In this monologue from the “Ultimate Issues Hour,” Dennis Prager argues that the primary purpose of religion is not merely to foster a personal relationship with God, but to serve as an instruction manual that tells believers what God wants them to do and how to become wise, good people. He emphasizes that wisdom—understanding what is right and how to act—is essential for a functional society, and that without it, even well‑meaning individuals are doomed. Prager shares personal anecdotes about his own modest prayer before lectures and his father’s more intimate nightly prayers, illustrating his practical, purpose‑oriented relationship with God. He critiques secular perspectives, especially the denial of a binary gender system and the claim that people can live morally without a religious guide, labeling such views as foolish. Throughout, he frames religion as a necessary guide for navigating life’s complexities, likening it to an instruction manual that every other product has, and asserts that the Bible fulfills this role for him.
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Hey, the third hour of my show is dedicated to some huge issue of life. Where else do you get this? You didn't get it at college. You didn't get it in high school or elementary school. When did they discuss the big issues, right? That— and by the way, another term for big issues is wisdom. Other than being able to spell it, I think the only time the average young American has used the word wisdom is if they've had a wisdom tooth extracted. Other than that, I really don't know when else the term would be used, and yet it is more important than anything else. You cannot do good on earth if you are not wise. You can have the kindest heart in the world, but without wisdom It's— you're doomed, and therefore so is the world. So, the Ultimate Issues Hour. I have a challenge for you. This today is challenging. A lot of you will not agree with me, which is not here or there, but is healthy. The subject is simple. The answer may not be, but I will give you my answer. Sometimes I pose a question, wait for you to react, and then give you my opinion. This time you get my opinion immediately. What is the purpose of religion? That's the question of the hour. Even that isn't often asked because it's assumed. I think most people in this society would answer to have a relationship with God. Christians might say a relationship with Christ or Jesus, but basically, given the, the position of Jesus in the Christian Trinity, we can say a relationship with God for whomever. And that is not my answer. My answer is to learn what God wants me to do. I have two fundamental answers to the question, what is the purpose of religion? To learn what God wants me to do and to learn how to make good people, because that is the most important question any society can ask. How do you make good people, since we don't start out good? By the way, that we don't start out good is wisdom. And since wisdom is not inculcated in our schooling, vast numbers of people in the West think people are basically good. A notion of such colossal foolishness as to border on the destructive. 1-800-PRAGER-776-877-243. 7776 is the number. What is the purpose of religion? I gave you mine. Do you agree? Do you maintain a relationship with God? Which, by the way, I admit, and I'm not saying this with any pride or boasting or anything like that, I don't fully understand the notion. My relationship to God is, let me know what you want me to do. That's my relationship. I find it very fulfilling. Others have a much more intimate relationship. My father had a much more intimate relationship with God, with whom he spoke lovingly every night. He told me, told me and my brother often. And I can't say I do that. Maybe I would be a person with even a richer life if I could say that I had this relationship with God. Nevertheless, whether you do or not, that's really between you and God. What is between you and society is the part that I care, namely, I want to know what God wants me to do. I often, before a lecture, not always, I sometimes forget to, But I often, before a lecture, will make a very tiny prayer: God, please make sure that I say what you want me to say. And it's a very good, good little prayer, because I'm not, I'm not giving lectures or broadcasting to you now for my sake. I, I have a higher calling than that. I And that's, that's how I conduct my life, or try to conduct my life. But I think that when you tell a non-believer the purpose of religion is to have a relationship with God, I don't know if it is quite as persuasive to them for them to take religion seriously, or even to contemplate taking it seriously. As I want to know how to lead a better life. That's pretty good, because I don't think I could figure it out on my own. Why would I? Everything comes with an instruction manual except how to live, right? Get— you get a camera, the instruction manual is 400 pages. Where's your instruction manual for life? I have one. It's the Bible and my religion. Because for no religion is the Bible the only part of their religion, even for the Protestant who believes in sola scriptura, right? You don't need an instruction manual. There is nothing you buy that doesn't— I I buy lighters for my cigars. The lighter comes with an instruction manual. Now let me tell you folks, it doesn't really need one. You press the obvious lever and fire comes out. There's a hole on the bottom in which you put butane. You now know how to use a lighter, but it comes with an instruction manual. And life isn't. So what is the purpose of religion? To give me an instruction manual. And it's a good challenge to the secular person. What's your instruction manual? To which they will say, presumably, I don't need one. I know, I know, basically, you know, good from evil or whatever. Really, you don't need one. Life is that simple that you don't need an instruction manual. Well, now you see the results, my dear friends, of not having an instruction manual. Well-educated secular people say men give birth. These are gigantic fools. Gigantic. It's a foolishness the likes of which we have not had in the history of the Western world. Outside of perhaps belief in witchcraft. You have to be secular to say something so stupid. Not all secular people are stupid, but you have to be secular because you have no instruction manual. You don't believe that God made male and female. You believe in non-binary. It's a spectrum. By the way, there's no spectrum in the rest of the animal kingdom. How come there's a spectrum in the human kingdom? I thought we're animals. Why doesn't the male-female distinction, which applies to dogs, right? How do you know a dog's sex? Whoa. How do you know? Why are you imposing gender identity on your dog? That is not a stupid question. It's based on on the stupid premise that we impose gender identity. Anyway, what's the purpose of religion? To give me an instruction manual so I will learn wisdom and learn how to lead a better life, because I don't have that much confidence in me without it, and I'm pretty bright. And I have a good heart, and it still ain't enough. So that's my belief of its purpose. Relationship with God is a bonus, but not a purpose. That's my view. 1-800-PRAGER-776.
