Have you thought about reading Book X of the
Laws, or read the whole
Timæus, to see what jumps out at you?
The
Timæus will talk about distinctions between the physical world and the eternal world, the divine craftsman who made the universe, how God gave man a soul and intelligence, etc. So it’s not necessarily a reflection on organized religion, but still can be very pertinent.
Laws is a defense against impiety/atheism, a defense of the existence of gods, and an argument towards their good nature-- they can’t be bribed to overlook injustice, etc.
It’s good to recognize things in their context, or appreciate the larger works from which little quotes are drawn. For example, I don’t believe the previously-mentioned quote exists verbatim in Plato-- it’s famous, but there’s no source-- but is rather a summary of ideas. But if you read Book X of the
Laws, you’ll see he advocates a minimum stint of five years in reeducation camps and, for those for whom the camps are insufficient, ultimately the death penalty for disbelievers. (He calls it “imprisonment”, but, y’know…)
So, yeah. There’s a ton of information out there, but it generally doesn’t exist in short, snappy sound-bites. But it’s fascinating in its own way.
