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St. Brendan Catholic Cemetery in Elkins, West Virginia
August 26th, 2007
There is a marvelous anecdote from the occasion of [Bertrand] Russell's ninetieth birthday that best serves to summarize his attitude toward God and religion.*
A London lady sat next to him at this party, and over the soup she suggested to him that he was not only the world's most famous atheist but, by this time, very probably the world's oldest atheist.
"What will you do, Bertie, if it turns out you're wrong?" she asked.
"I mean, what if—uh—when the time comes, you should meet Him? What will you say?"
Russell was delighted with the question.
His bright, birdlike eyes grew even brighter as he contemplated this possible future dialogue, and then he pointed a finger upward and cried...
"Why, I should say, 'God, you gave us insufficient evidence.'"
Bertrand Russel died on February 2nd, 1970.
Maybe he was right and had no opportunity for a conversation—maybe there is no God and never was, or God is dead, or God has forgotten us.
For my part, if it ever comes to a conversation between God and me, I think I would say...
"I can explain everything..."
*Anecdote taken from: Al Seckel, in Preface to Bertrand Russell On God and Religion
