---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If we would destroy the Christian…"
description: "\"If we would destroy the Christian religion, we must first of all destroy man's belief in the Bible.\" — Voltaire"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80c/voltaire-173_atheism_if-we-would-destroy-the-christian-religi_545877.png"
---

#  If we would destroy the Christian religion, we must first…

![“If we would destroy the Christian religion, we must first of all destroy man's belief in the Bible.” quote by Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80c/voltaire-173_atheism_if-we-would-destroy-the-christian-religi_545877.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80c/voltaire-173_atheism_if-we-would-destroy-the-christian-religi_545877.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80c/voltaire-173_atheism_if-we-would-destroy-the-christian-religi_545877.png)

> “If we would destroy the Christian religion, we must first of all destroy man's belief in the Bible.”

[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.

To eradicate a religion, first eliminate belief in its sacred text; belief underpins the faith

**In simple terms:** Destroy belief in the Bible to end Christianity

Key Takeaway

Challenge foundational beliefs to change institutions

Themes

skepticism religious critique philosophical inquiry

Mood

critical philosophical

Type

analytical provocative

When to use this quote

- religious reform
- education
- public debate
- censorship

Key Concepts

faith authority social influence

Questions to Reflect On

- What role does scripture play in personal identity?
- Can a religion survive without its holy text?

A Different Perspective

People may cling to faith despite textual criticism

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bible/) [Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian/) [Christian religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian-religion/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/)

## Related quotes

> [As the church watches from the sidelines, the ungodly elect atheists and homosexuals to school boards and legislatures to enact policies and laws that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-simonds/as-the-church-watches-from-the-sidelines-the-ungodly-elect-atheists/)

Robert Simonds

> [Destroy the man of wicked thoughts, Like a bamboo-tree with its fruit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/destroy-the-man-of-wicked-thoughts-like-a-bamboo-tree-with-its-fruit/)

[Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/)

> [...and it is a serious matter to destroy a man's faith without replacing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-serge/and-it-is-a-serious-matter-to-destroy-a-man-s-faith-without-replacing/)

[Victor Serge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-serge/)

> [“Man will destroy what man fears!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadina-boun/man-will-destroy-what-man-fears/)

[Nadina Boun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadina-boun/)

> [“No one can destroy a man than his deeds.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/no-one-can-destroy-a-man-than-his-deeds/)

[Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/)

> [The easiest way to destroy a man's faith is to destroy his morality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melvin-j-ballard/the-easiest-way-to-destroy-a-man-s-faith-is-to-destroy-his-morality/)

[Melvin J. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melvin-j-ballard/)

> [I have a fundamental belief in the Bible as the Word of God, written by men who were inspired. I study the Bible daily.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-newton/i-have-a-fundamental-belief-in-the-bible-as-the-word-of-god-written/)

[Isaac Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-newton/)

> [A man compounded of law and gospel is able to cheat a whole country with his religion and then destroy them under color of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/a-man-compounded-of-law-and-gospel-is-able-to-cheat-a-whole-country/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [“There was something solemn in it- but love and religion would destroy that, whatever it was, the privacy of the soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/there-was-something-solemn-in-it-but-love-and-religion-would-destroy/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [A Cultist is one who has a strong belief in the Bible and the Second Coming of Christ; who frequently attends Bible studies; who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-reno/a-cultist-is-one-who-has-a-strong-belief-in-the-bible-and-the-second/)

[Janet Reno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-reno/)

> [“If god is the root cause for our degradation destroy that god. If it is religion destroy it. If it is Manu Darma, Gita,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/periy-r/if-god-is-the-root-cause-for-our-degradation-destroy-that-god-if-it/)

Periyār

> [It is belief in the Bible, the fruits of deep meditation, which has served me as the guide of my moral and literary life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/it-is-belief-in-the-bible-the-fruits-of-deep-meditation-which-has/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/go-therefore-and-make-disciples-of-all-the-nations/)

[Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/)

> [Culture's essential service to a religion is to destroy intellectual idolatry, the recurrent tendency in religion to replace the object of its worship with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/culture-s-essential-service-to-a-religion-is-to-destroy-intellectual/)

[Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/)

> [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/)

## 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." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [Being unable to make people more reasonable, I preferred to be happy away from them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/being-unable-to-make-people-more-reasonable-i-preferred-to-be-happy/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [When his highness sends a ship to Egypt, does he trouble his head whether the mice on board are at their ease or not?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/when-his-highness-sends-a-ship-to-egypt-does-he-trouble-his-head/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [Madness is to think of too many things in succession too fast, or of one thing too exclusively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/madness-is-to-think-of-too-many-things-in-succession-too-fast-or-of/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/god-gave-us-the-gift-of-life-it-is-up-to-us-to-give-ourselves-the/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [It is not inequality which is the real misfortune, it is dependence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/it-is-not-inequality-which-is-the-real-misfortune-it-is-dependence/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [Providence has given us hope and sleep as a compensation for the many cares of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/providence-has-given-us-hope-and-sleep-as-a-compensation-for-the-many/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [Men use thought only to justify their wrong doings, and employ speech only to conceal their thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/men-use-thought-only-to-justify-their-wrong-doings-and-employ-speech/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

> [Work spares us from three evils: boredom, vice, and need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/work-spares-us-from-three-evils-boredom-vice-and-need/)

[Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

[Explore all 934 Voltaire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/)

## More Atheism quotes

> [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/)

[Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/)

> [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/)

[Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/)

> [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/)

[Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/)

> [No philosophy, no religion, has ever brought so glad a message to the world as this good news of Atheism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/no-philosophy-no-religion-has-ever-brought-so-glad-a-message-to-the/)

[Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/)

> [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/)

[John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/)

> [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/)

[Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/)

> [God speaks through me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/god-speaks-through-me/)

[George W. 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? Do you think it was godlike? What would you think of a physician, if a woman came to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-h-gardener/do-you-think-that-was-kind-do-you-think-it-was-godlike-what-would-you/)

[Helen H. Gardener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-h-gardener/)

> [Science can destroy religion by ignoring it as well as by disproving its tenets. No one ever demonstrated, so far as I am aware,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/science-can-destroy-religion-by-ignoring-it-as-well-as-by-disproving/)

[Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/)

> [Honest investigation is utterly impossible within the pale of any church, for the reason, that if you think the church is right you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/honest-investigation-is-utterly-impossible-within-the-pale-of-any/)

[Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/)

[Browse all 4,769 Atheism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "If we would destroy the Christian religion, we must first of all destroy man's belief in the Bible.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Voltaire"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/if-we-would-destroy-the-christian-religion-we-must-first-of-all/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Atheism"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/if-we-would-destroy-the-christian-religion-we-must-first-of-all/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80c/voltaire-173_atheism_if-we-would-destroy-the-christian-religi_545877.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80c/voltaire-173_atheism_if-we-would-destroy-the-christian-religi_545877.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80c/voltaire-173_atheism_if-we-would-destroy-the-christian-religi_545877.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“If we would destroy the Christian religion, we must first of all destroy man's belief in the Bible.” — Voltaire",
                "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": "Voltaire",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "If we would destroy the Christian...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/if-we-would-destroy-the-christian-religion-we-must-first-of-all/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/if-we-would-destroy-the-christian-religion-we-must-first-of-all/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
