Atheist Quotes -- (Observations concerning Religion. Warning: computer keyboard may become warm to touch. Sulphurous odour is temporary and a normal emanation from this page.)
 

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2549. Power is the mainspring of the competitive evolutionary clockwork -- it is the basis for survival and success.  In human societies, cultural power is consolidated by engineering citizen devotion to a tribal narrative. The most powerful element in early narratives was religion -- a fantasy exempt from rational rebuke -- and irresistible in its promise of life after death. In modern times, the most functional narrative has involved understanding how the universe actually works -- giving rise to all the modern technological marvels, and the consequent ascendance of western civilization. Currently -- there is a "religious" revolution favouring feelings over facts. Multiculturalism values mindless tolerance over prudent recognition of cultural dissonance; affirmative action and diversity policies slight competence in order to manufacture an ego-salving charade of group equality. The triumph of feelings is centre stage in the transgender narrative -- which denies biological reality in order to comfort those suffering from gender dysphoria. This return to a focus on emotions -- a sentimentalization of reality -- does not augur well for success in the still obdurately competitive global arena.

2548. Ideologies -- religious or secular -- based on unevidenced certainty of virtue, view opposition as immoral, and hence a justification for ruthlessness. In this category we can place religions in general -- such as Christianity at the time of the Inquisition -- and Islam still today. But secular ideologies -- such as socialism, political correctness, wokeism, environmentalism, progressive egalitarianism, or trangenderism, are not immune: the "virtuous" aim justifies unconscionable and disreputable means.

2521. Religion is the gilt of false hope painted on the death mask of reality.

2515. "Moral conscience" is simply a reflection of what is taught by parents and teachers, and absorption -- by osmosis -- of cultural norms. But some are more teachable and absorptive than others.

2510. The conformity of religious belief allows a paradoxical freedom -- a shedding of doubt -- and an untroubled escape from thinking.

2509. Faith -- certainty in the absence of evidence -- is appealing to those who want -- or need -- an escape from the complexity of real life.

2487. All false certainties -- whether they be labelled religious, scientific, or egalitarian -- are oppressive.

2486. Religious yearning is understandable. Religious certainty, while personally comforting, is oppressive and toxic when imposed on others.

2484. All religions are embarrassingly anthropocentric. The universe is far too vast and mysterious for gods so pettily human writ so powerfully large.

2482 Religious "truths" are opinions -- and should be subject to criticism. Truth is determined by evidence, not faith.

2481. It is not the purview of religion -- or government -- to proclaim truth in the absence of evidence.

2456. The most dangerous oppressors are those who claim virtue of intent -- for few wish to proclaim opposition to "virtue" -- and many welcome the opportunity to do evil in the self-congratulatory guise of good. In this category, we must put the religious, the socialist, the egalitarian, and those proclaiming new world orders. These latter new societies will be seen to be socialism thinly disguised -- with a vast populace constrained as "equal" ant-like workers managed by royal experts who, alone, have agency and freedom of choice.

2449. Mockery of culture is the cause of much outrage --the intensity in proportion to the absurdity of the ridiculed aspect. Defence of things religious or "sacred" will be righteously rabid.  

2442. Religious narratives lack factual support -- but function in the social, political, and personal spheres. They can contribute to social cohesion, or cause social division. Historically, they have been important in encouraging tribal bravado and  ferociousness in battle; they have been useful to rulers. On a personal level, they may comfort with the promise of a familiar security -- the certainty of early years of minimal agency -- when parents were the all-providing gods in the infant universe.

2421. The exchange of short term self-interest for longer term-self-interest is invariably messy. Some individuals are willing to give up a lot; others, somewhat less. The bargain represents a fault line at the heart of every society. Governments, religious institutions, and conventions seek to repress; individuals seek to rebel.

2375. In the perplexity of existence, certainty comforts. The thin ice is certainty in the absence of evidence -- the stock and trade of religion.

2371. Free speech has become a victim of rabid egalitarianism. A criticism of Islamic principles and practices is seen as hate speech; any reference to the negative effect of a cultural value is termed racist --and anyone who has the temerity to suggest that biological facts are not instantly obliterated by psychological perceptions of gender is deemed the spawn of Satan. In the name of equality, we are retreating from freedom and the rationality of science to a dank cesspool of primitive taboos.

2369. God is function without form -- a conceptual entity often central to tribal identity, a mythic glue for social cohesion, a psychological source of hope and comfort, and a powerful  talisman protected by assumed infallibility and supportive social taboos. Yet he is, after all, puppet rather than creator -- and, shaped by his self-appointed messengers -- is not exempt from the corruptive influence of power. Too human, with power of divine pretence, he becomes his satanic counterpart.

2368. "God" is redolent of ancient anthropomorphic baggage -- the impedimenta changing according to time and successive societies of creators. He should be avoided in any discussion of how the universe actually works.

2367. The argument that radical Islam does not represent Islam is a holey "holy" bucket --wholly unholy, in fact -- because the radicals can point to textual evidence -- and the moderates can point to no renunciations, revisions or modifications.

2366. Islam is as Islam does. Progressive egalitarianism refuses to recognize a moral hierarchy in cultural values -- thus a rational criticism of Islamic malevolence -- like the fatwa -- is neither welcomed nor approved. All criticism of Islam is seen as "Islamophobic" hate speech rather than as morally justified free speech. This represents an exchange of our birthright of freedom of speech for an oppressive mess of Islamic pottage - the idea that blasphemy is "illegal" -- with the concomitant notion that death is an appropriate punishment. The failure to criticize Islam for its authoritarian cruelty is moral apostasy.

2339. God is function without form. Existing only in the mind, he is a useful puppet -- sometimes to reinforce the necessary morality in every social contract -- at other times -- to inspire, justify, and exonerate evil in the service of those in power. God, judged fairly, would fail Paradise.

2338. In actuality, God is a fraud -- but -- like Santa Claus, the Easter bunny, and the tooth fairy -- he has secured a place -- unresponsive, unaccountable, rent-free -- in the welcoming soup kitchen of the mind. Unlike them, he meddles in morality, and in the politics of power.

2326. Religion is not the reliable rock of comforting certainty so often assumed. Rather -- it is a shifting sand of fashion -- gods come and gods go. The constant elements of morality -- like the prohibition of murder and theft -- are tribal imperatives -- the rules necessary for the functioning of any society -- irrespective of the transient deity of choice.

2315. The proclamation that an idea must not be criticized is certain proof of insufficiency. No one suggests infallibility for Einstein's theory of relativity. But that psychological perception of gender causes biological differences to vanish like a morning mist in sunlight is held to be sacrosanct. Those who criticize -- or fear -- Islam -- a religion antithetical to western values -- are labelled as the Spawn of Beelzebub.

2312. The most dangerous ideals are religious, socialist, and egalitarian. The victims of religion and socialism are already incalculable. Egalitarianism is poised to destroy entire nations of the terminally gullible.

2295. It's extraordinary to reflect that my cat, Rico, is wiser than untold numbers of human beings. He has no religion, and he does not believe in equality.

2292. Truths are self-evident; only the most vulnerable and absurd beliefs require criminalization for disrespect.

2276. Monarchs used to justify their tyranny by claiming the divine right of kings; socialists justify theirs by assuming that equality -- paradoxically imposed by the elite -- is a divine virtue. All gods have utilitarian, dictatorial feet. 

2274. Religion may well be ineradicable -- because of the human need for magic and certainty -- a compensatory escape from a reality which has neither. A failure to compartmentalize religious certainty and nuclear capability may prove fatal to the human project.

2271. With the decline in Christian certainty has come the rise in secular idealism. The main dogma of Political Correctness is that feelings are sacrosanct. From this premise are derived many ideals based on the false notion that equality is the bedrock virtue on which social morality is based. In the modern world -- ideals are still at odds with functional morality -- but the "divine" justification for ideals comes from the worship of the new Supreme God -- Equality.

2270. One may argue that -- in the western world -- religious theory is giving way to changes in functional morality. Christian churches can hardly move quickly enough to embrace secular perceptions of sexual mores.

2269. Religions -- in the past -- have attempted to give practical, functional social moralities the appearance of having divine approval -- an absolute, ideal, unassailable justification. Disparities are not unknown -- and it is not surprising that --as practical moralities change -- religious theory is under pressure to follow.

2268. Functional morality arises from the need to regulate social behaviour. It contains both necessary and optional elements. Rules against murder tend to be found in all societies, but the death penalty -- or honour killings -- may be countenanced in some. One of the rôles of religion has been to give particular social moralities a degree of certainty -- a universal "divine" justification.

2267. Traditionally, societies have attempted to justify rules of social morality by claiming a religious origin.

2220. It seems reasonable to conclude that religion has had a significant evolutionary function: the tribe most assured of divine approval, most imbued with the notion that death is a temporary inconvenience, will  -- other things being equal -- prevail. Now that we have acquired the means to halt -- and possibly eradicate -- the entire human experiment, it would appear prudent to reconsider the place of religious certainty in the absence of evidence. Appeasement of religious beliefs which seem aggressively determined to eliminate unbelievers would seem less than helpful. The claim of religion to have the power of life and death over human beings should be seen for what it is: a relic of stupidity, superstition, and savagery. 

2163. Religion is often socially powerful, but factually incorrect. That reveals much about human nature.

2131. The spirit of Islam is to bully -- to coerce citizens into a set of beliefs based on revelation rather than investigation. The spirit of democracy is to disrupt the natural tendency towards dictatorship -- to reduce bullying by periodically introducing an expression of the leavening desires of the citizenry. That is why Islam and democracy are, in essence, incompatible.

2106. And on the eighth day, God sat back to watch the unfolding. And he saw the lion crush the gazelle, the python swallow the child, the parasitoid larva relentlessly consuming its host, the spider enjoying her cannibalistic meal. He saw the Black Death, and the mortal consequences of viral success. And reflecting on the marvels he had wrought, God smiled, for he knew that they must be good.

2072. “Freedom of religion” is an entirely defensible concept. You can’t stop people from believing in unicorns, centaurs, God, or the tooth fairy. On the other hand, the desire of government employees to wear religious symbols on the job should carry no greater weight than their desire to proclaim other private enthusiasms – for a political party, a sports team, or a brand of soap.

Indeed, given the fact that every religion claims a unique moral superiority – leading to the historically deadly intensity of religious disputes -- no secular government should appear to favour private superstition over public reason, or to betray the simple prudence of common sense.

1996. The conventional, hopeful construction of "God" requires a clinical re-assessment. It is claimed he created this world of ruthless predation -- where most life forms must survive by eating others. He then appears to the top predator, and -- in return for reverence, obsequious praise, and undying devotion -- offers a compensatory escape -- paradisal and eternal -- from the unsavoury cauldron. No -- not just yet -- only when you are -- conveniently -- dead. The gullible murmur "saviour." The narrative says "psychopath."

1964. In western societies, Islam appears to be regarded as a hot potato -- to be dropped on contact -- or a burgeoning mushroom -- something best kept sheltered, in dim conditions of murk and shade. There are some places that the light of reason may be found upsetting and inconvenient. 

1962. "Islamophobia" -- like "racism" -- is not a term which invites analysis. The message is not logical, but emotional -- a symbol of taboo: "This is not something we wish to discuss: shut up."

1948. Motion M - 103 approves, in principle, the claim of laws against blasphemy: that there are some ideas so utterly ridiculous that they must be protected by the state.

1947. Laws against blasphemy represent admissions of error; they proclaim that some beliefs are so stupid, so vulnerable to criticism, that fear is the only means of protecting them from ridicule. 

1922. Religion is an imaginative construct -- a work of art, if you will -- but it differs from other narratives in its social impact. It gives hope of resurrection, salvation, and ultimate justice. It comforts with an anthropocentric view of an otherwise alien or even hostile universe. It soothes with repetition and communal ritual. Because it claims divine origin, it insulates itself -- and believers -- from mere mortal criticism. These elements create a powerful mythic cultural glue which enhances social unity -- and which -- historically -- has enabled tribal survival.

At the heart of its power lies certainty -- which is both its inspirational strength and its moral weakness: while inspiring faith with claims of infallibility and moral purity -- it allows the commission of unconscionable evils in its promulgation and defence. Reason requires that, in the absence of evidence, religion should deny certainty -- but this is like asking the dictator to renounce power, the charlatan to proclaim his deceptions, the predator to give warning to its prey.

1920. Faith is the foundation stone of fanaticism.

1919. Faith is the root -- fanaticism the flower.

1918. Unfortunately, faith is the first step on the road to fanaticism.

1890. Of course there should be a God -- just as you should be rich, famous, respected, and good-looking. But comforting fantasies about alternative universes are poor guides to the real one.

1886. Religion represents an early imaginative explanation of the workings of the universe and a powerful tribal glue considered -- usefully -- too "sacred" for criticism. As more facts about the universe have been discovered, a significant dichotomy has appeared -- between the still tribally entranced and the newly freed -- whose thinking has advanced.  

1868. What the atheist asks is the ability to describe things as the evidence suggests, and to respond in a rational fashion.  Speculations about how things came to be -- no matter how interesting -- lack an evidentiary basis and are ultimately irrelevant to daily life. Speculations about how things should be -- the conduct of society -- these are the subjects of moral philosophy. Religion -- which claims both a human-like originator and a detailed knowledge of his moral conclusions -- is fantasy posing as fact -- and should be valued accordingly.

1861. Religious hypotheses are unverifiable by the living -- the only "evidence" is ancient personal assertion -- or mythic "facts" woefully lacking in credibility.  But fantasy is its own protection: it is a unifying realm beyond the fractious quibbles of intellect. Religion provides a sense of certainty, assures moral superiority, and comforts believers with a sense of community through repeated shared rituals. We should never underestimate the power of stupidity that is reassuringly communal.

1857. Gods are created for our purposes -- to do our bidding. They are used to terrify, to justify, and to explain. Consistency is not a requirement. Sometimes we expect a god to be a beneficent purveyor of egalitarian mercy -- a comforting emotional haven -- a refuge from the real world. That world, of course, is simply the outcome and embodiment of the evolutionary principles of ruthless competition and necessary murder -- it is the very world he is assumed to have knowingly created in the first place. 

1839. Belief in nonsense can be a powerful force. The lack of facts and logic requires an over-compensation in steely stubbornness and desperate determination.

1817. Islam is often defended on the grounds that only extremists commit evil in its name. The absurdity of that defense is exposed by the fact that entire countries -- which claim to abide by Islamic principles -- embrace disgraceful oppressive evils. Iran hangs gays, Pakistan has the death penalty for blasphemy, and in Saudi Arabia, stoning and beheading are punishments for adultery, apostasy, and witchcraft.

1815. Tolernaziism: The condemnatory stance and oppressive measures taken by those who believe that the equality of things justifies undiscriminating tolerance -- or tolernuts. It is the moral failure implicit in the refusal to make moral distinctions and value judgments. (An example of condemnatory stance would be Trudeau's outrage that honour killings should be termed "barbaric." An example of an oppressive measure would be the Austrian law which criminalizes the "disparagement of religious precepts" -- since some religious precepts are clearly cruel and harmful.)     

1802. Islam -- like everything else -- should be judged not on its claims of virtue -- but on its achieved results. Few seem anxious to escape secular democracies in order to experience the delights of Islamic theocracies.

1801. Islam is as Islam does.

1795. Those who claim not to be "Islamophobes" should be asked two defining questions: Would you be willing to burn a Koran in a public street in Pakistan? Why not?

1790. Religious certainty: an ancient mountain range of complacent superstition -- much eroded by the elements -- the scourings of doubt, investigation, and truth. Of course -- a rocky archipelago remains -- teeming with determined limpet believers --  but the tides of science, knowledge, and social realism continue to encroach, and, persistently, rise.

1756. The God hypothesis -- a patriarchal and very human alpha male as Creator-in-Chief -- seems weak -- but perhaps understandable among primitive tribes with few facts and active imaginations. When the theory is embellished and developed by religions -- which suggest that God -- managing his vast universe -- or universes -- has nothing better to do than anguish about the affairs of mankind -- and that certain special, chosen human beings know exactly what he is thinking -- "absurdity" and "idiocy" are words  insufficient to the descriptive challenge.

1751. God -- the be-all and end-all of the universe; how can he avoid the character flaw of immodesty?

1750. If God wanted to show us he's really there -- smart, caring, and an all round great guy to boot -- you'd think he could have hit on something a little less gruesome than the crucifixion of a close relative.

1749. The atheist has no preconceptions -- he reads the text of the universe as it appears -- and there are no explanatory footnotes. It is the theist who proposes an explanation -- thus he must bear the burden of proof. That proof is invariably what somebody said a long time ago.

1739. Religion has always been the "secret police" of tribal culture: God is the spy in the sky -- the omniscient and omnipotent enforcer of social norms.

1738. The chief concern of religion -- the most potent force in tribalism -- has always been power; its aim is to instil, as the mainspring of human action, the imagined preferences of the God or Gods. When behaviour is firmly premised on fantasy, it is resistant to reason, and is susceptible to manipulation by those who can most convincingly interpret the "desires" of Divinity.

1714. The development of varied, extraordinarily complex, conscious living creatures from inanimate matter is nothing less than miraculous. But there is nothing inherently moral about the process or the result. Most living creatures are caught up in a ruthless scheme of necessary murder -- and morality is a rather rare concept derived from the lives of a few of those creatures who live in social groups. The great error of religion is to assume that what is miraculous must also be moral. It simply isn't.

1710. What is the true nature of God? Does he weep when evils are committed in his name? Or does he respond with bemused intellectual detachment -- savouring the irony?

1708. It is a fatal flaw for religion to claim that it has all the answers. In the real world, things change -- including verifiable knowledge. Old speculative certainties run the risk of becoming new, obvious absurdities.

1704. There can hardly be a more certain way of ensuring resentment against Muslims than by establishing penalties for criticizing their uncompromising and often hostile religion.

1702.  The appearance of animate matter, and its complex development to the triumph of consciousness, is an unfathomable, extraordinary, awe-inspiring mystery. Those who find "God" a tempting explanation should remember that the process is neither deliberate nor kind -- it is both cruel and blind.

1696. Religion is a private, personal matter that should have no rôle in the framing of government legislation; nor should it appear as an element in the interaction between citizens and government representatives. Otherwise how is it possible to be assured of the distinction between democracy and theocracy?

1695. A government must be essentially secular -- or essentially religious: it cannot be both. It cannot claim to legislate on the basis of reason while allowing its employees to proclaim their superstitious preferences to the public during working hours. If a government wishes to endorse religion, it has a moral duty to citizens to explain exactly what religious beliefs lie at the heart of its deliberations. 

1691. Your view of religion will depend on how much you value truth, and how much you value strategies for avoiding it.

1679. Islam is both a religion and a political ideology. The reflexive response to religion in the West is that faith is sacrosanct;  thus, it is impossible to reject any political ideology -- no matter how subversive or incompatible -- as long as  it wears the mantle of religion. Idealists always suffer -- their failure to face reality allows it to stab them in the back.

1670. Preponderance of Evidence

          Isn't it odd --
          This thing about God? --
          Brief sparks of benevolence
          Mid his routine malevolence.

1665. God and the Devil are the same reality wearing different masks.  

1658. With respect to Islam, the bien pensants in the West have adopted a strategy which encapsulates a foundational principle: harmony can be purchased with dishonesty. As with all pacts with the devil,  the attractive bargain turns out to be less straightforward than it appears.

1656. In their spare time, government employees may legitimately attempt to transform lead into gold,  make cucumbers from moonbeams, or proclaim their religious beliefs. But references to such personal quirks are inappropriate in the workplace. In addition to being divisive or irrelevant, they can only serve to erode trust -- fragile at the best of times -- in the sanity and sobriety of government.   

1655. Of course government employees dealing with the public should not wear religious symbols -- any more than they should similarly proclaim their political affiliation, preferred sports teams, or sexual enthusiasms.

1653. Freedom from religion is more important than freedom of religion -- just as the right to peace and quiet must trump the right to play loud, repetitive, unpleasant music.

1638. True "freedom of religion" must include the freedom to follow any peaceful religion -- or to reject all religions.  Since it calls for the deaths of apostates and unbelievers, Islam is incompatible with freedom of religion, and is unsuitable in countries which hold that freedom dear.

1637. Theists are strong advocates of "freedom of religion" -- by which they mean the "freedom" of believers to subscribe to unlikely fantasies dressed up as dogma. They are less enamoured with the more important "freedom from religion" -- which requires that fantasies not claim to be facts.

1636. All religions tend towards fanaticism -- the certain belief that only they have a true and detailed understanding of "God" -- a divinity suspiciously human -- but as intriguingly varied as the societies which have imagined him.  

1634. It is not entirely surprising that lipstick has been applied some troubling, oppressive religious texts -- proclaiming the excuse of benign metaphor. But the proposition that a machine gun is really just a waffle-maker is always subverted by the term "machine gun" -- and by the persistence of those who insist on continuing to pull the trigger.

1632. Reality -- the truth -- is sprawling, stubborn, contradictory, mysterious, and inconvenient. It cannot be tidily stuffed into the little boxes of religious dogma -- nor can it be agreeably housed in the brittle crystal palace of egalitarian socialist ideals.

1625. The New Zealand Imam said "Islamophobia kills." But -- so does Islam -- and Islam came first.

1604. God's "perfection" is the ultimate get-out-of-jail-free card. Is God contradictory, unreliable, and uncaring? Are his motivations muddled, his creation cruel, and his second coming inordinately delayed? Don't worry -- his wisdom his infinite -- yours temporal and flawed.  Tolerance of the perfection evasion varies according to the need for a comforting illusion.

1603. "God" represents the attempt to tame the unfathomable, bizarre mystery of the universe -- to give it a comforting "human" face.

1601. Mass murderers like Brenton Tarrant are responsible for two evils. The most obvious is the insanity of killing people -- apparently -- for their membership in a group. The less obvious is the inevitable linking of such horror with criticism of Islam, and inhibiting its legitimate expression. Facts remain, unchanged: Iran and Saudi Arabia are oppressive Islamic theocracies; Pakistan has the death penalty for blasphemy. Sharia law is incompatible with democracy; murderous riots over mocking cartoons and horrendous evils committed in the attempt to establish a Caliphate cannot be erased with wishful thinking. Benign interpretations of the religion do not -- and should not -- preclude the recognition of the evils of actual, literal observances.

1596. Those preoccupied with God's benevolence ignore -- conveniently -- a foundational and essential principle of his creation: most living things are locked in a scheme of necessary murder.  (A variation of #1536)

1581. Religion has traditionally dealt with the dichotomy between what is real and what is imagined by placing the ideal world at a convenient distance -- after death. Socialism -- and the new secular religion of political correctness -- attempt to transform the real world by imposing ideal, egalitarian principles. Both are doomed by the bedrock reality: the essence of life is the struggle for unequal outcomes.

1568. We must suppose that the only people not afraid of Islam are brain dead -- or live on remote Polynesian islands. Muslims must be fearful of renouncing their faith -- since the penalty is death. Unbelievers have already had their death sentence proclaimed -- the ever-present threat is the encounter with a willing executioner.

1567. Religion -- a kind of alternative insanity which allows the afflicted to make absurd irrational claims without fear of corrective treatment or loss of social standing.

1563. The positions of theist and atheist are different in kind. The theist proposes a hypothesis to explain the mysteries of existence; the atheist has none. Thus -- although he is unlikely to admit it -- the theist must accept the burden of proof -- for it is he who has a hypothesis requiring validation. From that point, the difficulties become formidable -- since "God" is assumed to be "outside" the universe -- beyond the world of sensory experience -- and hence also outside the realm of rational argument. For "proof," the theist is left with the simple assertion of superior knowledge -- or the claims of self-proclaimed "visionaries" who lived in primitive times of great gullibility -- before humankind began much serious exploration of the real world. The hypothesis -- which claims divine omnipotence and benevolence focussed on homo sapiens-- seems at odds with the reality: man is merely one of many sentient creatures -- all composed of the same genetic building blocks -- seeking to survive in a ruthless scheme of necessary murder.

1561. "God" is a thought experiment -- an essay of the creative imagination. The theist confuses hypothesis with fact, and confidently proclaims that he has discovered truth.

1560. "God" is an idea -- a hypothesis that cannot be verified through sensory experience. He cannot be seen, heard, touched, smelled or tasted. No one, obviously, can prove that there are not things beyond sensory experience -- but the claim that their true nature is understood is manifestly absurd, and represents an obvious intent to deceive.

1559. Utopia -- whether secular or religious -- is not attainable. That is because at the heart of every society there is a need for co-operation and a need for competition. It is a conflict of necessary opposites which ensures things will always be a muddle. The proper goal of mankind is pragmatic idealism -- the best muddle possible. (But the idealists will remain dissatisfied.)

1557. The theist is often careful to make his position unassailable. He claims his knowledge is a prerequisite to "proper" reasoning -- he has a truth beyond that obtainable by mere human reason. Thus his critics -- burdened by a crucial lack of reasoning capacity -- can be easily dismissed. He wins the argument about the validity of religion by assuming the validity of religion -- a kind of begging of the question.

1556. We live in the world of sensory experience; things outside that world may exist -- but they, by definition, are not subject to ordinary tests of evidence. The claims that "God" -- the Unicorn/Mermaid Co-operative Association  -- or multiple universes -- exist -- may be viewed with equal skepticism.  Further, those who claim we must observe the "commands" of "God" are deluded or evil; the only evidence they rely on is that for the unfathomable gullibility of humankind.

1555. The scientist nibbles at the edges of whatever is really there -- finding particles, laws, and confounding puzzles. The theist speculates that the big answer is "God," and then claims that, because he knows what God is thinking, he has "divine" solutions for human problems.

1554. The brain constructs a "reality" from whatever is there. That allows us to function in a utilitarian world of apparent cause and effect.

1543. It is not "illiberal" to hold religious ideas to the same standard of truth and usefulness as any other. Rather, it is arrogant for theists to hold that religion -- the dogma based on the insights of self-proclaimed "visionaries" -- be accorded special reverence and respect. In the public sphere, all ideas should be judged on their merits, not on their claim to divine approval.  

1540. "God" is mankind's answer -- both simple and deceptive -- to many difficult questions. But magic only works for the illusionist on stage; in the real world, the need is for facts. 

1538. Bad ideas -- those which threaten our traditional freedoms -- should not go unopposed. No attention should be paid to the claim that such criticism will offend the religious sensibilities of those who hold them. The worst defence for any idea is that it is based in a religious tradition.

1536. Those who see conscious life as the miraculous gift of a benevolent God ignore the reality -- that the survival of most creatures is dependent upon a heartless scheme of necessary murder.

1532. Fear and ignorance are the foundation stones of religion.

1529. There was a certain prudent practicality about the old religion -- it recognized the imperfections of temporal existence, and promised perfection only for the dead. The new religion -- political correctness -- is more bold, radical, and stupid: it envisions perfection in the here and now.

1525. Some appear to believe that it is better to move backwards to the religious certainties of the seventh century rather than look forward to the scientific possibilities of the twenty-second.

1524. The politically correct progressive believes that it is better to allow evil to flourish than offend the religious sensibilities of those who endorse it.

1523. When it becomes unacceptable to criticize bad ideas because they claim the sanction of religion, the bad ideas will flourish, and mankind will suffer accordingly.

1522. Bad ideas hiding under the cloak of religion should be seen as exactly what they are: bad ideas hiding under the cloak of religion.

1519. Offended by the ephemeral, mankind creates Gods as an assurance of permanent, ultimate meaning. It is a hopeful alchemy -- the transmuting of truth from temporal to eternal.

1514. The implication of Christianity is that God was created at about the time that Jesus lived. If he was there before that time, it is surely legitimate to ask what on earth he was doing while mankind worshipped all those other reprehensible imposters. Was he lazy, preoccupied, or just depressed? Or was he impotently frustrated: did it take all that time to come up with the brilliant idea of having his son tortured and murdered to draw proper attention to his existence? Why did he choose to save souls at one particular point in history, unaccountably ignoring the worthy of countless earlier generations? But if he was created along with Jesus -- does that not call into question his rôle as intelligent creator of the universe?

1507. Because religious faith is impervious to reason, it has been the most potent and useful element in ensuring social -- that is -- tribal -- unity.

1506. Evil can be both deliberate -- and -- the unintended consequence of idealism. The most dangerous idealism involves the certain belief in an authoritarian and inflexible God; after that comes the belief that "equality" is both desirable and attainable.

1502. "Blind" faith mixes implacable determination with soothing certainty; the chosen darkness insulates and protects; it is impervious to the light of reason.

1493. No one can prove that unicorns do not exist; on the other hand, it is legitimate to regard those who claim to be experts in Unicornology with suspicion, and demand a tusk of hornory evidence.

1485. Accepting the premise that space and time began with the universe, human language must fail when we attempt to imagine anything "outside," "beyond," or "before" it. The very term "intelligent creator" betrays our limitations. A "creator" operates within the sphere of cause and effect -- where one thing arises from another. "Intelligence" suggests consciousness and intent -- which are concepts arising from the experiences of living, ephemeral creatures who function within both time and space. The claim of an "intelligent creator" which is outside the universe -- the sphere of time and space -- must be seen as an attempt to have one's cake and eat it, too. The term "big mystery" would appear more suitably vague.

1484. The theist always finds what he seeks -- a happy and comforting answer to the riddle of existence; the scientist must be content with the truth.

1483. The theist's strategy is to protect his "God" from criticism by claiming that he is outside time and space; mere mortal reason must be silenced -- impertinent questions about his origin have no relevance or legitimacy. From that point, of course, the way is cleared for any absurdity the theist may wish to propose or imagine. Such an approach would, of course, permit the contention that "God" has absolutely no interaction with the universe whatsoever, or that he has no concern for homo sapiens on planet Earth, or that he is focused exclusively on the culture and behaviour of elephants --on the planet Mysteria -- in the galaxy of Oz.

1482. The theist objects to the question "Where did God come from?" -- which suggests that "God" is an inadequate explanation for a "first cause." The claim is that he is a perfect eternal reality, beyond time and space; hence to question his origin is presumptuous and illegitimate: there can be nothing "before" the deity existing outside the universe -- where the concept of "time" began. It is a conveniently protective claim for a speculation -- a theory for which no real evidence can possibly be adduced. And such an explanation requires -- naturally -- the same type of thinking objected to in the question -- it requires the use of terms like "outside" and "beyond," and suggests God was there "before" the universe -- all terms which can have no meaningful function except within the "space" and "time" of the cosmos. In a bid to have his cake and eat it too, the theist expects us to believe that the same remote, hypothetical God -- timeless and living nowhere in particular -- is obsessively concerned with that from which he is radically apart -- the time and space of a particular mammal on a small planet in an average galaxy in one of possibly many universes. He is full of ideas about proper human behaviour -- ideas which change significantly over time -- and he holds out the promise of an afterlife for his most loyal and flattering human believers. While perfectly benevolent, he cares nothing for the others -- nor for animals made of the same genetic building blocks, who are the result of the same evolutionary process. Omniscient, he knows that most living creatures are locked in a scheme of necessary murder; omnipotent, he chooses to do nothing.

It is such utter nonsense!

1476. The great error of religion is to confuse belief with truth. The more certain the chosen belief, the more self-righteous are the believers, and the more powerful and dangerous is the religion. Political correctness is simply a modern religion.

1471. Nobody has all the answers -- but questions are essential. Nothing further will be discovered by those who find truth in fantasy -- and stop asking questions.

1464. Secularism -- the terrible thing that happens when people start thinking for themselves.

1460. By definition -- imaginary creatures do not actually exist. That is true of elves, Santa Claus, fairies at the bottom of the garden, the Easter Bunny, mermaids, unicorns, and Gods. Only Gods -- it is claimed --are divine exceptions to the obvious.

1453. We have to make our own humanity, our own morality; there are no prescriptions.

1452. It now appears that Pope Francis dresses like a catholic, thinks like a socialist, and acts like a man without principles.

1451. Islam is like a hand grenade -- safe when handled with care -- but having -- at its core -- an ideology which is dangerously explosive.

1450. Islam calls for my death; the feeling is mutual.

1449: "Islamophobia:" When a religion calls for your death, it should not be surprising that the feeling is mutual.

1448. "Islamophobia:" Any infidel has the right to fear a religion which calls for his death.

1442. The secular Muslim and the radical Muslim drink from the same well -- each claiming that it is not poisoned.

1440. Science has evidence, but makes no claim of certainty; religion claims certainty, but has no evidence.

1439. We look forward to the day when immigrants from Islamic countries can be warned that Canada allows the freedom to practice, the freedom to abstain from, and the freedom to criticize any religion.

1428. Morality has no need of Gods -- it is socially derived -- a clause in every social contract. There is no practical morality for the lone castaway on a desert island -- for he can neither be sinned against nor sinning.

1421. Certainty in the absence of evidence is the great inspirational strength --and the great moral weakness -- at the heart of any religion.

1420. We should celebrate our miraculous sense of purpose and meaningfulness -- but refrain from jumping to conclusions about a big benefactor in the sky. Sentience is marvellous and extraordinary: it shows the creative capacity of the universe -- but it gives no proof of magical beginnings -- or promise of happy endings.

1416. The persistence of religion and the continuing popularity of dictatorships suggest that the human brain has developed with a strong bias towards tribal hierarchy -- conformity and an acceptance of authority. At most important turns in the road, tribalism trumps thought. 

1412. The tragedies of ordinary life used to be more common; the response, of necessity, more muted: there was comfort in assigning responsibility to God, whose mysterious ways were assumed to result in inevitable, if distant, wonders. Today, tragedies are less common, but God less available. The response is in expressions of communal grief, and in ritual displays of the idea that love will conquer all.  (Shooting at Danforth & Logan)

1405. The universe is astoundingly, miraculously creative, but absolutely amoral. Men are little universes with the addition of morality derived from their communal, tribal existence. (A variation of #1394)

1403. The task of the modern age is to divorce inspiration from certainty -- to transform religion into myth.

1402. Pope Francis dresses as a Catholic, thinks as a socialist.

1401. Motion M-103 suggests that free speech should be curtailed to stop "Islamophobia." It proposes the exchange of our birthright of freedom for an unsavoury mess of religious pottage.

1400. Faith is simply hope wearing the mask of certainty.

1395. Gods come with a variable -- but always limited -- warranty. The devout Christian or Muslim of today -- would -- as a citizen of ancient Egypt, China, or Peru -- have had a similar commitment to Gods now long past their expiry dates.

1394. The universe -- call it God if you wish -- is creative, but amoral. Morality has its roots in tribal co-operation and is a function of tribal survival.

1386. Many believe that without God, there can be no morality. But without men, there can be no Gods. Gods are mere reflectors -- they mirror the moralities of men.

1379. The atheist cannot prove that "God" does not exist -- but why should he have to? Surely it is up to those who insist that we respect God's infinite wisdom and perfect knowledge to perform the minimal comforting courtesy -- to make the token nod to reason -- by proving -- first -- that he does exist.

1378. We do not see how any society can long remain half-committed to superstition, and half-committed to science. One or the other must be given precedence. We look forward to the day when superstition is -- at last -- dethroned.

1377. Religion is such a boon! When you think you know the mind of God, you can put your own at rest. Then it can -- and often does -- remain happily inactive for a lifetime!

1376. Religion has nothing to do with the truth. It is an illusion central to the ancient wisdom of tribal survival. In modern times, when aggressive tribalism is too destructive, but competitive tribalism is the best hope for achieving free and prosperous societies, the rôle of religion must change accordingly.

1373. Can any nation remain half-slave to the idea that religion and government should be inseparable, and half-free to claim that religion is a private matter irrelevant to affairs of state? Only in the insanity of multiculturalism can the answer be in the affirmative.

1361. There are times when the freedom of the individual to express his devotion to religious fantasies must defer to the freedom of the state to express its devotion to secular values.

1360. A policeman wears a uniform to indicate that he is acting, not as an individual, but as a representative of the state. When he also wears a religious symbol, he is suggesting that the state approves of a particular religion, or that he represents something beyond -- and possibly above -- the state.

1359. Religious symbols worn with police uniforms suggest a religious state. In a secular state, such symbols represent confusion and disarray: the officer has divided loyalties -- and the state has an identity crisis.

1358. When the rational pretend to be delusional, they have one foot in the asylum.

1357. Secular states should avoid suggesting official approval of religious symbols. The rational do not pretend to be delusional.

1353. The preference for fantasy over fact is a modern folly. Equality of result is neither desirable nor attainable; adversity is woven into the fabric of existence, and hurt feelings are unavoidable;  the pursuit of all ideals -- especially those claiming religious sanction -- should be governed by a consideration of likely practical consequences rather than by a blind belief in the validity of hopeful intentions.   

1352.The restriction of some freedoms -- while necessary -- should be based on logic, rather than  fantasy. It seems logical to restrict the freedom of thieves and murderers. Is it also appropriate to restrict the speech of those who criticize the fantasies of political correctness, or who oppose the evils -- both theoretical and practical -- of the religion of Islam?

1351. Religious ideas about society and government should be judged like all others: do they contribute to the well-being of the body politic? The claim of divine inspiration and approval should be dismissed as the bullshit it is.   

1350. Freedom of religion is the freedom to engage in fantasy. To give special deference to religious ideas -- because they claim divine approval -- is to express a preference for fantasy over fact.

1345. People reject -- or ignore -- the truth about Islam because it contradicts certain hopeful illusions: that Islam is a religion of peace, that multiculturalism is possible, and that tolerance is the effective inoculation against discord. They prefer the haven of stupidity to a confrontation with unpleasantness.

1344. All religions are false. Christianity, in its present state of decline, is false but relatively benign. Islam, in its theoretical -- and often practical -- militancy, is false and cries out for remedy and reform.

1341. Perfection is incompatible with change; there is a certain prudent practicality -- or unacknowledged irony -- in the religious notion that you have to be dead to experience it.

1329. The universe abounds in mysteries -- of origin, of the transformation of inanimate to animate matter, of consciousness, and of quantum perversities. True humility is shown by those who accept the mysteries. and await enlightening evidence. It is the arrogant who claim -- not only that the solution to the mysteries is "God" -- but that they are privileged to know his opinions, feelings, and intentions. It is the babbling of idiots pretending to wisdom.

1322. Faith is simply certainty in the absence of evidence. It is as dangerous as it is comforting.

1321. Complex things do not begin with complexity, but with simplicity; that is why "God" is an unconvincing ultimate first cause for the universe -- he is never described as simple -- but always in terms of a powerful "divine" complexity.

1319. The universe "just right" for life is often considered proof of a "divine plan." But it could also reflect the principle observed in the process of evolution. This universe is simply the "successful" version -- among many other "failed" universe experiments.

1316. Those who reject all religions but one seem to feel  immensely superior to those who reject every single one of them. When the difference is so small -- one would expect a greater generosity of spirit!

1297. The fact that morality is socially derived explains both the similarities and differences in moral codes. Casual murder is not likely to be condoned in any society -- because it is, universally, too dangerously disruptive. On the other hand, one society might favour human sacrifice in order to obtain a favourable harvest, while another would consider that immoral, and choose instead, the creation of an efficient system of irrigation.

1295. The choice is clear: to live with the uncomfortable truth -- that the universe is a great mystery whose origin and secrets we may never fully understand -- or to subscribe to a comforting lie -- that the universe was created solely for our benefit by a species-obsessed deity whose thoughts on every conceivable subject have been -- and continue to be -- accurately divined by self-proclaimed human intermediaries. It's a choice between reasonable calm -- pursuing the truth by sticking to the evidence -- and pathetic bluster -- the manufacturing of an unreasonable conclusion.

1275. We do not expect government leaders to criticize any religion -- but nor do we expect them to decry "Islamophobia," and suggest that criticism of Islam should be silenced. In doing so, they betray the principle of freedom of speech. Expressions of pious outrage in defence of Islam are, in fact, counter-productive: like those of the Player Queen -- they are seen to be protestations entirely too much.

1258. Meaning is in the moment, not in eternity.

1257. No one can deny the confounding mysteries: the existence of matter, the transformation to animate matter, and the existence of consciousness. But religious explanations are always too simplistic; they assume a grand design, a human primacy and a divine concern and benevolence which cannot be justified by the facts of our circumstance.

1253. It is possible that the belief in powerful, concerned, and often benign deities -- while completely unfounded -- is an illusion essential to the human project. History would seem to suggest so -- but perhaps there is hope for a faith in reason in the future.

1241. Traditionally, men have required myths to live by -- as refutations of an apparently uncaring universe, and as an assurance of immortality. The great modern danger is that they are divisive elements not subject to rational discussion, and are -- as in the past -- convenient tools for oppression.

1235. Heaven sounds awfully boring. Let's face it -- it's sin -- or the prospect of it -- that keeps us alive and interested. No wonder you need a death certificate to get in.

1234. Heaven sounds awfully boring -- like rice pudding without the raisins.

1226. Religions are useful, not truthful.

1225. We launch our atheistic missiles without scruple at the staunch believers; we know that the carapace of irrational faith has never yet been penetrated by reason, nor yet been dented by doubt.

1224. The Bible: historically significant; increasingly irrelevant; and -- to the gullible -- dangerously misleading.

1222. Religion may be reasonably benign when seen as a comforting -- but temporary and occasional -- flirtation with fantasy -- and as an acknowledgment that life has many unanswered questions. It can be quite dangerous as a permanent delusion -- a conclusion that all the questions have been answered.

1192. Islam is a tough nut to crack: at its core is a ruthless, aggressive, hostile political ideology cunningly concealed beneath a ruthless, hostile, aggressive religious philosophy.

1186. The origin of the universe and the nature of consciousness are considerable mysteries. It is possible to put mysteries into a black box, and give them the name "God." But that's what it is -- a label for the unknown. It is not then legitimate to ascribe to the unknown human attributes such as thought and intention. The unknown is not a person, and nobody knows what it eats for breakfast.  

1185. It is impossible to disprove the existence of something imagined, such as "God." On the other hand, the existence of something imagined cannot be confused with something for which evidence exists. The onus is on the imaginer of God to prove his existence. The universe is not that proof. We all agree about the universe. What is at issue is "God" -- as something separate from the universe. 

1184. Morality is socially derived -- but religion is the lie used to reinforce it. Some say the lie is necessary, but as more and more people cease to believe in God -- while living socially acceptable lives -- that argument loses its force.

1177. All religions attempt to deal with the gap between desire and reality. The theistic religions promise to fulfill desires under certain conditions -- and -- rather conveniently -- after death. Buddhism attempts to solve the problem by banishing the desires. The persistence of religions is a testament to the usefulness of utter nonsense.

1174. In the marketplace of ideas, a winner can be chosen on the basis of efficacy; in any battle involving religion, reason is irrelevant -- determination is all. It is folly to believe that a winning idea will overcome a commitment of faith -- yet this appears to be the presumption of western secularism.   

1170. Banning the burka: in a war, one neither broadcasts nor approves the propaganda of the enemy.

1164. We are witnessing the clash of two antithetical traditions: one allows the freedom to criticize; the other holds that a religion must, unfailingly, be approved. There can be no compromise between such opposites. If we fail to uphold the freedom to criticize -- we concede the triumph of irrational belief, and embrace not merely the slavery of silence, but the imprisonment of the mind which it implies.

1161. Religions claim the status of truth for what is merely speculation. They are dangerous to the extent to which they justify the compelling of belief.

1161. If the Koran were simply a silly old religious book that no one paid attention to, Islam could be regarded as relatively benign. Unfortunately, it is a threatening and oppressive old religious book that many interpret literally -- and that makes Islam thoroughly dangerous.

1160. "Islamophobia" -- the irrational fear of Islam -- scarcely exists. An example would be the belief that agents of Islam are reading our thoughts through the television set. Overwhelmingly, the fear of Islam is perfectly rational -- it is based on the fact that the religion is oppressive and threatening in theory, and is interpreted literally by significant numbers. The attempts to vilify those who fear Islam represent stupidity wearing the mantle of "tolerance."

1159. Religion is the attempt to make comforting sense of the puzzle of the human condition. Where truth is unavailable, fantasy is made to suffice.

1143. "Infidels" will stop fearing Islam when the religion ceases to call for their deaths.

1142. We have arrived at a hell of stupidity -- a state of wilful ignorance based on good intentions -- that feelings of Muslims must not be hurt by calling attention to the oppressive nature of their religion.

1141. An irrational belief -- like a crucial break in the dyke of reason -- enables and encourages the flow of ever greater absurdities.

1140. Religion is a four-letter word: scam.

1139. Religion and science both represent man's quest for agency. Religion is the easy inheritance, promising unproven magical rewards; science is more demanding -- it offers real but limited benefits -- in exchange for effort. The persistence of religion is not difficult to explain.

1136. It is a matter of enduring wonder that, even for intelligent people, the mind stops working when religious belief is at issue. What, do they imagine, would have been their convictions had they been born in ancient Egypt, China, or Peru? Would they have been "saved" at the time of their demise -- or just have fallen back into the "immense design of things?" Why should their present time and place make any difference? How unfair if it should!

1127. It would not surprise us to learn that God, in considerable annoyance at the arrogant claim of human beings that they are created in his image, and are the sole and worthy focus of his attention,  is preparing an especially humiliating comeuppance. Perhaps an all-consuming solar flare, or a pulverising collision with a huge asteroid.

1123. Political correctness seeks to suppress speech critical of Islam. Thus not only are bad ideas protected -- including the absurd claim of infallibility -- but a liberty fundamental to western societies -- the right to criticize -- is denied. It is an obsequious appeasement -- an offer of cultural suicide in the hope of harmony.

1116. Religion provides magical explanations; science is more prosaic, but has a winning track record. Where there are mysteries, leaping to religious answers seems unwise. When science has done its best -- some magic may remain -- the origin of the universe and the development of complex life forms seem dauntingly mysterious and miraculous respectively. But "God" is never an answer -- merely the evasive postponement of one. 

1112. Religious presumptions invariably prefigure further foolishness.

1105. It is said that a habit of gloom may be erased by a determination to smile: what is at first forced becomes, over time, easy and natural. If this is true, a consistent and determined replacement of "religious" and "religion" with the word "stupidity" should result in a great benefit and advancement for mankind. The habit of deferring to "stupidity" might lose some small part of its allure.

1102. Islam presents a problem because it is very oppressive in theory, but can be less so in practice. The danger is that a failure to criticize bad ideas can be mistaken for consent; the feelings of believers must never stand in the way of  criticizing absurdity and injustice -- wherever they are found. 

1101. The theory of evolution is resisted by many of the faithful. They prefer the  immediate, strategic brilliance -- the magic of purposeful creation -- to the eons of tiny changes -- an uncertain, meandering slog of natural interactions. Worst of all, perhaps -- the deceptive curtain thus pulled aside -- there appears no magnificent wizard worthy of worship -- but rather -- exposed -- is the creaky machinery of religion -- a bunch of levers requiring constant activation by mortal hands.

1100. The God of the Old Testament differs from that of the New; the Christian God of the fifteenth century differs from the Christian God of the present day. That is because Gods are created by men, and are obliged to change with the times.

1096. The history of religion shows a marked propensity for leaping to conclusions -- "certainties" later contradicted by evidence.

1095. Religion -- the happy marriage of gullibility and mendacity.

1094. In the absence of evidence, speculation is a thin, unsatisfying gruel for the mind. We may speculate that there is a benevolent God obsessively concerned with the human race, anguishing over the beliefs, attitudes and customs of human societies, and fretting about the success -- or lack thereof -- of his Divine Plan. But is it not equally valid to speculate that God is largely indifferent to human affairs? Perhaps, after all, he has a far older, more interesting species on an entirely different planet -- one far more worthy of the concern and focus of his Divine Mind. 

1093. The universe is a great mystery -- there is no evidence that it has -- or has not -- any meaning or purpose. Theories are proposed which are comforting, benign, and anthropocentric -- but they are contradicted by the realities thus far discovered: human beings evolved using the same building blocks as other creatures -- and we are interdependent -- all involved in a ruthless scheme of necessary murder.

1084. The belief in multiculturalism is one of the chief follies of the age. It ignores the diversity of cultural beliefs, the powerful roots and bonds of traditional practice, and the essential incompatibility of some traditions with any humane continuance of the human project. In particular, religious certainties -- which have no basis in evidence -- are resistant to reason, and to the moderating effects of secular perspectives. 

1081. If Islam were a person, he would be seen as suffering from a number of mental deficiencies -- some of which alone -- but certainly all of which in combination -- would render him unfit for human society. He would be seen as utterly lacking in empathy -- calling for the death of all those around him who were insufficiently supportive -- or who expressed a desire to move to more congenial neighbourhoods. He would be seen as an obsessive compulsive -- attempting to control every aspect of the lives of those around him. He would be seen as a megalomaniac -- insisting that complete strangers pay him the same respect required of those in his inner circle. Indeed, he would be seen as emotionally unstable -- reacting to mockery with the tantrums of a two-year old -- murderous outbursts in his case -- ineptly battling the unwelcome reality -- that he is not the centre of the universe.

1079. All religions arise from the claims of special insight or "revelation" on the part of fallible human beings. The messages are rare, arbitrary, and conflicting; they vary widely according to location and time. A serious God -- one with modest intelligence and a half-decent marketing department -- would hardly let belief in his existence -- if it mattered -- depend on such a tenuous and unlikely strategy. The conclusions are clear: "God" is incompetent, capricious, or indifferent. If he is there at all.

1068. Religion is a useful -- but flawed -- coping mechanism; it is like an enabling drug with dangerous side-effects.

1063. Religion is a kind of formalized insanity in which suppositions are transformed into facts. The trouble is -- any insanity sufficiently common and widespread is viewed as completely normal.

1054. Religion is the curse of mankind. It claims certainty about matters which are unknowable, and provides a sanctuary for those who seek ready-made -- but mindless -- solutions to the real problems of existence.

1050. Morality has nothing to do with God -- and everything to do with social interaction. There is no "morality" for a lone castaway on an uninhabited island. His actions can be considered neither moral nor immoral -- for they affect no one but himself. With the addition of another castaway -- or a troop of monkeys -- the potential for morality -- or immorality -- is introduced.

1047. When there is more reverence for religious fantasies than observable facts, you know we're dealing with a major flaw in circuitry design.  

1046. Far too much reverence is accorded to religious belief. It is as if all the inmates in the asylum had joined in a conspiracy to respect each others' delusions.

1045. Religion shows the danger of allowing wishful thinking to dress up and parade as received wisdom.

1032. Trying to personalize the great mystery by calling it "God" is like naming your car "Bessie" -- because then you don't feel like such an idiot when you talk to it. Nothing changes. "Bessie" is still a car -- and you are still an idiot.

1028. When ideas -- whether religious or secular -- are considered too "blasphemous" to be expressed -- we know that somebody's illusion is being threatened.

1027. Laws against blasphemy always suggest inadequacy -- the need to proclaim certainty in the absence of evidence.

1025. Facts have never required the protection of anti-blasphemy laws.

1024. "Blasphemy" is found in matters of comforting but vulnerable belief; the forbidding of criticism is invariably a sign of weakness and insecurity.

1012. Religion should be like nudity: an indulgence unlikely to be fatal in the privacy of the home -- permissible, in seclusion, among small groups of like-minded eccentrics  -- considered scandalous and uncivilized in the public sphere --unheard of in the workplace -- and utterly irrelevant in any government deliberation, discussion, or decision.

1005. God, Equality, and the Easter Bunny have a lot in common.

1001. Science questions everything in search of answers; religion provides answers for everything -- but refuses to be questioned.

999. Political correctness is the new humanist religion. It dispenses with some old ideals -- the anthropomorphic monarch in the sky, and the reward of an afterlife -- in order to focus on the new: human equality -- including the equality of ideas and cultures -- and human dignity. It is currently experiencing the inevitable skirmish with reality: human beings are neither equal, nor inherently dignified.

997. God is the great Jester: into a hierarchical world of cruel competition, he has thrust his favourite creature -- cursed with unquenchable, unattainable dreams of justice and equality. 

994. Certainty is at once the great strength -- and the great weakness -- of religion: for the believer, certainty in the absence of evidence is the solid rock of faith; for the skeptic – it is the treacherous quicksand of stupidity.

993. At its core, religion is utilitarian: irrational belief is a potent force for tribal unity. As the need for aggressive nationalism declines, we expect religious belief to become less fervent.

992. Morality is not divinely revealed, but socially derived. It represents an adjudication between the desires of the individual and the requirements of the tribe. That adjudication may have some universal elements essential to survival, but it may also vary according to beliefs and circumstances. The moral values inspired by the belief that a good harvest depends upon the appeasement of the Gods with human sacrifice differ from those which arise from a belief in the efficacy of a well-designed irrigation system. The values of the tribe under constant threat of attack are unlikely to be identical to those of the tribe which co-exists peacefully with its neighbours. Morality is, essentially, utilitarian rather than holy.

990. The two faces of religion: hopeful illusion -- and dangerous certainty. In the theatre of the absurd, it may wear the mask of comedy -- or of tragedy.

988. Religion is a dirty trick of evolution. Blind and irrational belief in the "divine" has been useful in fostering the unity and determination of primitive tribes. Now -- modern tribes are still burdened with the inherited stupidity which resists reason, and sanctions conflicts potentially fatal to the human project.

986. The difference between what is believed and what is known accounts for a world of stupidity.

962. "Freedom of religion" does not allow adherents to dictate how others should view their faith.

960. One of the great strengths of a religion is its certainty: it is a communal, unifying force; it provides assurance to adherents that they are in possession of truth where others are in error. But certainty is also a great weakness when it concerns matters which are entirely speculative; dogma divorced from reality is coercive, and is the seed of apostasy. Christianity, which has passed its period of greatest certainty, is less coercive than Islam, which often defends its  absurdities with violence.

957. Discussions about the validity of religion must always rest on estimations of likelihood -- since real evidence is unobtainable.

956. Religions are hypotheses suitable for those "dying for evidence."

954. Religion, with evolutionary sanction, embraces an illusion -- and, like tribalism itself, may not be entirely extinguishable. Let us hope that, at least, it can be transformed by doubt: from absolute certainty to something less dangerous -- such as guarded hope.

953. Every child should learn something about three or more religions; in this way, certainty about the truth of any religion will be challenged, and religion will become a force less dangerous to the humane continuance of the human project.

952. Religion has had a useful, unifying rôle in the evolution of tribes: battles are more easily won with fanaticism than with hesitancy. But fanaticism has now outlived its usefulness: religious certainty must be leavened with doubt, and weakened by reason.  

951. All religion is rubbish. The problem is that the human brain appears to have evolved with a large Rubbish Reception Centre.

944. Islamophobia is an entirely reasonable response to a very frightening religion.

943. The remedy for Islamophobia will not be found by criminalizing fear, but by making Islam less frightening.

936. People yearn for "certainty" -- but evidence is not, ironically, a prerequisite. The bleakly factual narratives of science are less attractive than the comforting illusions of religion.

934. It's a bit unnerving to encounter intelligent people who are also religious -- one realizes how long and difficult is man's path to sanity.

929. When religion is used to justify oppression and cruelty, polite silence merely approves the evil.

919. Christianity -- with its belief in virgin birth and final resurrection, its self-serving claim of a bizarre, unlikely "divine" decision to save the entirety of mankind by means of a local, temporal crucifixion -- is preposterous madness. That intelligent individuals profess belief is a testament to the desperate human need for an alternative to the truth: that man is merely one among many sentient creatures locked in a scheme of necessary murder, the product of a universe which gives no evidence of meaning or purpose which is consistent with human yearnings. The best thing that may be said for it is that -- unlike Islam -- it has lost much of its intolerant certainty; by choosing the sanest elements, it may be possible to respect the "Christian tradition" without standing in the way of the humane continuance of the human project.

916. Civil servants -- including police officers -- should not wear religious symbols during working hours -- since they suggest that the state approves of a particular religion, or, indeed, of religion in general. Just as individuals should be free to express superstitious beliefs in private, so the state must be free to show -- to the public -- that it does not approve of or cater to unfounded hypotheses about the nature of Divinity. State and Church should remain in separate spheres; it is unwise to suggest that the ordinary stupidity of government might be exacerbated by the malign influence of religious folly.

888. If a tribe becomes too rational — perhaps it will always succumb to the tribe that has the determination that only blind belief can confer. (This Observation is derived from #616. It appeared in some correspondence with Terri Guillemets of the Quote Garden, and found its way to the "Belief" page on her site.)

877. Just as evolution progresses by testing the environment with innovations, so societies explore possibilities for an improved continuance. Environments change, and with them, the viability of ideas. Unquestioning religious commitment has benefited tribal cultures in the past; it is uncertain whether such insular devotions will function in a world which, increasingly, seems to require global interaction and co-operation. We also question the viability of political correctness -- a modern religion which is more and more often exposed as a dogma at odds with the facts.

876. Fundamentalist Islam must be criticized with relentless determination, for it stands in stark opposition to any humane continuance of the human project.

861. Religions often insist on the fiction that there is a divine being morbidly obsessed with expressions of human sexuality. Modern secular societies have decided that homosexuality -- found in many animal species -- is a morally neutral variation. This shift has been recent and rapid -- only time will tell whether the old fiction was crucially necessary -- or unhelpfully stupid. Our prediction is that, if and when a societal collapse occurs, it will not be traceable to the rejection of a "divine plan" for sexual mores.

826. Islamic free speech is like the thunder of unicorns racing across an imaginary plain.

823. A religious view of the world is best adopted quickly, and without much subsequent reflection. With reflection, the constant need to explain away the awkward facts of existence is likely to become tiresome and dispiriting.

821. Freedom from religion is as important as freedom of religion.

791. The universe is a great mystery -- but there seems to be an irresistible impulse to explain it in human terms -- with distinctly human Gods inordinately preoccupied with their precious human creations. Objectively, this inclination seems to betray an infantile self-absorption. Why should the universe care more about homo sapiens than elephants, or jaguars, or some other life form elsewhere in its undefined vastness? Isn't it about time we grew up?

789. The phrase "freedom of religion" has become, unjustifiably, the byword for a modern taboo against criticism of any religion. The taboo is recognized both by unbelievers -- who may regard criticism as bad manners --an unkind assault on cherished illusions -- and believers -- who doubtless see criticism of any religion as setting a precedent dangerous to their own assumptions. The power of superstition should never be underestimated.

781. Speculation about divinity is relatively harmless. The problems begin when speculation pretends that it is revelation, and assumes the mantle of absolute truth.

779. We recommend paying careful attention to the musings of the Pope. It is important to see how the other half believes, so that dangerous follies can be avoided.

765. Islam and freedom of speech cannot co-exist; the battle may, at great cost, be postponed, but it cannot be avoided.

761. Islam upholds the sensibilities of the seventh century as a source of all wisdom. This explains why the countries in which  it dominates are primitive, oppressive, and unpleasant.

760. Islam is full of bad ideas -- one of the worst of which is that it is an infallible source of wisdom in all matters, and hence is beyond criticism. Thus it stands resolutely against the great constant reality of the universe: change.

759. Science, dealing with facts, makes no claim of knowledge with respect to ultimate intent, motivation, or meaning; religion, without a scintilla of evidence, does. Clearly, this is a case in which ignorance is preferable to arrogance.

756. There is no direct evidence for any religion. There are reports of self-proclaimed human intermediaries, accounts by gullible contemporaries, and exhortations by those with obvious self-interest. It's a wonderful example of the triumph of grand conceptual fiction over the plodding plainness of facts.

751. These are the great unflattering truths that religion teaches us:  big, absurd lies about imaginary deities represent a powerful force for cultural unity -- and blind irrational faith confers some competitive advantage in tribal conflicts.

749. Religion is a very special kind of insanity -- a kind that has conferred, historically, a competitive advantage in human tribal conflict, and hence has the sanction of the evolutionary process. Like tribalism itself, it represents an inherited human instinct. Now, when tribes possess nuclear weapons, the question arises: is that same insanity no longer an advantage, but a mortal threat to the species as a whole?

748. To claim an equivalency of virtue between the cultures of secular western democracies, and those under the influence of Islam, is a declaration of intellectual and moral bankruptcy.

732. The most sinister evils are those committed in piety, and justified by reverence.

731. Religious certainty -- as illustrated by ancient human sacrifice, the Christian Inquisition, and Sharia Law -- is a profound vulnerability -- a source of great moral evil -- at the heart of the human enterprise. 

717. The Koran contains many barbaric ideas which are incompatible with modern Western secular precepts -- and, indeed, with any humane continuance of the human project. The politically correct, always desperate to find an affirming equality -- especially where it does not exist -- seem to think that this fact should not be mentioned. Perhaps they believe that ignored facts turn into pumpkins at midnight. But bad ideas, uncriticized, are neither transformed into jack-o'- lanterns nor neutralized as pies. It is important to give voice to passionate criticism of the unacceptable elements in the religion of Islam.

683. "Moderate" Muslims seem remarkably silent -- nor have they responded to the horrors committed in the name of Islam by seeking to establish a central interpretative authority to disavow the barbarous and aggressive supporting religious texts. This seems telling. By their silence, they give consent;  by their inaction, they betray the absence of a functioning moral compass.

678. It would be great progress if belief in Sharia law could be replaced by a conviction that the earth is flat. Some follies are more dangerous than others.

677. Islam is a religion which lacks any redeeming element of humility.

671. God is the convenient answer -- a black box of silence resistant to supplementary questions or further discussion.

670. Religion -- an intellectual colouring book for adults.

669. Religion -- the refuge of those for whom thinking is too much of a challenge.

668. How Gods reflect their creators! The Gods of primitive, ignorant, and vulnerable societies seem immediate, arbitrary, and cruel -- requiring significant appeasement and sacrifice in return for a mitigation of their fury. In modern societies -- more knowledgeable and self-sufficient -- God is more like an elderly benevolent uncle living in a distant city; in the right mood, he might be good for a new red bicycle, or a crucial, reassuring win for the home team.

648. The notion that religions represent the word of "God" -- as discovered by self-proclaimed special human intermediaries -- is laughably absurd. Yet the belief has persisted even into modern times. A different idea -- that Gods and religions represent -- merely-- human theories and suppositions about reality -- satisfies the detached intellect, but does not feed, apparently, a deep emotional hunger. Is it too much to suggest that an early infantile illusion -- a perception of parental perfection, power, and benevolence -- is mirrored in the yearning for "God?"

647. It seems likely that the idea of "God" has its seeds in the infantile illusion of parental perfection that is gradually -- and reluctantly -- abandoned in the process of maturation. The need for that illusion persists: "God" provides a comforting, caressing circularity -- a womb of benevolent certainty to replace that which has been lost.

640. Faith has a hypnotic fascination -- it is a light of promised permanence -- of certainty beyond fact and reason. But it can be beacon, or flame -- a saving grace, or a pact with the devil.

639. Religion requires a submission of the intellect in exchange for emotional reassurance. It pretends that the universe is not the vast indifference which it appears, but a benign contrivance reflecting an obsession with the human project, and each single member of the human race . 

638. Religion: a cultural glue of mythic tradition, the adhesive strength of which relies on the claim that it is "above" reason, and exempt from rational analysis.

635. Our Gods -- despite their supreme powers, remote abodes, and divine disdain for regular and effective communication -- are all quite recognizably human. This should give some clue as to who was created by whom.

628. Laws against blasphemy provide the opportunity for private evil to strut and prance in the cloak of pious public outrage.

627. An evil impulse is most safely and conveniently disguised as the outrage of righteous piety.

625. God is the universe; we are but his transient, fleeting flashes of self-perception.

624. The inspirational value of religion as myth is far overshadowed by the harm and destruction caused when it is perceived as truth.

622. When faith needs so many suicide bombers to defend it, you know it's having serious mental health issues.

621. Saving mankind: most responsible manufacturers would just fix the design flaws; arranging for the crucifixion of a close relative would be near the bottom of the ideas list.

619. Those who know the mind of God also converse agreeably with mermaids, dine on roasted unicorn, and drink the chocolate ambrosia of melted Easter Bunnies.

616. God -- of course -- is not real.  He is just an idea, an illusion.  But here is the troubling question: Is such an illusion essential to the success of the tribe? Is the competitive universe a place where a rational tribe must always succumb to one driven by a blind -- but determined -- collective insanity?

606. Like some other animals, human beings are essentially tribal in nature. This means they readily absorb not merely the wisdom of their tribe, but also its follies, and irrational  beliefs. This is the great problem posed by religion in all societies: it is the thread of irrational belief woven inextricably into the fabric of tribal thinking.

605. A signal deficiency of Islam is its lack of a central interpretive authority. Thus, the contradictions of the written record remain unresolved: Islam may reasonably be interpreted as a peaceful beacon of sweetness and light -- or as an aggressive call to cruelty and barbarism.  A related difficulty arises from its failure to distinguish between the temporal and the spiritual. It may be seen as a religion assuming unimpeachable political expertise, or as a political movement claiming divine sanction. It represents that most dangerous of fusions known to mankind -- the melding of religious ideals with political power.

604. No world of rational civility can be achieved until all religions concede that their claimed truths are fallible, partial, and particular -- not perfect, universal, and all-encompassing. Islam, with its determined claims to universal infallibility seems particularly resistant to rational civility.

599. Societies seem to welcome -- perhaps they require -- oppressive religions. As Christianity ebbs, political correctness -- stern, uncompromising, and intolerant -- floods imperiously in.

598. Freedom of religion proclaims the right of citizens to hold foolish and irrational beliefs; it does not protect them from criticism of their irrationality, or denunciation of their folly.

596. Religion is concerned with how the world should work; science with how the world does work.

595. Religion  and science are indeed opposites: religion begins with conclusions hoping to find evidence; science begins with evidence hoping to find conclusions.

594. God is theory; the universe is practice.

593. Religion is similar to tradition, except that it claims not merely the sanction of ancient practice, but that of divine origin. Religion is similar to superstition in that both claim the existence of cause and effect relationships for which  evidence is lacking.

591. Criticism of Islam is the only choice for anyone with a moral compass.

590. All religions -- because of the assumption of divine sanction -- tend towards intolerance. A theocracy results when the intolerance is unrestricted, and pervades the spheres of politics, science, and economics.

589. When truth is labelled blasphemy, a new dark age of the mind has been proclaimed.

588. Religions are attempts to personalize the universe. A puzzle of "benevolence" mixed with "cruelty" -- no matter how absurd or irrational -- suggests intention -- and thus is preferred to unmotivated impersonality, or blind indifference.

587. After a period of ascendancy, and a period of decline, Islam is in the process of reform -- a return to the barbarism, intolerance, and cruelty of its seventh century roots.

580. Christianity seems to be moving from cruel certainty towards a more benign vagueness, a less dogmatic hopefulness. Islam seems resolutely stuck in the certitudes of the seventh century.

579. Religions are dangerous because they offer the comfort of respectability to those who wish to believe without evidence, and to act without compassion.

578. Perhaps the great triumph of Christianity is that it has been sufficiently deferential to evidence to allow for its decline into obsolescence.

570. Facts require no special protection; it is only some beliefs that claim criticism is unfair and illegitimate.

558. The miraculous – dazzling and fantastical – cannot be denied: the transformation of matter from inanimate to animate – the expanding labyrinthine complexity and the extraordinary variety of life forms – the mysterious development of consciousness. Yet the process itself seems automatic and reactive rather than planned and deliberate. And nowhere is there even a breath of benevolence – except in the yearning of the human imagination

549. The fact that chimpanzees have a sense of fairness suggests that morality is not divinely inspired, but socially derived.

545. The sweep of history reveals a gradual erosion – and submersion -- of the great banks of religious hypotheses in a rising tide of knowledge.

The idea that human and animal sacrifices will ensure a bountiful harvest has given way to the use of fertilizers and irrigation. The notion that the earth occupies a position of centrality in the universe has been superseded by the awareness that it is a small and peripheral planet in a universe of unimaginable size. The concept that man is a separately conceived creation -- half-beast, half-angel -- has succumbed to the theory of evolution and the discovery of universal genetic building blocks. The belief that torture and death are appropriate measures for ensuring religious conformity finds remnants only in Islamic countries where the study of science has been largely neglected.

Currently, it is still believed that "God" -- whose "creation" operates on a pitiless predatory principle, in which the survival of individuals and the species of which they are a part is determined by their fitness in a randomly changing environment -- is primly concerned with the sexual mores and conventions of one particular species: homo sapiens.

542. It’s impossible to overestimate the capacity for stupidity engendered by religion.

536. Religion is like an inefficient kaleidoscope: in order to present a pretty pattern -- many awkward bits of reality have to be left out.

531. Evil is most ruthless and untroubled when it has divine permission and holy sanction.

526. Our opposition to religion might be moderately diminished were all Gods to be renamed as one entity: "Highly Unlikely."

525. Religions are human hypotheses about divine possibilities.

521. All societies create, adopt, or adapt religions. This suggests the usefulness -- not the truthfulness -- of religions.

520. Religion is speculation pretending to be revelation.

519. The truth perplexes and challenges. It is little wonder that religion --which offers the comfort of ritual, the assurance of tradition, and the rewards of tribal conformity-- seems significantly more attractive.

518. Religion: people prefer the comfort of false certainty to the perplexity of real mystery. 

517. Religion survives as a most potent cohesive force for tribal unity: ideas claiming evidentiary justification are always subject to factual challenge; but unproven ideas, accepted on faith, are invulnerable to the demands of logic or the doubts of common sense.

516. Because Islam does not recognize the separation of mosque and state, it may be regarded as a political ideology with delusions of divine sanction -- or a religion with delusions of political infallibility. Delusions are always dangerous.

513. The claim of a religion to represent universal and eternal truths is always betrayed by the particularities of its origin. Taking Christianity as an example – the God revealed -- as opposed to the one proclaimed -- is willing to see his son tortured as a part of a propaganda event – an event as cheaply sensationalist as something which might be devised by the proprietor of a struggling travelling circus. God is also, evidently, a gambler – counting on the credulity of the age – for what were the chances that his 'one-shot miracle' would be believed on the basis of such limited and unlikely evidence? Finally, God makes salvation the equivalent of holding a lottery ticket – he cares nothing for the millions of souls born too soon, or the millions born into other cultures, in inconveniently distant locations. The God revealed – a cruel, unjust, capricious, speculator-promoter-publicist -- is not fit to manage a corner convenience store, much less a universe.

510. Islam is an ideology made more dangerous by its claim to a religious -- and therefore infallible -- origin.

503. Religions are human hypotheses about divine beginnings – ideas which gain power only insofar as their imaginative and speculative origins are forgotten, and the reality of the human element becomes lost in the divine ideal. They are like bogus currencies – which circulate as long as their lead coins can maintain a plated sheen of gold – a façade of truth and legitimacy.

502. The universe is a great mystery. You can make up as many happy and flattering stories about the mystery as you want. They are still just stories -- and the mystery is still a mystery.

498. A religion is simply that element of tribalism which refers to origins. It creates cohesion by encouraging a shared mythic belief not vulnerable to rational analysis. It is nothing more nor less than tribal propaganda which claims the mantle of divine sanction, and postures with a halo of theistic infallibility.

495. Only from a free exchange and competition will the best ideas emerge and triumph; those with the worst ideas are the most anxious that freedom be suppressed and competition curtailed. This accounts for the confidence of science, and the defensiveness of religion.

486. In religious faith there is the seed of madness.

484. Of all tribalism, that based on religion is most dangerous. When faith -- the fever borne of factless fantasy -- unleashes, with aggressive certainty, its unreasoning, rabid dogs of war -- negotiation is not possible.

481. Religious tribalism is based on nonsense -- which is not necessarily a disadvantage -- for faith never defers to facts.

November 1, 2015

477. Islam is the elephant in the room. No matter how aggressively it poops on the carpet, everyone pretends not to notice. Instead, the cat is excoriated for its carelessness, and the canary criticized for its thoughtless incontinence.

466. The love affair with central planning has its roots in religion: God -- omnipotent, omniscient, and holier than thou -- is the archetypical central planner.

465. We are not, essentially and intrinsically, rational. The difficulty is to find the least harmful expressions of superstition and primitive tribal emotions. Rooting for the home team and religions without fangs -- reduced to ritual cheering for the home God -- might be acceptable.

464. In a world so often chaotic and unpredictable, it is no surprise that order and certainty are highly prized. Doubtless this accounts for the success of dictators, and the popularity of Gods.

461. The universe is real; "God" is a figment of the human imagination.  We hope this clears up the confusion.

446. If there were a God, he would be appalled by the beliefs and actions of those using him as an excuse.

445. That any adult could believe in Scientology is a testament to the tragic and dangerous gullibility of humankind.          

441. Religion is superstition made respectable by tradition.

440. Religion is superstition transformed by success:  the same black magic -- but with a veneer of learning, some fancy robes, and a more respectable address.

436. The persistence of religious beliefs suggests that men need myths to live by. The weakness of any myth is that it is not true, but, to be taken seriously, must pretend to be. Great assurance in the pretence inspires confidence in the believers -- but concomitantly fuels the fires of contemptuous piety, and provides holy sanction for the oppression of others.

435. The more religion is necessary, the greater its power; that power which pretends to the mantle of divinity is no less corrupt or corrupting than any other kind.

434. If religion is necessary, then mankind is irredeemably in thrall to absurdity.

430. Some cling to religion as the infallible source of morality; in fact, religions -- which are created by societies -- encapsulate the moral values already established and inherent in those societies. The appeal to religious values is simply an appeal to tradition dressed up as divinity.

428. Religious myths are fine as long as they are seen for what they are -- a traditional entertainment like the songs shared and the familiar ghost stories told in the cosy warmth of a summer evening's campfire. They should not be seen as particularly relevant to fetching water, cooking breakfast, and taking down the tents the next morning. 

427. By their works ye shall know them. In the unlikely event there is a causative intelligence behind the universe, it is clear that it has no concern with justice, mercy, the survival of  individual creatures -- or even the species of which they are a part. The notion that it might have the slightest interest in the functioning, beliefs, or values of human societies is, quite frankly, ludicrous.

426. Religious conviction is exceedingly dangerous because it is rooted in the air, founded on unsubstantial wisps of faith. It towers to the sky with the weightless bricks of fancy. It is not subject to the logic of common discourse; it remains, inviolable, apart from the realm of facts. It is dangerous precisely because it pretends, falsely, to the immutability and infallibility of the divine.

411. Mankind -- and the other animals -- show that the universe is capable of consciousness, and wants to think. That makes the universe a very interesting place; it does not suggest benevolence, omnipotence, or life after death.

410. If man was made in the image of God, God must have started as a single-celled organism.

403. People tend to believe in the traditional Gods of the societies of which they are a part -- Gods of a time and a place. The existence of Gods temporal, geographical, and multiple carries the obvious implication that they are created by groups of men, seeking to reassure themselves that they are worthy of being created by a God.

394. Were the notion of "God" to be retired, and human beings urged to act according to the best and noblest aspirations of mankind, we think there would be no diminution in human morality, or human worth.

388. It has been argued that atheism is also a faith, since no proof can be provided that God does not exist. If that is admitted, then it still seems that the faith most reasonable is that which postulates the fewest unlikely entities, and which engages in the least speculation about theistic capabilities, motives, desires, and benevolence.

384.  A certainty divine is what men crave --
         That they, with conscience clear, may misbehave.  (The Alexander Pope version of # 381)

382. Almost everything wrong with religion could be cured with a massive injection of uncertainty, a giant dose of doubt.

381. Men crave certainty, since certainty encourages dashing, bold initiatives, and approves the ruthless confidence of the heroic quest. In the real world, certainty is rare, but it is provided in abundance by religion. Thus it is that religion sanctions awful absurdities and calculated cruelties which would otherwise -- in the real world – be fatally beset by a hesitant anxiety -- a troubled and reluctant doubt.

380. Some ideas are better than others; ideas should be judged according to the best evidence available. The danger of religious beliefs is that their claim for acceptance is based not on merit, but on a sacred -- and manifestly unverifiable -- origin. 

378. It is a sobering thought that madness – either of hope or despair -- may be a near necessity of the human condition. One either embraces the false hope offered by religion, or one despairs because life is only what it is –a   short burst of meaningless sentience in an indifferent universe. The only escape would appear to be a mirroring indifference, the refuge – whether natural or deliberate – of a complacent mindlessness.

377. The Young Jihadist:  Old dark beliefs besiege the unschooled brain --
                                           Which once in place, seep error like a stain;
                                           And when the mind's with reckless folly filled --
                                           Then madness gapes, and blood's in terror spilled. 

375. Fond faith thrives best in rich deceptive soil --
       Where knaves sow dreams that witless fools embroil.

374. Laws Against Blasphemy:  How truth, and laws of science stand serene!
                                                    Their sole defence -- but facts in reason's theme.
                                                    Yet  anxious faiths and Gods of priestly scheme --
                                                    'Gainst such deceits --'tis ruled -- shall none blaspheme!  

369. Faith confuses hope with reality. The faithful become dangerous when they insist that others share their confusion. (Cf. Dr. Johnson: Hope is necessary in every condition. Mencken: Men get into trouble by taking their visions and hallucinations too seriously.)

365. Islam is a religion as yet untamed by reason.

364. Religion is essentially tribal in nature. It has little to do with individual rationality, and much to do with the emotional comfort provided by "groupthink."

363. The more absurd the tribal (or religious) myth, the greater the sacrifice of rationality required for belief. The greater the sacrifice of rationality, the greater appears the power of the tribe. Thus absurdity begets not weakness, but strength.

362. The flower of absurd belief is usually rooted in the soil of fear, and fear is its chief means of propagation.

361. Religious commitment is a barometer of tribal power, and tribal control.

356. While science has shed considerable light on dark prejudices, and social views have altered accordingly, religion clings, like a rather desperate limpet, to a rock of 'certitudes' made untenable in the rising tide of knowledge.

354. Some ideas are better than others. This simple truth strikes at the heart of many popular beliefs; multiculturalism and religion come quickly to mind.

2014

345. Where science advances, and gains ground, religion should make graceful retreat.  (Cf. #139. Where there are gaps in knowledge, religion tends to seep in.)

340. Faith is a belief lacking factual support. (This and the next nine observations are derived from # 330)

339. Faith is a loyalty in defiance of fact.

338. Faith transforms absurdity into virtue.

337. Faith is perversity by another name.

333. Where religion is concerned, the reward for absurdity is reverence.

330. The paradox of perversity is that it is as often admired as condemned. It may be seen as a folly in defiance of facts, but also as a virtue of loyalty in the face of adversity. In sports, the determined loyalty of the fan devoted to a consistently losing team is revered rather than ridiculed. In religion, the more absurd the belief, the greater the faith that is required; the greater the faith, the more virtuous the believer.  (This observation gives rise to some of the more succinct expressions above.)

328. Most people prefer simple clarity to accurate complexity. Doubtless this accounts for much of the appeal of religious explanations of the world.

325. Islam is a religion easy to fear, but very hard to love.

320. The promise of paradise is a rose with many thorns.

317. All Gods suffer from the same fatal flaw: they are created in the image of man. Thus they are invariably tainted with a human pettiness which renders them unworthy of worship.

311. An admission of ignorance is better than a false claim to understanding. Those with certain knowledge of God and his wishes are unlikely to disperse the oppressive mists of error, or blaze new trails to truth.

303. If you must have a God, then create one. Just don't take him too seriously: one man's dream is another man's nightmare.

301. If the complexity of the universe demands, as explanation, an intelligent creator -- then, by the same reasoning -- so does the intelligent creator.

281. Man prefers to see himself as the agreeable culmination of a grand plan.  That he might be the chance result of persistent rolls of the dice in randomly varying circumstances gives insufficient scope for smugness and self-congratulatory preening.

280. Laughter and piety do not make good neighbours.

277. We look forward to that day of enlightenment when freedom from religion may contend on equal footing with the freedom of religion.

274. Religion represents a transaction in which emotional comfort is purchased with the coin of intellectual dishonesty.

268. Entranced by the concepts of order and perfection, most see God as the original central planner, and must exercise a willful blindness to the imperfections of the result. In fact, life evolves by a blind striving, with a repetitive focus on what works. Some order is thereby achieved, but it is not always pretty.

2013

261. So many Gods -- so little time.

247. Beware of the word "sacred." It is the handmaiden of bamboozlement.

243. Being on the side of the angels allows for many a pact with the devil. (A re-statement of # 242:  The nobler the ideal, the greater the evil which can be justified in its pursuit.)

       The Alexander Pope Version: 

       With angels some do take their public stands --
       Let noble ends approve their devil’s hands.

241. Most creatures are locked in a scheme of necessary murder; this reality tends to inhibit our expressions of gratitude to an infinitely wise and beneficent creator.

238. Religion is like the cheater’s response to a jigsaw puzzle of overwhelming size and daunting complexity. From the vast jumble of pieces, some few are selected, some trimmed with a hopeful eye, and others constructed anew and painted to match. These are then arranged to resemble a scene of tolerable order and comforting attractiveness. The myriad of unused elements -- and the tell-tale clippings -- are classified as superfluous or heretical, and are buried in the back lot of the pacified mind.

237. Religion represents a wonderful marriage of persistence and alchemy:  lies, repeated often enough, acquire the lustre of truth.

236. Islamic terrorism is the noxious flower of a flawed seed.

226. There is little doubt that elephants believe in a God with large ears and a big trunk.

225. Beware of those who claim to know the "mind" of "God;" they are deluded or evil -- fools or liars.

215. Religion is so naked an emperor, that it is a wonder it continues to parade its hypothetical finery without near-universal derision; one must conclude that the streets are lined with crowds of foolish or fearful adults, and that there is a regrettable paucity of clear-sighted and unintimidated children.

207. Suppositions about "God" pose the greatest threat to human happiness – and human survival.

206."God" is a blank slate onto which varied human beliefs are inscribed; thus he is as multi-faceted as he is unreliable.

205. "God" represents the attempt to preserve the illusion of permanence.

198. The human mind, too divine for death, flatters itself with expectations of immortality.

2012

193. Mankind cannot abide a mystery: it must be dispersed with a causal narrative. Many seem not to care whether the explanation is rational, and scientific, or imaginative and religious.

191. "God" represents a leaping to conclusions in the absence of facts.

190. Leaving difficult questions to God is a guaranteed method for perpetuating ignorance and misery.

189. Islam is a religion overtaken by politics.

188. Islam is a religion overtaken by politics. The lust for power -- wedded to holy sanction -- spawns the fanatical violence of unreason.

186. God is a construct of the human imagination – just like living within one’s means, grateful children, and happy birthdays after forty.

184. It is a mark of the peculiar perversity of mankind that most prefer to see the enormous random cruelty of existence – not as an arbitrary, capricious element intrinsic to the condition of sentience -- but as something within the purview of a deliberating consciousness – a circumstance ascribable to an omniscient, omnipotent, and beneficent creator.

178.  Religion is just superstition wearing a better suit of clothes. Or: Religion is just superstition wearing a Sunday suit and ritual tie.

177. "God" is man’s attempt to construct an endpoint for infinity.

174. Belief in God is but a whistling in the dark; harmless enough, perhaps -- until it is wedded to the notion that all should carry the same tune.

165. The sacredness of religion, and the sanctity of tradition – these things – being beyond rational criticism – are what enable atrocity with an untroubled heart.

2011

151. Religious belief is not so much a sign of inferior intelligence, as of vulnerable temperament.

145. There is no rational road to religion.

144. Surely religion must be the first and most striking example of what we now call the Stockholm Syndrome. Though held captive in a universe that is best characterized as profoundly indifferent -- or easily seen as manifestly unfair, and demonstrably cruel -- millions are infused with a spirit of gratitude and adoration;  nor yet do they stint in their praise of the creator whom they imagine to be responsible for their unalterable fate.

139. Where there are gaps in knowledge, religion tends to seep in.

138. Religion shows that the price of contentment is folly.

137. Religion is the great salesman of snake oil, the pious pitchman of healing nostrum, the pretending purveyor of chimerical panacea: it speaks of an oasis where, to the horizon, stretches only an unbroken sea of sand, of a voice where there is only silence, and of truth where there is only unfathomable mystery.

130. Divinity is not enthroned above, in a heaven amid the stars, but in ourselves, the dust of stars which encodes and reflects the creativity and the imagination of the universe.

122. Imagination is the fuel of man’s aspirations, and his greatest gift; it explores both the world of the possible – as in advances which are achievable because of their consonance with reality – and the world of the unreal as in fiction, superstition, and religion. A great danger arises when one is unable – or unwilling -- to distinguish between these two worlds.

106. The insanity of religion – the delusion of life beyond death -- is often preferred to the futility implied by the finite -- in consciousness, in the species, and in the solar system itself. It is unsettling to realize not only that the bulk of mankind is insane, but that it is likely to remain so.

99. After the striving, the fine talk, and the grandeur of dreams – all that remains is an elegance of bones.

93. That life springs from inanimate matter is indeed miraculous; however, the marvels have their cost: life is opportunist, striving, voracious and unthinkingly cruel. Nor can man, as life’s most intelligent and creative form, deny the additional burden of cruelty that is deliberate.

90. We do not expect to be able to stamp out religion entirely; it would probably suffice to make believers sufficiently ashamed of their folly that they would refrain from admitting to it in public.

86. Many wonderful ideals – equality -- religion -- multiculturalism – are no more than convenient fictions. As such, they constitute a vulnerability at the heart of human affairs; for how are we to agree when to accept them as convenient, and when to deride them as fiction?

2010

81. At the heart of religion is deception; the range is from feel-good bamboozlement to wolf in sheep’s clothing.

76. Belief in nonsense is as widespread as the emotions which fuel it: fear, greed, and hope.

69. It is tempting – but unjustifiable -- to see a happy circumstance as the result of divine manipulation rather than a statistical phenomenon or the blind working of interacting elements. Thus, the man of ninety, who has survived fire and flood, disease and misfortune to outlive his birth peers, may see himself not merely as a fortunate point on the mortality Bell Curve, but as especially protected by a kindly creator.

Similarly, the religious man may see himself as a creature thoughtfully provided with eyes to see, teeth to chew, and animals to eat, rather than one of many creatures who have evolved in a challenging environment in symbiotic relationships.

61. Muslims are as deluded as the followers of any other religion; what distinguishes them is the considerable faction which has acquired a rather tasteless penchant for blowing up those who disagree with them.

47. While it may not be appropriate in every venue, and on every occasion, mockery is the guardian of reason, the enemy of pretension, and the mirror to folly. No belief, no passion, no commitment should be considered immune from the acerbic test of ridicule.

34. Religion is a construct of the imagination; it may provide the comfort of a familiar narrative, the absorption of a good film, or the communal fervour of a pop star fan club; it will not pay the rent, answer prayers, or provide life after death.

23. Religion–the belief in things which are manifestly not true–can be comforting in a universe that is less accommodating and more chaotic than we would wish. It is best, however, that the expression of such belief be kept as private as possible; nor should it ever influence behaviour except insofar as it promotes the golden rule and other traditional virtues.

19. The fatwa is indeed a wonderful, albeit somewhat selective device -- useful against novelists, but entirely inappropriate in dealing with mass murderers, suicide bombers, and those advocating the destruction of entire nations.

17. All religion is  bunk; it may be helpful bunk, comforting bunk, or, in some cases, necessary bunk. It is still bunk, nonetheless.