F.U.N.Y. Quotes

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Standard Atheist Dogma Back to Index

1) that logic makes sense

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. <<x3 doubt, should Carl Sagan Billions and Billions {1997, i=p60& Intelligent Life in the Universe, p866}
I mean by intellectual integrity the habit of deciding vexed questions in accordance with the evidence, or of leaving them undecided where the evidence is inconclusive.  This virtue, though it is underestimated by almost all adherents of any system of dogma, is to my mind of the very greatest social importance and far more likely to benefit the world than Christianity or any other system of organized beliefs. Bertrand Russell Can Religion Cure Our Troubles?, 1954, d=p194}
When any one tells me, that he saw a dead man restored to life, I immediately consider with myself, whether it be more probable, that this person should either deceive or be deceived, or that the fact, which he relates, should really have happened.  I weigh the one miracle against the other; and according to the superiority, which I discover, I pronounce my decision, and always reject the greater miracle. << what "really" makes "evidence" "better" "?" David Hume An Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding {1748, p=p77}
Those who invalidate reason ought seriously to consider whether they argue against reason or without reason; if with reason, then they establish the principle that they are laboring to dethrone: but if they argue without reason (which, in order to be consistant with themselves they must do), they are out of reach of rational conviction, nor do they deserve a rational argument. << special pleads such as "logic/reasoning can't find god" are themselves illogical Ethan Allen
To explain the unknown by the known is a logical procedure; to explain the known by the unknown is a form of theological lunacy. David Brooks  The Necessity of Atheism

2) that all should be questioned

Common sense is a collection of prejudices which one has acquired by one's eighteenth birthday. << even "common sense" should be questioned (along with what you read here) Albert Einstein
In the world everyone knows enough to pursue what he does not know, but no one knows enough to pursue what he already knows. << again, "common sense" should be questioned / studied Chuang-tzu

3) that we have the freedom to speak; censorship is bad

If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all. Noam Chomsky
The usefulness of an opinion is itself a matter of opinion:  as disputable, as open to discussion, and requiring discussion as much, as the opinion itself. John Stuart Mill On Liberty {1859}
If the opinion [being silenced] is right, they are deprived of the opportunity of exchanging error for truth:  if wrong, they lose, what is almost as great a benefit, the clearer perception and livelier impression of truth, produced by its collision with error. John Stuart Mill On Liberty {1859}
A State which dwarfs its men, in order that they may be more docile instruments in its hands even for beneficial purposes--will find that with small men no great thing can really be accomplished; and that the perfection of machinery to which it has sacrificed everything, will in the end avail it nothing, for want of the vital power which, in order that the machine might work more smoothly, it has preferred to banish. John Stuart Mill On Liberty {1859}
. . . if all mankind minus one were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind. John Stuart Mill On Liberty {1859}
There is no excuse for deceiving children.  And when, as must happen in conventional families, they find that their parents have lied, they lose confidence in them and feel justified in lying to them. Bertrand Russell Our Sexual Ethics {1936, d=p177}
Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. George Orwell  the character of Winston Smith, 1984 {1949, i=p69}
I detest what you say, but I will fight to my death your right to say it. Voltaire
3.1) there is no religious imunity from words
To whom their daily life appears too empty and monotonous easily grow religious; this is comprehensible and excusable, only they have no right to demand religious sentiments from those whose daily life is not empty and monotonous.  Nietzsche

4) that we have no practical experience of death

For to fear death, gentlemen, is only to think you are wise when you are not; for it is to think you know what you don't know. No one knows whether death is really the greatest blessing a man can have, but they fear it is the greatest curse, as if they knew well. Surely this is the objectionable kind of ignorance, to think one knows what one does not know? << we know not death Socrates (Plato) the Apology {27D-29E, i=p435}
One of my students asked me if I believed in the afterlife and I said, "How do you know you're not dead already?" << we know not death William S. Burroughs
The proper response to death is poetry, not prose. Wilfred Cantwell Smith

5) that we can understand things through math & science

Music is mathematics, sounded. << if music is math... what else could be? Ancient Pythagorean saying
5.1) that without math & science, we ain't got sheot, mofo
As soon as you discard scientific rigor, you're no longer a mathematician, you're a numerologist. << that mathematics and science are better than simple mystic compliance the old guy from the movie PI
Rough work, iconoclasm, but the only way to get at truth.<< that this is the only practical solution to answering multiple unproved, revelation-type assertions O.W Holmes
An important tradition within westren philosophy believes in the primacy of natural science as a guide to truth.  This is sometimes met with the charge that such an allegiance amounts to scientism--the view that the only things that really exist are those recognized by fundamental physical theory, and that the only forms of genuine knowledge are scientific ones. << i disapprove of the labelling of "scientism," but i do approve of "the only things that exist are those we have evidence of" JJ Haldane Atheism and Theism

6) that unity is good

Alexander [the Great] wept when he heard . . . that there was an infinte number of worlds, [saying,] 'Do you not think it a matter worthy of lamentation that when there is such a vast multitude of them, we have not yet conquered one?'" << note:  religions cause diversity, not unity Plutarch {1st century B.C.E.}

7) that doubt begets knowledge

Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd. Voltaire
Every great adance in natural knowledge has involved the absolute rejection of authority. << a prerequisite to rejection is, of course, "doubt" T. H. Huxley Lay Sermons {1870}
Ubi dubium ibi libertas >> Where there is doubt, there is freedom Latin motto
No man really becomes a fool until he stops asking questions. Charles Proteus Steinmetz
Without doubt you are not sane. Tage Danielsson 
Faith can remove a mountain, but doubt can put it back in place again. << doubt makes things right :) Tage Danielsson

Grouped By Definition Back to Index

you heard the writing:  Definitions!

While not many of us are historians, or sociologists or psychologists, all of us are philosophers, not professionally trained philosophers, of course, but philosophers in a personal and practical way. The essence of philosophy is inquiry. Dane R. Gordan Thinking and Reading in the Philosophy of Religion {1994, i=p4}
Philosophy is questions that may never be answered.  Religion is answers that may never be questioned. << x2 flames: doubt vs faith Unknown
FAITH--Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things without parallel.
PRAY--To ask that the laws of the universe be annulled in behalf of a single petitioner confessedly unworthy. << problem << more flames than real definitions... prayer is not always for impossible stuff, and faith is not always held by the ignorant		 Ambrose Bierce
Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. Philip K. Dick
A cult is a religion with no political power. Tom Wolfe
"Mythology" is what we call someone else's religion. Joseph Campbell

- - - - - random order :)


By 'order' we shall throughout describe a state of affairs in which a multiplicity of elements of various kinds are so related to each other that we may learn from our acquaintance with some spatial or temporal part of the while to form correct expectations concerning the rest, or at least expectations which have a good chance of proving correct. {1973ish} Friedrich Hayek
I say then, that belief is nothing but a more vivid, lively, forcible, firm, steady conception of an object, than what the imagination alone is ever able to attain.  This variety of terms, which may seem so unphilosophical, is intended only to express that act of the mind, which renders realities, or what is taken for such, more present to us than fictions, causes them to weigh more in the thought, and gives them a superior influence on the passions and imagination. Hume Inquiry ... {Section V, part II, 1748, p=p32}

[Almost] Tautological (not quite a defintion of anything though)

If you live long enough, you will lose everyone you care about. << sad but true << love 'em while you can! Unknown
The invisible and the non-existent look very much alike. Delos B. McKown
All Bibles are man-made. Thomas Edison
No experiences, ordinary, everyday, usual or unusual, whether impressions, ideas, dreams, visions or memories, strange, bizarre, familiar, weird, psychotic, or sane, are objective facts. R.D. Laing
I cannot doubt that doubt exists. MITCHELL

Similies (ok, this section really doesn't belong here, but i freakin' LOVE this one)

A man without religion is like a fish without a bicycle.  << quirky rewording of: A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle << Gloria Stienem Unknown
Organized Religion is like Organized Crime; it preys on peoples' weakness, generates huge profits for its operators, and is almost impossible to eradicate. << x2 y bad Mike Hermann

Lingering Doubts Back to Index

1) there is no compelling evidence that shows one god more probable than another

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. << no evidence = huge lingering doubt <<x3 dogma, should Carl Sagan Billions and Billions {1997, i=p60& Intelligent Life in the Universe, p866}
The possibility of realities beyond our senses does not justify the belief in whatever fantasy can invent.<< evidence always helps Manlio Tabellini or William James, IIRC?
Note to the reader:  you may want to check out the various arguments for god quotes, and their quotely rebuttles (click here for argument talk)

2) boogie men, souls, and gods are un proved, not dis proved

Since our inner experiences consist of reproductions, and combinations of sensory impressions, the concept of a soul without a body seem to me to be empty and devoid of meaning. << no evidence for souls Albert Einstein
My mind is incapable of conceiving such a thing as a soul. I may be in error, and man may have a soul; but I simply do not believe it. << no evidence for souls Thomas Edison  Do We Live Again?
I don't believe in god because I don't believe in Mother Goose.  <<  neither is "proved" (nor contain unconjectured "evidence") Clarence Darrow
He is less remote from the truth who believes nothing, than he who believes what is wrong. <<x2fff Thomas Jefferson
"Not knowing" is a perfectly respectable answer.  Pretending to know is not. MITCHELL
If Atheism is a religion, then health is a disease! << lack of religion is a religion as lack of disease is a disease << wow, aptly freakin' put, clark :) <<x2 pro atheism Clark Adams

3) galactic ambiguity

Theism is so confused and the sentences in which "God" appears so incoherent and so incapable of verifiability or falsifiability that to speak of belief or unbelief, faith or unfaith, is logically impossible. Alfred Jules Ayer (British Philosopher) (1910-1989) Language, Truth and Logic {quoted in "A History of God"}
The more defined a god is, the easier it is to disprove him.  With that in mind, remember, the Capitalized God is undefined. MITCHELL

4) the lessons of history

To surrender to ignorance and call it God has always been premature, and it remains premature today.  << history has disproved the vast majority of yesteryear's gods Isaac Asimov
To assert that the earth revolves around the sun is as erroneous as to claim that Jesus was not born of a virgin. Cardinal Bellarmine

5) scriptural skepticism

Jesus' last words on the cross, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" hardly seem like the words of a man who planned it that way.  It doesn't take Sherlock Holmes to figure there is something wrong here. Donald Morgan (x2)
If the Bible is mistaken in telling us where we came from, how can we trust it to tell us where we're going? << oh wait, i forgot, "7 days" = "15.whatever billion years."  my bad.  :) Justin Brown

6) the attributes of the capitalized God contradict each other (and/or make Her look bad)

We must question the story logic of having an all-knowing all-powerful God, who creates faulty Humans, and then blames them for his own mistakes. Gene Roddenberry
The original sin was not in eating of the forbidden fruit, but in planting the tree that bore the fruit. Lemuel K. Washburn Is The Bible Worth Reading And Other Essays
If you want to know what God thinks of money, just look at the people he gave it to. Dorthy Parker
If God is as vast as that, he is above blasphemy; if he is as little as that, He is beneth it. Mark Twain 

Atheological Shoulds Back to Index

Gods explicitely tell us what not to do, often in lucid detail.  And the few sparce bits of information in the afirmative tend to be vague and therefore unhelpful (like the notions: "just believe in jebus" or "do good always").  It's easier to denounce something then to produce something (children do this all the time... and so do their gods).

Christian morality (so called) has all the characters of a reaction; it is, in great part, a protest against Paganism.  Its ideal is negative rather than positive; passive rather than action; innocence rather than Nobleness; Abstinence from Evil, rather than energetic Pursuit of Good: in its precepts (as has been well said) "thou shalt not" predominates unduly over "thou shalt." << it would take a real god to tell us what _to_ do << x2 y started John Stuart Mill

1) restrain from "crazy" beliefs

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. <<x3 dogma, doubts Carl Sagan Billions and Billions {1997, i=p60& Intelligent Life in the Universe, p866{
O mortal man, think mortal thoughts! Euripides {480--406.C.E.}

2) plan for the morrow

An Atheist believes that a hospital should be built instead of a church. An Atheist believes that a deed must be done instead of a prayer said. An Atheist strives for involvement in life and not escape into death. He wants disease conquered, poverty vanished, war eliminated. << help out this life (the only life we have any real proof of) Madalyn Murray O'Hair
vs
Do not worry, saying, "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?" For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. << bible << the hedonistic philosophy of "Don't Worry, Be Happy" is far from being an absolute Jesus of
Nazareth		 Matthew 
6:31-34
Humanity has the stars in its future, and that future is too important to be lost under the burden of juvenile folly and ignorant superstition.  << look out for this earth, since pixy demons don't seem to Isaac Asimov
Should we plan for the future? ... or should we spend our time hoping (and praying) that someone else will do it for us?  The answer is obvious for the man of sloth.  But the answer is even more obvious for the man of virtue. MITCHELL
The sailor does not pray for wind, he learns to sail. << the ways that work for sure (can be tested) are best Gustaf Lindborg
The most pernicious of absurdities is that weak, blind, stupid faith is better than the constant practice of every human virtue. << x2 y bad Walter Savage Landor from Ira Cardiff, What Great Men Think of Religion
I believe in the religion of reason--the gospel of this world; in the development of the mind, in the accumulation of intellectual wealth, to the end that man may free himself from superstitious fear, to the end that he may take advantage of the forces of nature to feed and clothe the world. Robert Ingersoll  Why Am I an Agnostic? {North American Review, December, 1889}
Ask yourself whether the dream of heaven and greatness should be waiting for us in our graves--or whether it should be ours here and now and on this earth. Ayn Rand
Take care of your life, your child's life, your animal's life, fuck, take care of:  ALL LIFE, ALL THINGS, EVERYTHING, THE FUTURE, THE PLANET, THE ALL MAGNIFICENT WHOLE.  But you can only do this if you first acknowledge that you should do this; that it is your job to plan for the morrow. MITCHELL

3) set the precident

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. << x2 moral arg Albert Einstein 
Each of us must be the change we want to see in the world.  Gandhi
Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut. Unknown
If someone were to prove to me--right this minute--that God, in all his luminousness, exists, it wouldn't change a single aspect of my behavior. << be living your life good, no matter what Luis Bunuel {Spanish filmmaker, 1900-1983}
Be ye lamps unto yourselves. << find the correct path for yourself, and light the way for others The Buddha Mahaparinibbana Suttanta {from his farewell address, i=p49}
Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.  Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. << bible << miracle << where does he get his material? ;) Jesus of Nazareth According [only] to the Gospel of Matthew, 5:15-16
It's better to light a candle then to curse the darkness. Carl Sagan

4) geat:  loving humanity directly (as opposed to loving humanity indirectly as with gods)

Why do I hate religious people?  I don't! I have nothing against religious people but really dislike religion. My version of "Hate the sin, love the sinner" is "Hate the deception, love the deceived." Fredrik Bendz
For while I am opposed to all orthodox creeds, I have a creed myself, and my creed is this. Happiness is the only good. The time to be happy is now. The place to be happy is here. The way to be happy is to make others so. Robert G. Ingersoll {1833-1899}
God is Good.  Geat is Great. MITCHELL

5) educate yourself (more knowledge, less faith)

The mental and moral, like the muscular powers, are improved only by being used. Mill
Knowledge is virtue. << knowledge makes men "good" Socrates
All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them. << thinking/searching can be/should be fun/done Galileo Galilei
It is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring. <<  one can gain a sick sort of pleasure from "learning" Carl Sagan
The more we understand the less we hate. MITCHELL
Note:  few prison inmates have college diplomas (i'd guesstimate about 5% do).
Note:  most prison inmates believe in the 'G' God (i guesstimate about 95% do).		 MITCHELL

5.1) doubt (see the "doubt leads to good things" section)

<< under construction >>free inquiry into everything = civilization successist god quotes, telling "do not learn this this and this" << enumerate all the times yahweh tells us not to learn about or even go near "evil people" << lifely advice:  we should learn shit

    If a man, holding a belief which he was taught in childhood or persuaded of afterwards, keeps down and pushes away any doubts which arise about it in his mind, purposely avoids the reading of books and the company of men that call in question or discuss it, and regards as impious those questions which cannot easily be asked without disturbing it--the life of that man is one long sin against mankind.
    If this judgment seems harsh when applied to those simple souls who have never known better, who have been brought up from the cradle with a horror of doubt, and taught that their eternal welfare depends on what they believe, then it leads to the very serious question, Who hath made Israel to sin? << i'd answer with "that Monkey-Poop Sandwich," but ... you know ... the whole "existance problem" ;)		 W.K. Clifford  The Ethics of Belief {1877, i=p77}

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