A religious life is a struggle and not a hymn.

A religious life is a struggle and not a hymn.

to be nobody-but-myself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make me everybody else means, read more

to be nobody-but-myself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make me everybody else means, to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight, and never stop fighting.

If someone were to prove to me -- right this minute -- that God, in all his luminousness, exists, it read more

If someone were to prove to me -- right this minute -- that God, in all his luminousness, exists, it wouldn't change a single aspect of my behavior.

Theology is never any help; it is searching in a dark cellar at midnight for a black cat that isn't read more

Theology is never any help; it is searching in a dark cellar at midnight for a black cat that isn't there. Theologians can persuade themselves of anything.

How can one better magnify the Almighty than by sniggering with him at his little jokes, particularly the poorer ones.

How can one better magnify the Almighty than by sniggering with him at his little jokes, particularly the poorer ones.

The mind never fully accepts any convictions that it does not owe to its own efforts.

The mind never fully accepts any convictions that it does not owe to its own efforts.

In some awful, strange, paradoxical way, atheists tend to take religion more seriously than the practitioners.

In some awful, strange, paradoxical way, atheists tend to take religion more seriously than the practitioners.

When we debunk a fanatical faith or prejudice, we do not strike at the root of fanaticism. We merely prevent read more

When we debunk a fanatical faith or prejudice, we do not strike at the root of fanaticism. We merely prevent its leaking out at a certain point, with the likely result that it will leak out at some other point. Thus by denigrating prevailing beliefs and loyalties, the militant man of words unwittingly creates in the disillusioned masses a hunger for faith. For the majority of people cannot endure the barrenness and futility of their lives unless they have some ardent dedication, or some passionate pursuit in which they can lose themselves. Thus, in spite of himself, the scoffing man of words becomes the precursor of a new faith.

Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich.

Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich.