An excerpt from 'The Old Woman' by Daniil Kharms - translated by George Gibian
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"I want to ask you something," I said finally. "Do you believe in God?"
A horizontal wrinkle appeared across Sakerdon Mikhailovich's forehead, and he spoke: "Some actions are impolite. It is impolite to ask a man to lend us fifty rubles after we have just watched him put two hundred into his pocket. He either has to lend us the money or refuse, and the most convenient and pleasant manner of refusing is to lie and say that one doesn't have the money. You saw the man had the money and hence you deprived him of the possibility of refusing you simply and pleasantly. You deprived him of the right of choice, and that is a dirty trick. That is an impolite and tactless action. And to ask a man, 'Do you believe in God?' - that too is a tactless and impolite action."
"Why," I said, "that's quite different."
"I'm not comparing it," Sakerdon Mikhailovich said.
"All right," I said, "never mind. Just excuse me for asking you such an impolite and tactless question."
"All right," Sakerdon Mikhailovich said. "I simply refused to answer you."
"I wouldn't answer either," I said, "but for a different reason."
"What reason?" Sakerdon Mikhailovich asked weakly.
"You see," I said, "I don't think there are people who believe or who don't believe. There are only people who want to believe and people who want not to believe."
"That means that the ones who want not to believe already believes in something," Sakerdon Mikhailovich said, "and those who want to believe already, beforehand, don't believe in something?"
"Perhaps, even in mortality," I said.
"So why did you ask me if I believe in God?"
"Simply in order to ask you, 'Do you believe in mortality?' It sounds sort of stupid," I said to Sakerdon Mikhailovich, and I got up.
"What are you doing, going away?"
"Yes," I said, "it's time for me to go."
Here is the entire story, albeit a slightly different translation.
http://absurdist.obook.org/kharms/display.php?p=30
"I don't think there are people who believe or who don't believe. There are only people who want to believe and people who want not to believe." = "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened." Romans 1:20. Right?
ReplyDeleteThat's probably close to what Kharms was trying to say. I thought that part of the story in particular was an interesting philosophical observation.
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