“If I were asked for a one-sentence sound
bite on religion, I would say I was against it.”
Salman Rushdie (1947) British Indian novelist and essayist
“If I were asked for a one-sentence sound
bite on religion, I would say I was against it.”
Salman Rushdie (1947) British Indian novelist and essayist
Anatole France (1844–1924) French writer
S’il fallait absolument choisir, j’aimerais mieux faire une chose immorale qu’une chose cruelle. <br class="br"> Le Lys Rouge http://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/Le_Lys_rouge/I [The Red Lily] (1894), ch. 1
Daniel Webster (1782–1852) Leading American senator and statesman. January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852. Served as the Secretary of Sta…
Isaac Asimov (1920–1992) American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, known for his works of science fiction …
I. Asimov: A Memoir (1994)
Context: If I were not an atheist, I would believe in a God who would choose to save people on the basis of the totality of their lives and not the pattern of their words. I think he would prefer an honest and righteous atheist to a TV preacher whose every word is God, God, God, and whose every deed is foul, foul, foul.
I would also want a God who would not allow a Hell. Infinite torture can only be a punishment for infinite evil, and I don't believe that infinite evil can be said to exist even in the case of Hitler. Besides, if most human governments are civilized enough to try to eliminate torture and outlaw cruel and unusual punishments, can we expect anything less of an all-merciful God?
I feel that if there were an afterlife, punishment for evil would be reasonable and of a fixed term. And I feel that the longest and worst punishment should be reserved for those who slandered God by inventing Hell.
“If I had to choose, I would rather have birds than airplanes.”
Charles Lindbergh (1902–1974) American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist
"Is Civilization Progress?" in Reader's Digest (July 1964)
John Rawls book A Theory of Justice
Source: A Theory of Justice (1971; 1975; 1999), Chapter IV, Section 33, p. 209
John Wooden (1910–2010) American basketball coach
Source: Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court