A
lecture delivered by
Bertrand Russell to the
National Secular Society in 1927. It also appears as an
essay in some publications. He begins by defining
Christianity. In this he comments on the fact that there is a certain vagueness to the notion of Christianity. Christianity may even be considered synonymous with
religion itself by some standards of today. This point is not
trivial with regards to what Russell has to say, for his argument for why he is not a Christian is essentially in two parts. He firstly argues why he does not believe in
God and
immortality. More precisely, he presents several arguments for the existence of God, and shows the
invalidity of these arguments. Secondly, he argues that the
belief that
Jesus was God is incorrect. What is more, he argues that while Christ's teachings are of some value, He is not necessarily the "best and wisest of all men".
The arguments for the existence of God which Russell refutes are The First Cause Argument, The Natural Law Argument, The Design Argument, and The Argument for the Remedying of Injustice.