Every time a child says "I don't believe in fairies" there is a little fairy somewhere that falls down dead.

Every time a child says "I don't believe in fairies" there is a little fairy somewhere that falls down dead.

It is not so much what you believe in that matters, as the way in which you believe it and read more

It is not so much what you believe in that matters, as the way in which you believe it and proceed to translate that belief into action.

Scientific criticism has no nobler task than to shatter false beliefs.

Scientific criticism has no nobler task than to shatter false beliefs.

I always divide people into two groups. Those who live by what they know to be a lie, and those read more

I always divide people into two groups. Those who live by what they know to be a lie, and those who live by what they believe, falsely, to be the truth.

The neer to the church, the further from God.

The neer to the church, the further from God.

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.

There is only one greater folly than that of the fool who says in his heart there is no God, read more

There is only one greater folly than that of the fool who says in his heart there is no God, and that is the folly of the people that says with its head that it does not know whether there is a God or not.

Repentance may be old-fashioned, but it is not outdated so long as there is sin.

Repentance may be old-fashioned, but it is not outdated so long as there is sin.

The whole point of Christianity is that everyone in the world, from Charles Manson to Mother Teresa, deserves to go read more

The whole point of Christianity is that everyone in the world, from Charles Manson to Mother Teresa, deserves to go to hell.