Personal Quotes on God & Religion
The topics of God and religion are so sensitive that when you declare "there is no God" to a community of believers, you will hardly find somebody who would at least ask, "why do you say so?" Be ready to be alienated, ostracized by family and friends. I had my experience and it was not a good one. I am not sure though if I should regret bringing that topic because it didn't result into something better, stronger and deeper relationship. But part of me is glad that I did because what happened confirmed me something - that up to some level there is no point in changing someone or people's thinking because they just can't. Changing is difficult and challenging. And only those who are strong yet open-minded people can see logic and reason.
So I stopped getting involved in any discussion about such topics. Somehow I realized that I'm already over with talking about god and religion. And I admit I don't need it. I don't need the idea of god to make me do the right things to myself, my fellow human beings, to my non-human animal friends, to earth as a whole.
Instead, I discuss these issues with my husband, who doesn't call himself an atheist but a post-theist (we heard this word first from Colin McGinn, British Philosopher). And one day he wrote a few quotes on God and religion, which I find striking and interesting. Here they are:
"The difference between the believer and the non-believer is that while one tries to compel the other tries to convince."
"In their zeal to spread the word of God to the hearts of the masses, men of religion have removed entire pages of reason from their heads."
"What Science calls hypothesis, religion calls it faith. What science terms evidence, religion terms it blasphemy."
"There is but one small step from ignorance to arrogance, and that is called Religion."
"There is a great truth hidden in the first 3 commandments of the Lord, that as much as we need Him, He needs us more, For God very well knows that without our belief in Him, He would no longer exist."
"It is a common anatomical observation that men of God have hypertrophied vocal chords and atrophied tympanic membranes, For they have done much talking and little listening!"
"It is usual among the religious to term what God seldom does as miracles and what science does every day as convenience."
"Librarians all over the world have noted that the borrowing of the Bible is inversely proportional to the education of its readers."
"Beware of the Tree of Knowledge, For it spreadth even now like a hardy perennial weed upon the fields of the earth. Beware of its delectable temptations, of its sweet and delicious fruits. Eat not from this tree, not its fruits For if thou doeth so, thou shalt have sinned against the Lord again. Beware of the tree of Knowledge, for it growth amongst us even now, seducing us this very moment. It's name is Science."
"Wise men have never denied the existence of God, they have only revealed the credulity of His believers."
"It is an often noted fact that although God and Scientists are both creators, they differ in the way they get their answers - what one gets by demand, the other gets by design."
"The only difference between the insane and the religious is that while one thinks they are God themselves, the other believes they are only His children."
"To pray is to pass on your responsibility, to pray is to pat yourself for your laziness, to pray is to take credit where you don't deserve any, to pray is to embarrass God by revealing His powerlessness."
"Religion is like trying to search for something in the light what is visible only in the dark. If you want to see the stars wait for the night. Seeking them at day will only lead to blindness."
"If religion were to accept the principles of Science as quickly as it does to its products, it would have got rid of itself a long time ago."
"Men of religion are like diners in a banquet trying to explain to the cook how his dishes were made."
So there they are. And like the message of the first photo, there is no need to do good things because God says so, because of the reward of heaven in after life. Doing good things is good in itself, here on earth and nowhere else.
My own personal favorite is "The only difference between the insane and the religious is that while one thinks they are God themselves, the other believes they are only His children."
Which one is yours?