Is There a God?, by Bertrand Russell

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Bertrand Arthur William Russell was a British Philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian and social critic. Russell was a prominent anti-war activist, he championed anti-imperialism and went to prison for his pacifism during World War I. Later, he campaigned against Adolf Hitler, then criticized Stalinist totalitarianism, and he also attacked the involvement of the United States in the Vietnam War. Bertrand Russell was the recipient of countless awards for excellence during his long lifetime (1872-1970), including the Nobel Prize for literature, which he won in 1950. The range of his critical inquiry is without parallel in contemporary Western culture. Russell described himself as an agnostic, "speaking to a purely philosophical audience", but as an atheist "speaking popularly", on the basis that he could not disprove the Christian God similar to the way that he could not disprove the Olympic Gods either. For most of his adult life Russell maintained that religion is little more than superstition and, despite any positive effects that religion might have, it is largely harmful to people. . In the article the author explains to the reader and stresses upon the opinion as to why the existence of god is a false concept and thus concludes that there is no point in believing in a supreme ruler. The author expressively portrays his argument to the reader through the usage of strong progression of ideas supported with examples, a criticizing yet neutral tone with emotional appeal and rhetorical questions posed at the author with good development of language.

The author argumentatively explains his opinion as to why the concept of god and religion is erroneous, why religion contradicts every fundamental aspect of...

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... did not come into being. He always is. Therefore it is meaningless to ask what caused God, or who made God. He has neither beginning nor end.

author intro

http://www.prometheusbooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=226

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertrand_Russell

1st cause.

http://loveacceptforgive.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/a-critical-response-to-why-i-am-not-a-christian-by-bertrand-russell.pdf

copy paste

http://www.berith.org/essays/br/br03.html

tones

http://www.irsc.edu/uploadedFiles/Students/AcademicSupportCenter/WritingLab/Tone-and-Purpose.pdf

1st cause

http://www.focus.org.uk/whomadegod.php

http://www.existence-of-god.com/first-cause-argument.html

use of irony

http://neoenglishsystem.blogspot.com/2010/09/write-note-on-russells-use-of-irony-in.html

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