At the core of every moral code there is a picture of human nature, a map of the universe, and read more

At the core of every moral code there is a picture of human nature, a map of the universe, and a version of history. To human nature (of the sort conceived), in a universe (of the kind imagined), after a history (so understood), the rules of the code apply.

The church is the great lost and found department.

The church is the great lost and found department.

If people would forget about utopia! When rationalism destroyed heaven and decided to set it up here on earth, that read more

If people would forget about utopia! When rationalism destroyed heaven and decided to set it up here on earth, that most terrible of all goals entered human ambition. It was clear there'd be no end to what people would be made to suffer for it.

If "everybody knows" such-and-such, then it ain't so, by at least ten thousand to one.

If "everybody knows" such-and-such, then it ain't so, by at least ten thousand to one.

The savior who wants to turn men into angels is as much a hater of human nature as the totalitarian read more

The savior who wants to turn men into angels is as much a hater of human nature as the totalitarian despot who wants to turn them into puppets.

Creationists make it sound as though a 'theory' is something you dreamt up after being drunk all night.

Creationists make it sound as though a 'theory' is something you dreamt up after being drunk all night.

I don't believe in God but I'm very interested in her.

I don't believe in God but I'm very interested in her.

Agnosticism is the philosophical, ethical and religious dry-rot of the modern world.

Agnosticism is the philosophical, ethical and religious dry-rot of the modern world.

Thoughts are the shadows of our feelings - always darker, emptier and simpler.

Thoughts are the shadows of our feelings - always darker, emptier and simpler.