I found these quotes on an atheist website. I thought some of them were rather good. However, I notice that most of them, like discussions on religion in general, assume that religion means belief in a god, and in one god in particular. Thats a pity. I think its time we get together with the Jains, the Taoists and the Confucianists and start a Society For The Better Understanding Of God-free Religions.
(1) An atheist is a man who has no invisible means of support. John Buchan
(2) Calling atheism a religion is like calling bald a hair color. Don Hirschberg
(3) Philosophy is questions that may never be answered. Religion is answers that may never be questioned. Anonymous
(4) The invisible and the non-existent look very much alike. Delos B. McKown
(5) I have never seen the slightest scientific proof of the religious ideas of heaven and hell, of future life for individuals, or of a personal god. So far as religion of the day is concerned, it is a damned fake… Religion is all bunk. Thomas Edison
(6) I’m a polyatheist - there are many gods I don’t believe in. Dan Fouts
(7) The fact that a believer is happier than a sceptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one. The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality. George Bernard Shaw
(8) Isn’t it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too? Douglas Adams
(9) With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion. Steven Weinberg
(10) Atheism is a non-prophet organization. George Carlin
(11) I am against religion because it teaches us to be satisfied with not understanding the world. Richard Dawkins
(12) Faith means not wanting to know what is true. Friedrich Nietzsche
(13) I believe in God, only I spell it Nature. Frank Lloyd Wright
(14) What can be asserted without proof can be dismissed without proof. Christopher Hitchens
(1) An atheist is a man who has no invisible means of support. John Buchan
(2) Calling atheism a religion is like calling bald a hair color. Don Hirschberg
(3) Philosophy is questions that may never be answered. Religion is answers that may never be questioned. Anonymous
(4) The invisible and the non-existent look very much alike. Delos B. McKown
(5) I have never seen the slightest scientific proof of the religious ideas of heaven and hell, of future life for individuals, or of a personal god. So far as religion of the day is concerned, it is a damned fake… Religion is all bunk. Thomas Edison
(6) I’m a polyatheist - there are many gods I don’t believe in. Dan Fouts
(7) The fact that a believer is happier than a sceptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one. The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality. George Bernard Shaw
(8) Isn’t it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too? Douglas Adams
(9) With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion. Steven Weinberg
(10) Atheism is a non-prophet organization. George Carlin
(11) I am against religion because it teaches us to be satisfied with not understanding the world. Richard Dawkins
(12) Faith means not wanting to know what is true. Friedrich Nietzsche
(13) I believe in God, only I spell it Nature. Frank Lloyd Wright
(14) What can be asserted without proof can be dismissed without proof. Christopher Hitchens
3 comments:
Bhante,
I finished watching the Bill Maher's DVD you lent me. I "wiki" him and found that he claimed himself to be apatheist. Interesting.
Some of the quotes are, indeed, amusing and insightful.
Bhante, given the history of what are traditionally called “religions,” are you sure you want to be similarly categorized?
I think that the traditional labeling of certain beliefs and practices as “religion,” often fails to capture the diversity of beliefs and religion. In reality, even among the “orthodox” or “fundamentalists” of any particular religion, there are as many religious variants as there are avowed followers.
Similarly, the word “God” fails to describe the myriad of ways that individuals conceive of the concept. Depending upon what definition is used, anyone can be either a believer or a non-believer. I have found that reading theology (and, usually philosophy) of any persuasion, discloses a great deal more about the author, than of the underlying topic being addressed.
I, personally, have no problem with the concept of God- my problems arise from many of God’s so-called fan clubs. Thus, my prayer: Dear God, please bless and keep your most ardent believers- far away from me!
The dictionary meaning of religion: believe in and worship of, ... a belief system. My understanding of religion is believe and worship of .. usually a supreme or supernatural being, spirit, thing, creature, phenomenon – possessing special and superlative attributes and traits beyond that of human, and beyond comprehension or even questioning. If I believe in cockroach but it is a lowly creature that nobody really worships, would cockroachism be consider a religion?
Let’s not confused Confuscianism or other philosophies with god or non-god 'religions'. As a belief system, there are a number of parts of which god is just one. We have to see the other parts that make up religion and that would depend on an individual's expansion or interpretation of the dictionary meaning.
Of the 14 quotes, I like the following:
(7) The fact that a believer is happier than a sceptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one. The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality. George Bernard Shaw
(9) With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion. Steven Weinberg
(11) I am against religion because it teaches us to be satisfied with not understanding the world. Richard Dawkins
(14) What can be asserted without proof can be dismissed without proof. Christopher Hitchens
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