At this Cape Cod history and genealogy page [1], you can find a collection of hundreds of quotes regarding superstition and reason. I had not seen many of these quotes before. Here’s a sampling:
- A fanatic is one who can’t change his mind and won’t change the subject. – Winston Churchill
- You have not converted a man because you have silenced him. – John, Lord Morley
- When I became convinced that the Universe is natural — that all the ghosts and gods are myth, there entered into my brain, into my soul, into every drop of my blood, the sense, the feeling, the joy of freedom. The walls of my prison crumbled and fell, the dungeon was flooded with light and all the bolts, and bards, and manacles became dust. I was no longer a servant, a serf, or a slave. – Robert G. Ingersoll (1833-1899)
- If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed. – Albert Einstein
- If you’re following the news, you know that the major religions differ in their interpretation of the holy books. For example, one way to interpret God’s will is that you should love your neighbor. An alternate reading of the holy books might lead you to rig a donkey cart with small mortar rockets and aim it at a hotel full of infidels. In summary, po-tay-to, poh-tah-to. Religions are very flexible. — from Scott Adams’ Holiday Thoughts, 2003
- At the time of Galileo the Church remained much more reasonable than Galileo himself. The process against Galileo was reasonable and just. — Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (now Pope), 15 Mar 1990, Parma. Corriere della Sera 30 Mar 1990
- I have never seen the slightest scientific proof of the religious theories of heaven and hell, of future life for individuals, or of a personal God. — Thomas Edison
- There was a time when religion ruled the world. It is known as The Dark Ages. — Ruth Hurmence Green
- Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction. — Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)
If 50 million people believe a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing. – Anatole France (1844-1924) - The Bible contains six admonishments to homosexuals and 362 admonishments to heterosexuals. That doesn’t mean that God doesn’t love heterosexuals. It’s just that they need more supervision. – Lynn Lavner
- The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts. – Bertrand Russell
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