [“In trying to remove from Christianity everything that could possibly be objected to in the name of science, in trying to bribe off the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-gresham-machen/in-trying-to-remove-from-christianity-everything-that-could-possibly/) [J. Gresham Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-gresham-machen/) > [“By reversing the proper order of things, the non-presuppositional apologist sees submission to God's Word as secondary, rather than primary, sees demonstration as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-l-bahnsen/by-reversing-the-proper-order-of-things-the-non-presuppositional/) [Greg L. Bahnsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-l-bahnsen/) > [fiction is not only the historian of life but its apologist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-atherton/fiction-is-not-only-the-historian-of-life-but-its-apologist/) [Gertrude Atherton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-atherton/) [Browse all 37 Apologist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apologist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Since the earliest days the church as an organization has thrown itself violently against every effort to liberate the body and mind of man. It has been, at all times and everywhere, the habitual and incorrigible defender of bad governments, bad laws, bad social theories, bad institutions. It was, for centuries, an apologist for slavery, as it was apologist for the divine right of kings… In the domain of pure ideas one branch of the church clings to the archaic speculations of Thomas Aquinas and the other labors under the preposterous nonsense of John Calvin… The only real way to reconcile science and religion is to set up something that is not science and something that is not religion… To argue that the gaps in knowledge which still confront the seeker must be filled, not by patient inquiry, but by intuition or revelation, is simply to give ignorance a gratuitous and preposterous dignity. When a man so indulges himself it is only to confess that, to that extent at least, he is not a scientist at all, but a theologian, for he attempts to reconcile science and religion by the sorry device of admitting that the latter is somehow superior to the former, and is thus entitled to all territories that remain unoccupied. 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