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What does Voltaire say is the first law of nature? Voltaire isintent on showing that the Romans were unusually tolerant of foreignreligions because the usual stereotype of their culture is thatit was intolerant in its attitude toward Christianity. Accordingto him, why did the Romans finally become hostile to Christianity?What does he say was the attitude of various groups within originalChristianity? On p. 389 he engages in one of his periodic assaultson Jewish belief, but with the aim of maintaining that they wereat least more open-minded than Christians. What seem at firstto be antisemetic passages in his work are often simply rusesto attack Christianity. He depicts the religious conversion ofleaders in Europe as having produced a series of catastrophes.In section II, what does he say is the attitude of Christianitytoward other religions? The second paragraph, assuming a detailedfamiliarity with the Bible, is designed to demonstrate that Christiansdid not at first distinguish themselves from Jews, and that theirsubsequent intolerance was an unfortunate late development.
Onp. 391 he refers to the numerous sects into which Christianityhas always been divided to refute the claims of the Catholic Churchto universal authority. What does he say is the remedy for religiousdissension? How does the argument on p. 292 relate to the articleentitled \"Secte: Sect?\" What religious sectdoes he most admire and compare to the beliefs of the earliestChristians? What arguments does he give to show that Jesus wasnot a Christian? What is the point of the parable of the reedat the end of the article? Americans, like Voltaire, value toleration,particularly in religious matters, very highly; but they alsotend to value faith, which he rejects. How do you reconcile thesetwo values? Is it possible to believe profoundly in a religiousfaith without being tempted to coerce others into accepting it?Explain.
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