By Victor M Fontane
American Civil Religion
“Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful.” - Seneca the Younger (4BCE - 65CE)
“The Government of the United States is in no sense founded on the Christian religion.” - John Adams, 2nd US President.
“What have been Christianity fruits? More or less in all places, pride and indolence in the Clergy, ignorance and servility in the laity; in both, superstition, bigotry and persecution.” - James Madison, 4th US President.
‘The motto of the Confederacy was Deo Vindice, or “God on Our side”. Atlantra was burned to ashes by people who thought that the deity took the other view.’ - Christopher Hitchens - Christopher Eric Hitchens was a British author and journalist who is widely regarded as one of the most influential atheists of the 20th and 21st centuries. Author of 18 books on faith, culture, politics, and literature, he was born and educated in Britain, graduating in the 1970s from Oxford.
“I have examine all the known superstitions of the World, and I do not find in our particular superstition of Christianity one redeeming feature. They are all founded on fables and mythology.” - Thomas Jefferson.
“A man’s ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death.” - Albert Einstein.
“There is so much in the Bible against which every instinct of my being rebels, so much so that I regret the necessity which has compelled me to read it through from beginning to end. I do not think that the knowledge I have gained of its history and sources compensates me for the unpleasant details it has forced upon my attention.” - Helen Keller, American lecturer.
“Pray, v. To ask that the laws of the Universe be annulled in behalf of a single petitioner confessedly unworthy.” - Ambrose Bierce. Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce was an American short story writer, journalist, poet, and American Civil War veteran.
“Evangelicalism is a series of personality cults masquerading as religion.” - Frank Shaeffer, former evangelical preacher.
“Most people would rather die than think; in fact, they do so.” - Bertrand Russell.
“So far as I can remember, there is no one word in the Gospels in praise of intelligence.” - Bertrand Russell.
“You can’t convince a believer of anything; for their belief is not based on evidence, It’s based on a deep-seated need to believe.” - Carl Sagan
“Atheism is more than just the knowledge that gods do not exists, and that religion is either a mistake or a fraud. Atheism is an attitude, a frame of mind that looks at the world objectively, fearlessly, always trying to understand all things as a part of nature.” - Carl Sagan.
“Faith is often the boast of the man who is too lazy to investigate.” - F.M. Knowles,
Farquhar McGillivray Knowles, also known as F. McGillvray Knowles, RCA was a Canadian painter. He was best known for his seascapes.
“The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one. The happiness of credulity is a cheap and dangerous quality.” - George Bernard Shaw.
“I see only with deep regret that God punishes so many of his children for their numerous stupidities, for which only He Himself can be held responsible; in my opinion, only His nonexistence could excuse Him.” - Albert Einstein.
“The way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason.” - Benjamin Franklin.
“When a man is freed of religion, he has a better chance to live a normal and wholesome life.” - Sigmund Freud.
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