| Secular Quotes - 607 sec Themes:
skepticism is good
religion is illogical
religion is dangerous
The Quotes:
"Question with boldness even the existence of God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason than that of blindfolded fear."
--Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)
"A man's ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death."
--Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
"We must question the story logic of having an all-knowing all-powerful God, who creates faulty Humans, and then blames them for his own mistakes."
--Gene Roddenberry (1921-1991)
"Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence."
--Carl Sagan (1934-1997)
"I do not think it is necessary to believe that the same God who has given us our senses, reason, and intelligence wished us to abandon their use, giving us by some other means the information that we could gain through them." ibid., p. 226
--Galileo Galilei (1564--1642)
"The intelligent beings in these regions should therefore not be surprised if they observe that their locality in the universe satisfies the conditions that are necessary for their existence. It is a bit like a rich person living in a wealthy neighborhood not seeing any poverty."
--Stephen Hawking (1942-present)
"Man is, and always has been, a maker of gods. It has been the most serious and significant occupation of his sojourn in the world."
--John Burroughs (1837-1921)
"If there is a sin against life, it consists perhaps not so much in despairing of life as in hoping for another life and in eluding the implacable grandeur of this life."
--Albert Camus (1913-1960)
"Faith, as well intentioned as it may be, must be built on facts, not fiction--faith in fiction is a damnable false hope."
--Thomas Edison (1847-1931)
"And if there were a God, I think it very unlikely that He would have such an uneasy vanity as to be offended by those who doubt His existence."
--Bertrand Russell (1872 - 1970)
"Faith is the great cop-out, the great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate evidence. Faith is belief in spite of, even perhaps because of, the lack of evidence."
--Richard Dawkins (1941-persent)
"Man... he thinks he is the Creator's pet ... he even believes the Creator loves him; has a passion for him; sits up nights to admire him; yes and watch over him and keep him out of trouble. He prays to him and thinks He listens. Isn't it a quaint idea." Letters from the Earth
--Samuel Clemens / Mark Twain (1835-1910)
"I cannot persuade myself that a beneficent and omnipotent God would have designedly created the Ichneumonidae with the express intention of their feeding within the living bodies of caterpillars or that a cat should play with mice"
--Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
"An honest god is the noblest work of man. ... God has always resembled his creators. He hated and loved what they hated and loved and he was invariably found on the side of those in power."
--Robert G. Ingersoll (1833-1899)
"It's an incredible con job when you think about it, to believe something now in exchange for something after death. Even corporations with their reward systems don't try to make it posthumous."
--Gloria Steinem (1934-present)
"I find the whole business of religion profoundly interesting. But it does mystify me that otherwise intelligent people take it seriously."
--Douglas Adams (1952-2001)
"I can't embrace a male god who has persecuted female sexuality throughout the ages. And that persecution still goes on today all over the world."
--Amanda Donohoe (1962-present)
"The beauty of religious mania is that it has the power to explain everything. Once God (or Satan) is accepted as the first cause of everything which happens in the mortal world, nothing is left to chance...logic can be happily tossed out the window."
--Stephen King (1947-persent)
"Religions are like fireflies. They require darkness in order to shine."
--Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)
"It is usually when men are at their most religious that they behave with the least sense and the greatest cruelty."
--Ilka Chase (1900-1978)
"There was a time when religion ruled the world. It is known as The Dark Ages."
--Ruth Hurmence Green (1915-1981)
"Religion is a byproduct of fear... For much of human history, it may have been a necessary evil, but why was it more evil than necessary? Isn't killing people in the name of God a pretty good definition of insanity?"
--Arthur C. Clarke (1917-present)
"The wisdom from these great thinkers is a precious gift. To ignore their intellectual contribution, is to risk stalling the progress they hoped to foster."
SecularAstronomer (1987-) and websnarf (1969-), YouTube Atheists.
. Tags:secular quotes SecularAstronomer astronomy skeptics free thinkers Atheism Atheist God Albert Einstein Richard Dawkins  | | A secular world is a sane world - 416 sec We owe it to our children.
Assault on free speech in the Netherlands
http://www.radionetherlands.nl/currentaffairs/region/netherlands/080620-dutch-censorship
Islam can no longer be criticised at the UN Human Rights Council
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\06\19\story_19-6-2008_pg7_6
Novelist could face hate crime charge for despising Islamism
http://www.townhall.com/Columnists/MattPurple/2008/06/25/british_novelist_who_despises_islamism_may_face_hate_crime_charges
You can download an audio version of this video at http://patcondell.libsyn.com/ Tags: atheist atheism religion faith Christianity Islam secular secularism | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | A Secular State? - Israel - 822 sec November 2007
The number of strict ultra-orthodox Jews in Israel is increasing, sparking fears its secular character is under attack. Many resent the special treatment the orthodox community receives.
"They do not serve in the army. They pay almost nothing as taxes", complains Alon Nativ. Thanks to their high birth rate, Israel's ultra-orthodox community is growing fast. This has led to a series of confrontations with secularists. In September, a delicatessen which sold pork was firebombed while a planned gay pride march provoked violent protests. There are fears secular Israelis will be forced to adapt ultra-orthodox practises. Women have to sit in separate areas from men on some buses after pressure from the orthodox community. Tags: journeyman pictures secular state orthodox jews israel community segregastion religion |
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