Quotes

YOUR PETITIONERS ARE ATHEISTS and they define their life-style as follows. An Atheist loves himself and his fellowman instead of a god. An Atheist knows that heaven is something for which we should work now here on earth for all men together to enjoy. An Atheist thinks that he can get no help through prayer but that he must find in himself the inner conviction and strength to meet life, to grapple with it, to subdue, and enjoy it. An Atheist thinks that only in knowledge of himself and knowledge of his fellowman can he find the understanding that will help to a life of fulfillment. Therefore, he seeks to know himself and his fellowman rather than to know a god. An Atheist knows that a hospital should be built instead of a church. An Atheist knows that a deed must be done instead of a prayer said. An Atheist strives for involvement in life and not escape into death. He wants disease conquered, poverty vanquished, war eliminated. He wants man to understand and love man. He wants an ethical way of life. He knows that we cannot rely on a god nor channel action into prayer nor hope for an end to troubles in the hereafter. He knows that we are our brother’s keeper and keepers of our lives; that we are responsible persons, that the job is here and the time is now.Madalyn Murray (later O’Hair), preamble to Murray v. Curlett, April 27, 1961

Atheism is the vice of a few intelligent people.Voltaire

Why am I an atheist? The short answer is that I cannot accept any of the alternatives. I simply don’t find them believable. As for the accusation of intellectual pride, surely the boot is on the other foot. Atheists don’t claim to know anything with certainty — it’s the believers who know it all.Barbara Smoker

It seems to me that the idea of a personal God is an anthropological concept which I cannot take seriously. I also cannot imagine some will or goal outside the human sphere… Science has been charged with undermining morality, but the charge is unjust. 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

The Metaphysics of Aristotle opens with these words: “All men naturally desire to know.”

The brouhaha over whether the universe began to exist is one of my favorite scientific debates. It showcases not only how physics inevitably brushes up against metaphysics but also how science is also deeply personal. If you’re one of those “I love science!” people who thinks science is based solely on reason and evidence, I’m delighted to disabuse you of this notion. Science is human and messy. It’s informed by philosophy, religion, and personal preferences to a degree that would make a lot of people uncomfortable if they knew the extent of it. But at the same time, it’s a testament to human cleverness that we’ve come up with a way to study the universe that takes human foibles into account and produces something worthwhile in the long term.Sarah Salviander, https://substack.com/@sarahsalviander

It is a pity that Science must always reject old ideas and cast them away as useless before rediscovering them as something new to be incorporated in its current theories. To discard the alchemist’s theories is as intelligent as to dismiss as rubbish Einstein’s Theory of Relativity merely because one does not happen to understand his language. Some of our scientific men have realized this, for F. Hoefer in ‘Histoire de la Chimie’ (Paris 1866) remarks: ‘The systems which confront the intelligence remain basically unchanged through the ages, although they assume different forms. Thus, through mistaking form for basis, one conceives an unfavorable opinion of the sequence. We must remember that there is nothing so disastrous in Science as the arrogant dogmatism which despises the past and admires nothing but the present.’ If Science would but try to understand the conception of the Universe as taught by occultism throughout the ages, taking as its starting-point the teaching of the One Life in Manifestation, its seven planes of consciousness, its infinite forces, and as the basis of its philosophy the Hermetic axiom ‘as above, so below,’ it would found a system based on eternal Truth instead of on a quicksand of theories. Science will never really understand the truth about life until it reaches this realization, which cannot be attained through its instruments and appliances, but only through the inner powers of the mind.Unknown

Obviously, many of the points that we will make in this book fly directly in the face of our mainstream scientific understanding. More and more frontier researchers are discovering that our current scientific Establishment has become akin to a religion in and of itself, where theories that were taught one or more generations in the past have become so institutionalized that any differing opinions are rarely given a hearing of any kind. For anyone who has ever attended a university and built an entire career around one or a series of “pet theories,” any definitive evidence that smashes these theories can be utterly shocking and even deeply wounding. Though a non-scientific reader may laugh at the thought of it, when these “paradigm shocks” suddenly explode into view with the arresting finality of Truth, they can literally produce tears, dizziness and nausea in one who has dedicated his or her entire life to studying “the wrong way.” Suddenly the security of knowing the “way things work” is gone, and the agonizing new question becomes, “How could I not have seen this before?”

Religion is fundamentally opposed to everything I hold in veneration — courage, clear thinking, honesty, fairness, and, above all, love of the truth. Religion deserves no more respect than a pile of garbage.H. L. Mencken, 1880–1956