#religion

"Be sure to lie to your kids about the benevolent, all-seeing Santa Claus. It will prepare them for an adulthood of believing in God."

"Your friends can be double-edged knife thy can either nurture you or destroy you. Choose them Wisely......"

"I am more afraid that this people have so much confidence in their leaders that they will not inquire for themselves of God whether they are led by him. I am fearful they settle down in a state of blind self security. Let every man and woman know, by the whispering of the Spirit of God to themselves, whether their leaders are walking in the path the Lord dictates, or not."

"The believer in magic and miracles reflects on how to impose a law on nature--: and, in brief, the religious cult is the outcome of this reflection."

"Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead. Tradition refuses to submit to the small and arrogant oligarchy of those who merely happen to be walking about."

"I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer."

"A tyrant must put on the appearance of uncommon devotion to religion. Subjects are less apprehensive of illegal treatment from a ruler whom they consider god-fearing and pious. On the other hand, they do less easily move against him, believing that he has the gods on his side."

"I think it is very good when people suffer. To me that is like the kiss of Jesus."

"You have told me, O God, to believe in hell. But you have forbidden me to think...of any man as damned"

"There's a big difference between kneeling down and bending over."

"When we passed a Catholic church, I recalled, he said, "You think your dad's a good chemist? They're turning soda crackers into meat in there. Can your dad do that?"

"The only successful philosophies and religions are the ones that flatter us, whether in the name of progress or of hell. Damned or not, man experiences an absolute need to be at the heart of everything."

"Fear is the polio of the soul which prevents our walking by faith."

"Generally speaking, the errors in religion are dangerous; those in philosophy only ridiculous."

"I like the silent church before the service begins, better than any preaching."

"Vampires, like virgins or priests, are things that women believe in. We must never fail to humor them in such matters."

"All religions are equally sublime to the ignorant, useful to the politician, and ridiculous to the philosopher."

"If a believer demands that I, as a nonbeliever, observe his taboos in the public domain, he is not asking for my respect, but for my submission."

"We hold the future still timidly, but perceive it for the first time as a function of our own action."

"Maybe if I had to boil it down to one easy sentence, it would be this: I believe in evolution, and I believe in God. I just haven't worked out the details yet."