Alan Sugar (1947) British business magnate, media personality, and political advisor
From an interview with Sam Wollaston in The Guardian, 25th March 2009.
“I believe in God, although I live very happily with atheists… It is very important not to mistake hemlock for parsley; but not at all so to believe or not in God.”
As quoted in Against the Faith (1985) by Jim Herrick, p. 75
Variant translation: It is very important not to mistake hemlock for parsley, but to believe or not believe in God is not important at all.
Help us to complete the source, original and additional information
Do you have more details about the quote "I believe in God, although I live very happily with atheists… It is very important not to mistake hemlock for parsley; …" by Denis Diderot?
Denis Diderot106
French Enlightenment philosopher and encyclopædist 1713–1784Related quotes
James Inhofe (1934) American politician
Source: " Peace in the Middle East http://inhofe.senate.gov/pressreleases/peace.htm", Senate Floor speech regarding the Israeli–Palestinian conflict ()
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (1917–2008) Inventor of Transcendental Meditation, musician
Quoted from Larry King Weekend, Interview With Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (2002-05-12) http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0205/12/lklw.00.html
Ernest J. Gaines (1933–2019) Novelist, short story writer, teacher
Response after being asked "Do you regard yourself as a religious person?", in an interview with Religion & Ethics Newsweekly http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/2011/02/18/february-18-2011-ernest-gaines/8169/, February 18, 2011
“I don't believe in God but I'm very interested in her.”
Arthur C. Clarke (1917–2008) British science fiction writer, science writer, inventor, undersea explorer, and television series host
As quoted in Multiple Intelligences in Practice : Enhancing Self-esteem and Learning in the Classroom (2006) by Mike Fleetham, Section 2 : Using MI
2000s and attributed from posthumous publications
“I'm an atheist: I don't know what it means to believe in God.”
Rita Levi-Montalcini (1909–2012) Italian neurologist
Source: Interview with Piergiorgio Odifreddi in Incontri con menti straordinarie (TEA, Milano, 2007), ISBN 978-88-502-1523-2.
Paul Kurtz (1925–2012) American professor of philosophy
A Bitter Rift Divides Atheists, NPR, 19th October 2009 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113889251
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.
