Quotes About Belief

If you distort reality too much, it will weaken you, and you will not be able to compete against more clear-sighted rivals. On the other hand, you cannot organise masses of people effectively without relying on some fictional myths. So if you stick to unalloyed reality, without mixing any fiction with it, few people will follow you.

It is often said that God helps those who help themselves. This is a roundabout way of saying that God doesn't exist, but if our belief in Him inspires us to do something ourselves – it helps. Antibiotics, unlike God, help even those who don't help themselves. They cure infections whether

Moreover, most faiths turned death into the main source of meaning in life. Try to imagine Islam, Christianity or the ancient Egyptian religion in a world without death. These creeds taught people that they must come to terms with death and pin their hopes on the afterlife, rather than seek to overcome death and live forever here on earth.

The humanities and social sciences devote most of their energies to explaining exactly how the imagined order is woven into the tapestry of life. In the limited space at our disposal we can only scratch the surface. Three main factors prevent people from realising that the order organising their lives exists only in their imagination:

Religion can thus be defined as a system of human laws that is founded on a belief in superhuman laws.

Contar histórias eficazes não é fácil. A dificuldade está não em contar a história, mas em convencer todos os demais a acreditarem nela.

Legends, myths, gods and religions appeared for the first time with the Cognitive Revolution. Many animals and human species could previously say, 'Careful! A lion!' Thanks to the Cognitive Revolution, Homo sapiens acquired the ability to say, 'The lion is the guardian spirit of our tribe.' This ability to speak about fictions is the most unique feature of Sapiens language.

The secret was probably the appearance of fiction. Large numbers of strangers can cooperate successfully by believing in common myths.

Siria cu frica de Dumnezeu este un luc mult mai violent decat Olanda laica.

Christians and Muslims who could not agree on religious beliefs could nevertheless agree on a monetary belief, because whereas religion asks us to believe in something, money asks us to believe that other people believe in something. For

In fact, monotheism, as it has played out in history, is a kaleidoscope of monotheist, dualist, polytheist and animist legacies, jumbling together under a single divine umbrella. The average Christian believes in the monotheist God, but also in the dualist Devil, in polytheist saints, and in animist ghosts.

Many religions have also made extensive use of books, yet that doesn't mean reading books is a religious practice.

A verdadeira especialidade dos sacerdotes e dos gurus nunca foi provocar a chuva, curar, fazer profecias ou magia. A sua especialidade foi sempre a interpretação. Um sacerdote não é alguém que sabe fazer uma dança da chuva para pôr fim à seca. Um sacerdote é alguém que sabe justificar por que motivo a dança da chuva não resultou, e por que motivo devemos continuar a acreditar no nosso deus apesar de ele parecer ignorar as nossas orações.

None of the things exist outside the stories that people invent and tell one another. There are no gods in the universe, no nations, no money, no human rights, no laws and no justice outside the common imagination of human beings.

monotheists have usually believed that they are in possession of the entire message of the one and only God, they have been compelled to discredit all other religions. Over

Human communities and families have always been based on belief in 'priceless' things, such as honour, loyalty, morality and love. These things lie outside the domain of the market, and they shouldn't be bought or sold for money.

What, exactly, happens to a Communist after he or she dies?

Los monoteístas han tendido a ser mucho más fanáticos y misioneros que los politeístas. Una religión que reconoce la legitimidad de otras creencias implica o bien que su dios no es el poder supremo del universo, o bien que ha recibido de Dios solo parte de la verdad universal.

Any large-scale human cooperation – whether a modern state, a medieval church, an ancient city or an archaic tribe – is rooted in common myths that exist only in people's collective imagination. Churches are rooted in common religious myths.

Hayat?n anlam?n? ve hangi anlat?ya inanaca??n?z? bilmiyorsan?z ne yapar­s?n?z? Seçebiliyor olmay? kutsalla?t?r?rs?n?z.

Creemos en un orden particular no porque sea objetivamente cierto, sino porque creer en él nos permite cooperar de manera efectiva y forjar una sociedad mejor. Los órdenes imaginados no son conspiraciones malvadas o espejismos inútiles. Más bien, son la única manera en que un gran número de humanos pueden cooperar de forma efectiva.

New technologies kill old gods and give birth to new gods.

Como você faz as pessoas acreditarem em uma ordem imaginada como o cristianismo, a democracia ou o capitalismo? Primeiro, você nunca admite que a ordem é imaginada. Você sempre insiste que a ordem que sustenta a sociedade é uma realidade objetiva criada pelos grandes deuses ou pelas leis da natureza.

Rather, cultures are mental parasites that emerge accidentally, and thereafter take advantage of all people infected by them.