Skinning a cat and the existence of God
In his 1908 masterpiece Orthodoxy, G. K. Chesterton explored the phenomenon of theologians who deny the reality of sin.
The strongest saints and the strongest skeptics alike took positive evil as the starting point of their argument,"Chesterton wrote." If it be true (as it certainly is) that a man can feel exquisite happiness skinning a cat, then the religious philosopher can make one or two deductions. He must either deny the existence of God, as all atheists do; or he must deny the present union between God and man, as all Christians do. The new theologians seem to think it a highly rationalistic solution to deny the cat.
GK ChestertonQuotes