Quotes About Justification

Religion in the form of polytheism entered the world as the vindication of power. Not only was there no separation of church and state; religion was the transcendental justification of the state.

I'd never punched an old lady before; I didn't have any problem doing so now.

A lie is an excuse guarded.

People who have the capacity to ruthlessly maltreat their children tend toward self-justification, not shame.

The dangerous thing about hate is that it seems so reasonable." --from The Chalk Garden

The dangerous thing about hate is that it seems so reasonable.

Power justifies itself, in countless small ways. But one of the big ways it does so is by creating an ideological narrative about how things got to be this way—and what must now change. These narratives are more than technical explanations. They are epic morality tales, and they typically follow this sequence: Paradise Paradise Lost Paradise Redeemed

First, power concentrates. That is, it feeds on itself and compounds (as does powerlessness). • Second, power justifies itself. People invent stories to legitimize the power they have (or lack). • Third, power is infinite. There is no inherent limit on the amount of power people can create.

In a world where success is the measure and justification of all things the figure of Him who was sentenced and crucified remains a stranger and is at best the object of pity. - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Whenever there was a dilemma, I just left it in abeyance and—without really consciously dealing with it intensively—let it grow toward the clarity of a decision. But this clarity is not so much intellectual as it is instinctive. The decision is made; whether one can adequately justify it retrospectively is another question. "Thus" it happened that I went. Bonhoeffer was always thinking about thinking.

Pleasure bubbled in Ashfur's chest. I'm not cruel, he told himself. This was all Squirrelflight's fault. She drove me to this. I only wanted the Clans to see what hypocrites they are.

The anti-Semite who avoids violence has no reservations about enabling, excusing, and rationalizing it. Israel,

The decision to leave his family behind was either an act of monumental self-sacrifice, or one of selfish self-preservation, or both. He told himself he had no choice, which is what we all tell ourselves when forced to make a terrible choice.

Lying is wrong, son, but if it serves a greater good, it's OK.

When someone labels you a bad human being because they disagree with you, they are bullying you. They are attacking your character without justification. That's nasty. In fact, it makes them nasty.

The great question in life is the suffering we cause, and the most ingenious metaphysics do not justify the man who has broken the heart that loved him.

The absent are never without fault, nor the present without excuse.

Anger is never without a reason but seldom a good one.

So convenient a thing to be a reasonable creature, since it enables one to find or make a reason for every thing one has a mind to do.

So convenient a thing is it to be a reasonable creature, since it enables one to find or make a reason for everything one has a mind to do.

So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable creature, since it enables one to find or make a reason for everything one has a mind to do. Keimer

How convenient does it prove to be a rational animal, that knows how to find or invent a plausible pretext for whatever it has an inclination to do!

Quão conveniente é ser uma criatura racional; isso permite que se encontre ou crie uma razão para qualquer coisa que se queira fazer.

Anger is never without a reason but seldom with a good one.