No religion can long continue to maintain its purity when the church becomes the subservient vassal of the state.

No religion can long continue to maintain its purity when the church becomes the subservient vassal of the state.

When we debunk a fanatical faith or prejudice, we do not strike at the root of fanaticism. We merely prevent read more

When we debunk a fanatical faith or prejudice, we do not strike at the root of fanaticism. We merely prevent its leaking out at a certain point, with the likely result that it will leak out at some other point. Thus by denigrating prevailing beliefs and loyalties, the militant man of words unwittingly creates in the disillusioned masses a hunger for faith. For the majority of people cannot endure the barrenness and futility of their lives unless they have some ardent dedication, or some passionate pursuit in which they can lose themselves. Thus, in spite of himself, the scoffing man of words becomes the precursor of a new faith.

A wise man proportions his belief to the evidence.

A wise man proportions his belief to the evidence.

Religion is essentially the art and the theory of the remaking of man. Man is not a finished creation.

Religion is essentially the art and the theory of the remaking of man. Man is not a finished creation.

Faith, enthusiasm, and passionate intensity in general are substitutes for the self-confidence born of experience and the possession of skill. read more

Faith, enthusiasm, and passionate intensity in general are substitutes for the self-confidence born of experience and the possession of skill. Where there is the necessary skill to move mountains there is no need for the faith that moves mountains.

Either God is in the whole of nature, with no gaps, or He's not there at all.

Either God is in the whole of nature, with no gaps, or He's not there at all.

We are born believing. A man bears beliefs, as a tree bears apples.

We are born believing. A man bears beliefs, as a tree bears apples.

Left to themselves, things tend to go from bad to worse. Murphy's First Corollary If you tell the boss you read more

Left to themselves, things tend to go from bad to worse. Murphy's First Corollary If you tell the boss you were late for work because you had a flat tire, the next morning you will have a flat tire.

The foundation of all morality is to have done, once and for all, with lying; to give up pretending to read more

The foundation of all morality is to have done, once and for all, with lying; to give up pretending to believe that for which there is no evidence, and repeating unintelligible propositions about things beyond the possibilities of knowledge.