--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If there are atheists, who is to be…" description: "\"If there are atheists, who is to be blamed if not the mercenary tyrants of souls who, in revolting us against their swindles, compel some feeble spirit..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f70/voltaire-173_atheism_if-there-are-atheists-who-is-to-be-blame_2956354.png" --- # If there are atheists, who is to be blamed if not the… ![“If there are atheists, who is to be blamed if not the mercenary tyrants of souls who, in revolting us against their swindles, compel some feeble spirits to deny the God whom these monsters dishonour?” quote by Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f70/voltaire-173_atheism_if-there-are-atheists-who-is-to-be-blame_2956354.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f70/voltaire-173_atheism_if-there-are-atheists-who-is-to-be-blame_2956354.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f70/voltaire-173_atheism_if-there-are-atheists-who-is-to-be-blame_2956354.png) > “If there are atheists, who is to be blamed if not the mercenary tyrants of souls who, in revolting us against their swindles, compel some feeble spirits to deny the God whom these monsters dishonour?” [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Blames mercenary tyrants for corrupting souls, suggesting that atheism is less to blame than oppressive forces. **In simple terms:** Oppressive forces corrupt souls more than lack of belief. Key Takeaway Question the true source of moral corruption. Themes philosophy religion morality power Mood thoughtful critical reflective Type aphilosophical political ethical When to use this quote - political oppression - religious conflict - ethical discussions - historical analysis Key Concepts critique of tyranny atheism debate Questions to Reflect On - What truly influences moral behavior? - Can oppression be separated from belief systems? A Different Perspective The argument simplifies complex moral causality to a single source. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) [Atheist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheist/) [Atheists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheists/) [Mercenary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mercenary/) [Monsters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monsters/) [Positive atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/positive-atheism/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/) [Tyrants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tyrants/) ## Related quotes > [When I look at you, I cannot deny there is God, cause only God could have created someone as wonderful and beautiful as you..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaypee/when-i-look-at-you-i-cannot-deny-there-is-god-cause-only-god-could/) [Jaypee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaypee/) > [The major religions, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, they deny somehow that God has a feminine face. 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Because I feel so connected to people and things that I just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/selma-blair/i-just-think-it-s-strange-when-people-say-there-is-no-god-because-i/) [Selma Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/selma-blair/) > [I do not deny God, because that word conveys to me no idea, and I cannot deny that which presents to me no distinct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bradlaugh/i-do-not-deny-god-because-that-word-conveys-to-me-no-idea-and-i-2/) [Charles Bradlaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bradlaugh/) ## More by Voltaire > [In every province, the chief occupations, in order of importance, are lovemaking, malicious gossip, and talking nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/in-every-province-the-chief-occupations-in-order-of-importance-are/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Fanaticism, to which men are so much inclined, has always served not only to render them more brutalized but more wicked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/fanaticism-to-which-men-are-so-much-inclined-has-always-served-not/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [History is the study of the world's crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/history-is-the-study-of-the-world-s-crime/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [We’re neither pure, nor wise, nor good; we do the best we know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/we-re-neither-pure-nor-wise-nor-good-we-do-the-best-we-know/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is with books as with men: a very small number play a great part, the rest are lost in the multitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/it-is-with-books-as-with-men-a-very-small-number-play-a-great-part/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Meslier was the most singular phenomenon ever seen among all the meteors fatal to the Christian religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/meslier-was-the-most-singular-phenomenon-ever-seen-among-all-the/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." 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Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-knowledge-of-the-existence-of-something-we-cannot-penetrate-of-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [You cannot ... transmute some incoherent mixture of words into sense merely by introducing the three-letter word "God" to be its grammatical subject.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-flew/you-cannot-transmute-some-incoherent-mixture-of-words-into-sense/) [Antony Flew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-flew/) > [Many humanists have argued that happiness involves a combination of hedonism and creative moral development; that an exuberant life fuses excellence and enjoyment, meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/many-humanists-have-argued-that-happiness-involves-a-combination-of/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [If, with all the time at my disposal, with all the wealth of the resources of this vast universe, to do with as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/if-with-all-the-time-at-my-disposal-with-all-the-wealth-of-the/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [Do you think that was kind? 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