Quotes About Belief

If you say to a man: "Eighteen hundred years ago the dead were raised," he will reply: "Yes, I know that." And if you say: "A hundred thousand years from now all the dead will be raised," he will probably reply: "I presume so." But if you tell him: "I saw a dead man raised to-day," he will ask, "From what madhouse have you escaped?

If what is known as the Christian Religion is true, nothing can be more wonderful than the fact that Matthew, Mark and Luke say nothing about "salvation by faith;" that they do not even hint at the doctrine of the atonement, and are as silent as empty tombs as to the necessity of believing anything to secure happiness in this world or another.

In this connection we might ask how God can be moral or good unless he believes in some Being superior to himself?

Hope is the only universal liar who never loses his reputation for veracity.

The idea that an infinite God, creator of all worlds, came to this grain of sand, learned the trade of a carpenter, discussed with Pharisees and scribes, and allowed a few infuriated Hebrews to put him to death that he might atone for the sins of men and redeem a few believers from the consequences of his own wrath, can find no lodgment in a good and natural brain.

Inspiration is only necessary to give authority to that which is repugnant to human reason.

A religion that does not command the respect of the greatest minds will, in a little while, excite the mockery of all.

the Bible is a book written by ignorance—at the instigation of fear.

It is impossible for me to see' why any belief in the supernatural is necessary to have a keen perception of right and wrong.

For my part, I am willing to give up heaven to get rid of hell. I had rather there should be no heaven than that any solitary soul should be condemned to suffer for ever and ever.

Whenever a man believes that he has the exact truth from God, there is in that man no spirit of compromise.

Belief is not a voluntary thing. A man believes or disbelieves in spite of himself.

we are taught that God is exceedingly anxious that we should believe a certain thing.

An Infinite personality is an infinite impossibility

Mental slavery is mental death, and every man who has given up his intellectual freedom is the living coffin of his dead soul. In this sense, every church is a cemetery and every creed an epitaph.

Lewis Meggleton had given himself out as the last and the greatest of the prophets, having power to save or damn.

The truth is, that what is called religion is necessarily inconsistent with free thought. A believer is a bird in a cage, a Freethinker is an eagle parting the clouds with tireless wing.

It does not occur to him that it is necessary to account for the existence of an infinite personality. He is perfectly certain that there can be no design without a designer, and he is equally certain that there can be a designer who was not designed.

We also know that the Old Testament asserted the existence of witches. According to that Holy Book, Jehovah was a believer in witchcraft, and said to his chosen people: "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.

If the book and my brain are both the work of the same Infinite God, whose fault is it that the book and the brain do not agree?

Strike had always marvelled at the strange sanctity conferred upon celebrities by the public, even while the newspapers denigrated, hunted or hounded them. No matter how many famous people were convicted of rape or murder, still the belief persisted, almost pagan in its intensity: not him. It couldn't be him. He's famous.

it was weird. Would you believe it if some supermodel called you up and told you she was your sister?' Strike thought of his own bizarre family history. 'Probably,' he said.

Strike knew how deeply ingrained was the belief that the evil conceal their dangerous predilections for violence and domination. When they wear them like bangles for all to see, the gullible populace laughs, calls it a pose, or finds it strangely attractive.

I believe two different kinds of will can exist at the same time in one person. Henrik Ibsen, Rosmersholm