Pray, v. To ask that the laws of the universe be annulled in behalf of a singe petitioner
confessedly unworthy.
—Ambrose Bierce, 1911
He who will not reason is a bigot; he who cannot is a fool; and he who dares not is a slave.
—William Drummond, 1805
3
The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a
drunken man is happier than a sober one.
—George Bernard Shaw, 1913
***
To argue with a person who has renounced the use and authority of reason […] is like
administering medicine to the dead.
—Thomas Paine, 1778
Rational arguments don’t usually work on religious people. Otherwise, there would be no
religious people.
—Doris Egan, 2007
The mind of a bigot is like the pupil of the eye. The more light you shine on it, the more it
will contract.
—Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr., 1831
***
If you talk to God, you are praying. If God talks to you, you have schizophrenia.
—Thomas Szasz, 1973
We could call order by the name of God, but it would be an impersonal God. There’s not
much personal about the laws of physics.
—Stephen Hawking, 2002
I have too much respect for the idea of God to make it responsible for such an absurd world.
—Georges Duhamel, 1937
I don’t know if God exists, but it would be better for His reputation if He didn’t.
—Jules Renard, 1925
The only excuse for God is that he does not exist!
—Stendhal
4
It is the final proof of God’s omnipotence that he need not exist in order to save us.
—Peter De Vries, 1958
3
Frequently misattributed to his namesake (but “of Hawthornden” rather than “of Logiealmond”),
also a Scottish poet, who lived much earlier (1585-1649).
4
As quoted, without a date, in many sources - e.g., in the well-known biography collection by
James Huneker in 1908.
74
On Faith and Religion
confessedly unworthy.
—Ambrose Bierce, 1911
He who will not reason is a bigot; he who cannot is a fool; and he who dares not is a slave.
—William Drummond, 1805
3
The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a
drunken man is happier than a sober one.
—George Bernard Shaw, 1913
***
To argue with a person who has renounced the use and authority of reason […] is like
administering medicine to the dead.
—Thomas Paine, 1778
Rational arguments don’t usually work on religious people. Otherwise, there would be no
religious people.
—Doris Egan, 2007
The mind of a bigot is like the pupil of the eye. The more light you shine on it, the more it
will contract.
—Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr., 1831
***
If you talk to God, you are praying. If God talks to you, you have schizophrenia.
—Thomas Szasz, 1973
We could call order by the name of God, but it would be an impersonal God. There’s not
much personal about the laws of physics.
—Stephen Hawking, 2002
I have too much respect for the idea of God to make it responsible for such an absurd world.
—Georges Duhamel, 1937
I don’t know if God exists, but it would be better for His reputation if He didn’t.
—Jules Renard, 1925
The only excuse for God is that he does not exist!
—Stendhal
4
It is the final proof of God’s omnipotence that he need not exist in order to save us.
—Peter De Vries, 1958
3
Frequently misattributed to his namesake (but “of Hawthornden” rather than “of Logiealmond”),
also a Scottish poet, who lived much earlier (1585-1649).
4
As quoted, without a date, in many sources - e.g., in the well-known biography collection by
James Huneker in 1908.
74
On Faith and Religion