Quotes from Charles Templeton

The Bible says that the the Lord thy God is a jealous God. But if you are omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, eternal, and the creator of all that exists, of whom could you possibly be jealous?

You were born with two things: existence and opportunity, and these are the raw materials out of which you can make a successful life.

Should one continue to base one's life on a system of belief that--for all its occasional wisdom and frequent beauty--is demonstrably untrue?

Fundamentalist preaching may and sometimes does induce a dramatically changed life, but its converts tend to be judgemental and elitist. And fundamentalism deadens the mind. Who can measure the psychological warping that can stem from constant exposure to a black/white, right/wrong, sinner/saved outlook on life?

Jesus reserved his harshest judgement for those who professed to be righteous but failed to feed the hungry, clothe the poor, visit the sick and imprisoned. "Depart from me, you accursed!" he thundered.

It is easy to prime the pump and have the words gush forth in a torrent of pious phrases but the proof of what we really want – regardless of what we say we want – is evident in the way we live.

Modern television evangelists are mostly ignorant men with closed minds who have glimpsed the incredible reach of television – even its political influence – and spend a sizable part of their air time pleading for money.

Christianity does not remove you from the world and its problems; it makes you fit to live in it, triumphantly and usefully.