Top 15 Quotes By Famous Atheists

1. James - December 7th, 2007 at 9:19 am

Good timing with the release of “The Golden Compass.” I don’t think the series is so much atheistic as it is just intelligently written.

2. Juggz - December 7th, 2007 at 9:20 am

This topic is excitement waiting to happen. Good Job!

3. Ruairi - December 7th, 2007 at 9:23 am

wow, number 9 is pretty heavy! another great list though. great to see both sides of the arguments in brilliant and witty quotes. thank you!

4. Craig - December 7th, 2007 at 9:25 am

“If rascals knew how much money could be made in being righteous, they would be righteous out of plain rascality!” - Mark Twain

Dont know if he was an atheist, but I have always held this quote near my heart. and it seemed to parallel the topic.

5. Aardy - December 7th, 2007 at 9:29 am

I find it somewhat interesting that the list of quotes from Thomas Aquinas is composed of introspective musings on the nature of man, theology, love, and faith; and then the list you have posted of quotes from famous atheists is nothing but derogatory polemics.

I find it odd as well that in compiling quotes from Aquinas, you’ve neglected to mention his versions of the classic arguments for the existence of God.

I think both lists could use some work, if you’re trying to have more than a couple of lists of two groups hurling insults at each other. The list on Aquinas had some good stuff, but I would open it up on the religious side to all great religious thinkers. And let the atheists have a little better representation…I mean seriously…Woody Allen? One of the greatest atheist minds in history?…That’s just sad.

6. Joslyn - December 7th, 2007 at 9:32 am

These are all great - fab list!

7. Emeraldi - December 7th, 2007 at 9:33 am

Awesome list (Diderot!), although Ben Franklin was not an atheist, he was more of a deist who believed in a higher power but disregarded the superstition of organized religion. Also, Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) although very clever and a man of great observational commentary particularly in regards to religion vs. faith was also not an atheist. Both men had similar opinions about organized religion, and it would be very easy to assume they are atheist, but they both had a favorable attitude towards the concept of faith in a higher power as written in some of their memoirs and biographies. They both felt that faith was a healthy part of the human condition, but thought that organized churches were somewhat exploiting the purpose of faith and restricting people’s ability to explore the tenets philosophies of their faith on their own. P.S. This site kicks ass.

8. Randall - December 7th, 2007 at 9:36 am

I have to take issue with the inclusion of some of these individuals and their quotes on this list, and also have a few comments to make:

A) We see why Ernest Hemingway was no great intellectual (I personally detest much of his work—though I acknowledge the greatness of some of his short stories) with his childishly overstated stance that “all thinking men are atheists.” Ridiculous. Hemingway would therefore have us believe that none of the great intellects–who were clearly believers, from the beginnings of Christianity right up through the Renaissance–were not “thinking men.” Okay, “Papa.” Go tell that to St. Thomas Aquinas, to Peter Abelard, to St. Francis, to St. Augustine, to Thomas More. Of course, Hemingway might have been referring only to our own times—modernity—in which case his statement would be slightly more accurate… but then he should have qualified it. Typical sloppy and solipsistic words from our old friend, the Great Overblown and Overesteemed American Blowhard of the 20th Century.

B) I don’t think it’s quite right to characterize Nietzsche as an atheist; he was anti-Christian, yes—he called it the religion of slaves—but he was interested in his notions of a hero-centered pagan faith (culminating in his views on the Superman). The pegging of Nietzsche as an atheist comes largely from his famous “God is dead” statement—but I believe there he was referring to the death of the Christian god—Christianity having really, in an intellectual sense, died out with the coming of the Enlightenment—and all the philosophical trappings that had grown up around “God” as a concept in the previous 2000 years. In any sense, it’s safe to presume that Nietzsche would have been okay with replacing the Judeo-Christian God with one more to his liking, one more in line with his philosophy.

C) I agree wholeheartedly with Vonnegut.

D) Frank Lloyd Wright clearly says that he believes in god–only he calls it nature. This is not strictly atheism, if Wright believed in any kind of consciousness within nature.

E) Diderot’s quote–while one sympathizes somewhat with the sentiment–also tends to give me the shivers. It presages the bloodshed of the Revolutionary period in France, and makes me wonder–why do some feel it so necessary to kill *people* in order to kill an old idea?

F) Magellan’s quote addresses the *Church*—not god as a concept or a belief. I doubt that Magellan, given his time and background, was an atheist.

G) Steinem raises a good point about one of the main problems regarding modern religion. It focuses on an afterlife reward/punishment system, rather than the fulfillment and betterment of the life we live now.

I’ll offer a quote of my own: Religion does more harm than good, faith should always be part intellectual, part spirit, part poetry… and the relationship one forms with god or the universe or nature or whatever you wish to call it—should be a personal one–not fostered upon others. Proselytization is an obsolete practice.

9. Anthony - December 7th, 2007 at 9:37 am

My new favorite list. Many great quotes from many great people, what’s not to love?

10. me - December 7th, 2007 at 9:44 am

a great list i agree with all the quotes as a massive atheist

11. SocialButterfly - December 7th, 2007 at 9:47 am

I absolutely love #13!! I think we all know how that one turned. Perhaps the only thing everyone will agree on - scratch that. People will fight over anything if it means they don’t have to get back to work!! - lol.

12. Harsha - December 7th, 2007 at 9:52 am

For “God’s” sake Randall its just a list! Really Good one though! I liked the last few.

13. Blogball - December 7th, 2007 at 9:53 am

Aardy , the list’s title does not claim that these are the greatest atheist minds in history?
The list is about famous atheist that happens to say something intriguing or interesting.
There is a difference. And I have faith in the “The List Universe ” that this is true.

14. Emeraldi - December 7th, 2007 at 9:54 am

Frank Lloyd Wright’s quote is also not atheistic. There are many sects of faith that revere nature as their higher power, such as taoism, wicca, parts of buddhism and other relgions of native/aboriginal peoples in just about every habitable continent.

15. karl roenfanz ( rosey ) - December 7th, 2007 at 10:01 am

when i joined the military we were required to list an approved religion. ordered to by our “superiors”. much as in the past,if you did not profess to the religion of the area you would be tarred or put to sea or driven into the wilderness. check into why many people came over. now some insist those folks were religious.

16. Blogball - December 7th, 2007 at 10:03 am

Sorry, I just read the discription under the title but I still have faith.

17. Kelsi - December 7th, 2007 at 10:15 am

I would have to agree with Aardy–the first list had very little quotes on it concerning God in general, but these all do. I would have preferred it to have been more similar to the first list, with quotes regarding other aspects of the world and not just “God does not exist and everyone who thinks so is a damn fool.” (paraphrased, lol) but there are still some really good quotes here, and I am also glad to see another list of quotes anyway! As I have said before, I love them. =)

18. Shabab - December 7th, 2007 at 10:17 am

This is more anti-Christian/church than anti-existance-of-God. The christian explanation/concept of God is not the only one out there.Also correct me if im wrong. Jesus never said the earth is flat. That was prolly said by those evil powerdrunk popes, right?

19. CRE - December 7th, 2007 at 10:28 am

Shabab: no, Jesus never said the earth is flat. Neither does the Bible (unless you take a metaphorical passage about being able to see the 4 corners of the world as “proof”). But, then, the Bible never says anything about the Rapture or the earth being 6000 years old or Jesus being born in December, either. That would be a great list: 10 things the Bible doesn’t really say, but that people think it does. Anyways, strong Christian here, I just hate having to chip away the stuff added to the Bible by people in the last 2000 years.

20. Carrie - December 7th, 2007 at 10:34 am

I don’t know if he was an atheist, but I’ve got a nice Voltaire quote in my sig file:

“The atheist preserves his reason, which checks his propensity to mischief, while the fanatic is under the influence of a madness which is constantly urging him on.”

21. DanOhh - December 7th, 2007 at 10:35 am

What’s the last thing the parachuting atheist said when his rip cord did’t work?… “Oh God!”

22. torn and frayed - December 7th, 2007 at 10:47 am

CRE, you don’t like the stuff added to the bible in the last 2000 years? That’s the entire new testament!
The 6000 yo Earth theory is from addition done from the bible.

23. EAL - December 7th, 2007 at 10:48 am

I have to say I agree with #11 and #12

24. Randall - December 7th, 2007 at 10:56 am

Harsha, there are no small lists… just small list readers.

25. jfrater - December 7th, 2007 at 10:59 am

Shabab: frankly, the powerdrunk popes are no worse than the murderous teachings of many Islamic leaders old and new.

26. jfrater - December 7th, 2007 at 11:02 am

oh - and I really didn’t expect this list to cause so much ire!

27. JT - December 7th, 2007 at 11:04 am

“A casual stroll through a lunatic asylum shows that faith proves nothing.” - Nietzsche

“I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.” - Stephen Roberts

“Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able?
Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing?
Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing?
Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing?
Then why call him God?”

- Epicurus

Great list jfrater. I love Woody Allen! Although calling him one of the great atheist minds in history is a bit hyperbolic especially when you could have included stuff by Dawkins, Sagan, Russell etc

BTW you should do a list of Woody Allen’s best quotes. I have a book of his various writings called Without Feathers and it’s literally the funniest book I have ever read.

I’d also like to note that Hemingway, though an open atheist, never actually said that quote in #3. It’s spoken by the main character in A Farewell to Arms.

28. newsong - December 7th, 2007 at 11:10 am

Freud calling something infantile and foreign to reality is laughable.

And even as a Christian, I’d have to agree with #4 and #10 on a sadly large scale.

29. Black Lutefisk - December 7th, 2007 at 11:43 am

Great list, inappropriate title. These are not all athiests. It is a dangerous thing to label one who does not believe or agree with the church (really, your church) an athiest. Deists, like Franklin, believe in a God even if that God is so perfect that micromanagement of Creation is not needed. Others find their own paths of worship that do not involve established churches (to the chagrin of most governments). Please change the title.

30. seeker - December 7th, 2007 at 11:44 am

Actually, the church really never taught that the earth is flat - this is a pejorative lie was admitted to and created by historian A.D. White to get back at Christians who criticized his plans for Cornell.

And, it has been repeated by anti-god atheists and secularists ever since.

See The biblical origins of science

31. FekketCantenel - December 7th, 2007 at 11:55 am

“I find it somewhat interesting that the list of quotes from Thomas Aquinas is composed of introspective musings on the nature of man, theology, love, and faith; and then the list you have posted of quotes from famous atheists is nothing but derogatory polemics.”

YOU READ MY MIND. *APPLAUDS* THANK YOU!

Also, Freud was a joke. 95% of the human race of his time (quoting from dim memory) believed in God (personal or not), and yet he called them all infantile. Way to be superior, dude. Get back up on your high horse.

As for Vonnegut, I just finished ‘Cat’s Cradle’, in which he expounds on the fictional Bokononism, a ‘religion based on lies to make people happy’. I don’t see what’s so vile and ridiculous about being happy. Why do all these ‘great thinkers’ have such an aversion to it? Are they so desperate to be miserable? If you’re going to be an atheist, don’t let your motivation be a mistaken impression that faithful happiness is impossible.

32. FekketCantenel - December 7th, 2007 at 12:00 pm

Just registered! Yay! About time.

Also, I agree somewhat with Black Lutefisk. My suggested new title: Top 15 Quotes From People Who Really Don’t Like Organized Religion.

Alternate suggestion: Top 15 Quotes From Dawgs Who Just Don’t Dig It, Yo.

33. Black Lutefisk - December 7th, 2007 at 12:09 pm

I like the Dawgs one. How about “Top 15 Anti-Church Quotations” or “Top 15 Challenges to Traditional Religion”? To be clear: these are essentially arguments against the existance of established churches, not God.

34. Black Lutefisk - December 7th, 2007 at 12:12 pm

I mean established religions, not just churches.

35. Devin - December 7th, 2007 at 12:13 pm

To create such a list and omit Carl Sagan and is monumental failure of this list.

“Once we overcome our fear of being tiny, we find ourselves on the threshold of a vast and awesome Universe that utterly dwarfs — in time, in space, and in potential — the tidy anthropocentric proscenium of our ancestors.”
-Carl Sagan-

36. FekketCantenel - December 7th, 2007 at 12:15 pm

Actually, now that I reread it, a good title would be ‘Top 14 Anti-Religious Quotations, and 1 from Woody Allen’. (#14 made me roffle)

And also, I disagree. A few of the quotes (#3, #8, and #14) are atheistic challenges. Though now that you mention it, yes, this list is definitely less about atheism and more about anti-religion.

I hate to say it, jfrater, but I think you dropped the ball on this one. I’d guess that the problem was that you tried to go too general (as opposed to the St. Aquinas one, which was a specific person).

37. jfrater - December 7th, 2007 at 12:34 pm

Well guys - you all dislike the quotes I presented - how about giving ones you think are more apt? Obviously I failed at finding ones that Atheists are happy to be represented by - so show us what you want to be represented by That way everyone wins! And we all like that

38. vhold - December 7th, 2007 at 12:34 pm

Benjamin Franklin was not an atheist. He turned away from organized religion, but not faith in a higher power.

39. jfrater - December 7th, 2007 at 12:35 pm

Oh - and JT - I will definitely do a Woody Allen list. Maybe you could whip up a Best Woody Allen films one too?

40. Cyn - December 7th, 2007 at 12:58 pm

9. Man will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest. — Denis Diderot
12. Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful. — Seneca the Younger

of this list, these are 2 of my all time fav quotes..whether indicated as atheist or not.

each having to do more w/ government/politics than religion/faith. which has always been a major sore point w/ me as regards religion. how religion is perverted to serve the hidden agendas of the political powers that be.

as one who’s grown weary of the term ‘atheist’ since its become so damned fashionable of late, i prefer nontheist or no label at all.

its real simple. there is no god. period.

but i was raised Baptist. attended Catholic mass routinely as a child. had Muslim roomies at college. have also spent most of my life on a ’spiritual quest’ via much study and yes, prayer. to the point that i finally realized…there is no god. (the fact it coincided w/ this atheist fad irks me to no end..took me 50 years to get to this point damnit!)

that said…i do understand how someone who is not an atheist and is extremely well schooled in a particular faith would have difficulty in selecting specific atheist quotes that show a broader range of perspective.

still…i am listverse addict. i have a profound appreciation for what J does here. and i applaud this effort to showcase this genre of quotes.

it would be interesting for a real atheist to come up w/ a more wide ranging set of quotes though.
and no, t’ain’t me. cuz i’ve tried to come up lists and wind up drowning in the details.

so that’d be a challenge to one our fellow listers.

41. Black Lutefisk - December 7th, 2007 at 1:48 pm

JFrater: This is a great list. You did not drop the ball on the content/quality of the list (Carl Sagan would be a good addition, I agree). What is wrong is the title. I don’t know technically if it is difficult to do that. But it should be done. How about “Top 15 Quotations that Question/Challenge Faith”

42. Carrie - December 7th, 2007 at 2:04 pm

Cyn: I prefer the term “secular humanist”.

jfrater: I’ll see if I can come up with some good additional quotes for this topic.

43. jfrater - December 7th, 2007 at 2:10 pm

Black Lutefisk: thanks I appreciate the support I am clearly going to have to extend this atheism/religion series further

44. jk - December 7th, 2007 at 2:14 pm

Merry Christmas

45. FekketCantenel - December 7th, 2007 at 2:23 pm

BL reminded me to clarify: When I said that jfrater ‘dropped the ball’, I mean that he failed to provide a proper counterpoint to the St. Aquinas list. He presented a thinking, reasonable, and articulate religious intellectual, followed by a list of mostly-typical and -polemic drivel. If I were an atheist, I’m sure I’d be insulted.

Not being one, I can’t suggest any other appropriate quotes, but I _do_ suggest you make your next counterpoint a list of quotes by a specific person (Carl Sagan seems popular).

46. Andre du Plessis - December 7th, 2007 at 2:26 pm

All I can say is … Amen

47. wanderer - December 7th, 2007 at 2:42 pm

“I believe in only me, and what i can do”

famous samurai line, not sure exactly who said it through, but i think that would fit here

48. JT - December 7th, 2007 at 2:51 pm

I think the problem is that atheism is not the opposite of Christianity, it is the opposite of theism. In other words, atheism does not count as a philosophy, merely a belief (or lack of) in a supernatural deity - no further. Atheism is divided into various philosophies, the same way theism is divided into different denominations or religions. The most popular atheistic philosophy is secular humanism.

A good example of some secular humanist quotes can be found here (not all the people here are secular humanists, but the quotes are thought to have meaning to secular humanists):

http://www.humanismbyjoe.com/humanism_quotes.htm

A few examples include:

“There is not sufficient love and goodness in the world to permit us to give some of it away to imaginary beings.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

“Man is the measure of all things.” - Protagoras

Both promote the central thesis of secular humanism which is finding the meaning of life purely on human terms.

49. subcorpus - December 7th, 2007 at 3:00 pm

no 4 …
Benjamin Franklin actually said that …
hehe …. i thought he was too busy discovering electricity and stuff …

50. Gracie - December 7th, 2007 at 3:07 pm

There is an excellent site called Positive Atheism which has a very extensive list of quotations at the following address: http://www.positiveatheism.org.....qframe.htm

51. jfrater - December 7th, 2007 at 3:08 pm

JT: that is a very good observation - and perhaps the root of the problem for me with this list - I have not really studied atheism enough to know the subtleties of it. Why not write my second atheist list for me (after you do Woody Allen)

Carrie: do please!

52. seeker - December 7th, 2007 at 3:09 pm

Franklin, a noted deist, also said the following:

“ God governs in the affairs of man. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? We have been assured in the Sacred Writings that except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. I firmly believe this. I also believe that, without His concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel” –Constitutional Convention of 1787 | original manuscript of this speech

“In the beginning of the contest with Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayers in this room for Divine protection. Our prayers, Sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered… do we imagine we no longer need His assistance?” [Constitutional Convention, Thursday June 28, 1787]

In Benjamin Franklin’s 1749 plan of education for public schools in Pennsylvania, he insisted that schools teach “the excellency of the Christian religion above all others, ancient or modern.”

In 1787 when Franklin helped found Benjamin Franklin University, it was dedicated as “a nursery of religion and learning, built on Christ, the Cornerstone.”

53. Aardy - December 7th, 2007 at 3:46 pm

“If I were an atheist, I’m sure I’d be insulted.”
-FekketCantenel
===================================================

That was basically my point. As a non-atheist myself, I feel, that to believe this was the pinnacle of atheistic thought would be to create a straw man characterization of those who disagree with me.

However.

I do think a polemics list could be fun from the religious side as well. Basically what people have said about God, the Bible, or faith from a religious perspective. (I include the Bible simply because, lets face it…Most apologetic thought and debate seems to focus on Christianity.

A fun starter quote would be:

“When the French monarch proposed the persecution of Christians in his dominion, an old statesman and warrior said to him, ‘Sire, the church of God is an anvil that has worn out many hammers.’ So the hammers of infidels have been pecking away at this book for ages, but the hammers are worn out, and the anvil still endures. If this book had not been the book of God, men would have destroyed it long ago. Emperors and popes, kings and priests, princes and rulers have all tried their hand at it; they die and the book still lives.”

-H.L. Hastings

54. Cyn - December 7th, 2007 at 4:12 pm

Carrie..’secular humanist’
…er…no offense but probably from my being in the ‘Bible Belt’ where that particular term has been beat to death…it just makes me shudder. also, i take issue w/ labels as a whole. and yes, i know, its a hella lot more convenient to just say, ‘i’m an atheist’ than to go on about knowing there is no god. it is complicated issue ill served by what to me is a too simplistic label.

55. Juggz - December 7th, 2007 at 4:30 pm

Why do athiest get so offended at stupid stuff. Some are just as bad as bible thumpers.

56. Carrie - December 7th, 2007 at 4:33 pm

Cyn: No offense taken! It’s funny, but here in California I don’t hear that term very often.
For anyone else who wants to know more about it go to http://www.secularhumanism.org/

57. rebelaessedai - December 7th, 2007 at 4:49 pm

I love it! Some are callous, some funny, some so very true. Sometimes I feel like the only atheist in the world. It’s good to know other people feel the same way I do.

58. Carrie - December 7th, 2007 at 5:35 pm

“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.”
– Thomas Edison

“It is, I think, an error to believe that there is any need of religion to make life seem worth living.”
– Sinclair Lewis

59. Carrie - December 7th, 2007 at 5:43 pm

Here are two more quotes…

“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.”
– Thomas Edison

“It is, I think, an error to believe that there is any need of religion to make life seem worth living.”
– Sinclair Lewis

60. Smartlydone - December 7th, 2007 at 5:51 pm

Randall, will you marry me??

Just kidding, but you gotta love a person who is not afraid of using what they got between their ears…

61. Carrie - December 7th, 2007 at 6:00 pm

Sorry about the double post. The first one wasn’t showing up so I tried again. Darnit.

62. Bill Vincent - December 7th, 2007 at 6:31 pm

Craig:
Hate to break it to you, but Mark Train *is* Samuel Clemens. Clemens wrote most of his books under the name “Mark Twain”.

63. jfrater - December 7th, 2007 at 6:35 pm

Bill is right - I put Samuel Clemens presuming everyone knew e was “Mark Twain”. Twain was the nom de plume.

Carrie: ’tis okay - no one minds

Juggz: I did kinda feel that some of these quotes showed that too.

64. kittym - December 7th, 2007 at 7:19 pm

I think that when it comes to both groups (yes-God/no-God) you get your nice, friendly, you-go-your-way-I’ll-go-mine kind of people …

… And then, sometimes, you get the scary ones! As an Agnostic (or, too lazy to figure out what the “higher power” is) I prefer hanging out with the friendlier ones, but I think that goes without saying :).

Interesting sorta/kinda/maybe Atheist quote list. I love looking up random quotes, and this site makes it so much easier for me to do so!

65. jack.khan - December 7th, 2007 at 7:39 pm

I am Atheist, thank’s god !

66. Mikerodz - December 7th, 2007 at 7:41 pm

These list are quite interesting.

Ferdinand Magelland do not have much faith in the church yet he used sword and cross in his conquest. He even gave an statue of Holy Child of Prague(Santo Nino de Praga)as a gift to a local queen in Philippine Islands when they embraced Christianity.

67. jonesburg - December 7th, 2007 at 8:31 pm

@Craig

Mark Twain was the pen name of Samuel Clemens, who appears on the list above.

68. BCPete - December 7th, 2007 at 9:44 pm

It would be interesting to know the last thoughts or words of atheists on their death beds.
A wise friend of mine once shared the following with me in defining an atheist. Looking at the word itself we find that there are two crosses represented by the t’s and the words between the crosses tell us that He is.

69. Daverino - December 7th, 2007 at 9:44 pm

Randall: Nietzsche was an atheist of the highest order. His oversimplified “God is dead.” quote has to be placed in its proper context. Nietzsche said God is dead because man created the (fictional) God and man’s reason later killed it off.

Also, I’m surprised I haven’t seen anyone post, “Prove god doesn’t exist!” on here which is akin to saying, “Prove flying rainbow colored unicorns aren’t real!”

70. claude - December 7th, 2007 at 10:22 pm

I’m not sure who wrote this (possibly a character in a Dostoyevsky novel?), but it appears relevant enough to ad to your list, “The only reason man invented god, was to to stop from killing himself.”

71. Versailles - December 7th, 2007 at 11:15 pm

“I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.” –Stephen Roberts

72. Misnthrope - December 7th, 2007 at 11:21 pm

I really like this list, but it was more against organized religion than god itself. Even as an atheist, I recognize this distinction, for I have little quarrel with Deists, but a war with theists. With Deists, I think, it is only, like atheism, a philosophical position in the area of metaphysics, but Theists begin telling us how we should live according to a barbaric book of death sentences for premarital sex and child disobedience. Jesus may have been a good man if he existed, but I do not like very many of his friends.

Anyway, I think, if a list were formed attacking specifically organized religion, one could even include Tolstoy: “Could it be that all this talk of love, goodness, God, religion, law, justice, and so on, was merely to conceal the grossest self-interest and cruelty?” ~ Resurrection pg. 387.

David Hume (Philosopher): “It is certain, that, in every religion, however sublime the verbal definition which it gives of its divinity, many of the votaries, perhaps the greatest number, will still seek the divine favor, not by virtue and good morals, which alone can be acceptable to a perfect being, but either by frivolous observances, by intemperate zeal, by rapturous extasies, or by the belief of mysterious and absurd opinions.”

73. ravivarma2k - December 8th, 2007 at 12:14 am

I was an atheist, till i realized i was god

74. Samer Mohamed - December 8th, 2007 at 2:02 am

Anthony Burgess said:” God has failed humans by not existing”.

75. Mattijs Kneppers - December 8th, 2007 at 3:44 am

Funny, the quotes comment on believers or belief, not on whether or not God exists.

From these quotes I’d say these men are non-believers, not atheists per sé.

Mattijs

76. Adam - December 8th, 2007 at 3:52 am

FYI: You have misattributed quote #12. It was actually Edward Gibbon who wrote it in chapter 2 of “The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire”.

http://tinyurl.com/2pq33q

That should link to a Google Books highlighting of the passage.

77. jfrater - December 8th, 2007 at 5:40 am

Adam: Thanks - I have now corrected that.

78. Doug - December 8th, 2007 at 8:43 am

Let’s see… all negative, all hostile, all pretentious, all the time. That’s what atheism offers in response to Christianity? No thanks.

Of course there have been moments and movements of irresponsibility, apostasy, and embarrassment in the church. That’s why there are so many denominations after all — people encountered problems in the church, tried to lobby for change but ended up saying “Enough. We’re out of here.”

To suggest that the church and/or Christians hasn’t done much of value for humanity is patently absurd. Let me know if you’d like a list.

79. dave4248 - December 8th, 2007 at 9:46 am

You forgot Julia Sweeney (formerly of Saturday Night Live) She had a great one. She said,..”It’s because I take God so seriously that I can’t bring myself to believe in him.” Although this list is still very good.

80. Kiki - December 8th, 2007 at 10:00 am

“Let’s see… all negative, all hostile, all pretentious, all the time. That’s what atheism offers in response to Christianity? No thanks.”

You are welcome…

81. Smartlydone - December 8th, 2007 at 10:17 am

Every abused altar boy, every tortured Jew, every midwife with property burned at the stake, every South Afican denied medicine and food until they convert, every child drowned because his mother said god told her to, every Mormon child bride, every war America has been involved in–Doug, the list goes on and on. Provide yours, the big-brained atheist list is longer, and more compelling. But I am betting yours has top entertainment value, so it won’t be a total loss.

82. Teresa - December 8th, 2007 at 11:03 am

Wow. I don’t usually comment, but I felt the need today. People are nit-picky as hell! Personally, I found the list to be interesting and entertaining; what it is SUPPOSED to be, after all.
and here’s a couple of quotes for you…
“Religious distress is at the same time the expression of real distress and the protest against real distress. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, just as it is the spirit of a spiritless situation. It is the opium of the people. The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions.”
Karl Marx, Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right
and for you NIN fans…
“God is dead, and no one cares. If there is a hell, I’ll see you there.” Trent Reznor

83. Cal - December 8th, 2007 at 11:34 am

Amen!

Religion stops a thinking mind.

84. JT - December 8th, 2007 at 11:37 am

Everytime I think of religion, I am reminded of that great quote by Gerald Massey:

“They must find it difficult…those who accept authority as the truth, rather than the truh as authority.”

85. Wayne - December 8th, 2007 at 3:46 pm

I do try my best to believe in God, but it takes work. I believe in evolution. I believe believing in God is hard, but I do believe he exists. I don’t think evolution disproves him. I think no matter what the truth of our material world is he still exists. Why? Cause I think he just happens to. Strangely enough he does. Faith shouldn’t run our society or our civilization, but it should not be totally discredited either. Faith is for the individual. For the individual faith opens up truth. But when the individual pushes others to believe in his or hers experience it only complicates. I don’t think God depends upon our beliefs or upon making others believe for his existence. Even if we forget him he still exists.

86. Mason Abbot - December 8th, 2007 at 7:08 pm

Fun list…thanks! The Christians here just don’t get it–which explains why they’re Christians.

87. Ron - December 9th, 2007 at 8:15 am

I’m fond of Trent Reznor’s “God is dead and no one cares,” though the one above from George Bernard Shaw is great too.

88. Tallman - December 9th, 2007 at 1:19 pm

Mark Twain is Samuel Clemens Craig.

89. jonnie - December 9th, 2007 at 8:08 pm

1. Ben Franklin-not an atheiest.
2. Ernest Hemingway-A woman beater that blew his worthless brains out or poisoned himself or something equally pathetic in a fit of self pity.
3. Frank Lloyed Wright? Seen his architecture? It was Awesome…since when did someone that good at something artistic ever have an easy time giving the credit to God?
4. Andrew Carnegie-yeah he built some libraries and such-but only because he didn’t feel like paying his workers a fair wage for the dangerous job of steel rifining-was also quoted to have stated something along the lines of “if I payed them more they would spend it improperly” He was just as evil a money-grubbing tycoon as there ever was…
5. Sigmund Freud was a cocaine junkie that was and still is laughed out of the room in his own profession. Period.
6. Woody Allen divorced his wife so he could sleep with his adopted daughter-another model citizen exposing us Christians for the scumbags we are…
7. Samuel Clemens? Also not an Atheist…Although I won’t make things up and say that this quote was taken out of context…I only know that he was not specifically an atheist.

90. jonnie - December 9th, 2007 at 8:44 pm

8. Fredrrich Nietzsche-went bonkers 11 years before his death. Anybody know when he made this statement? Was it during his coherent years?
9. Magellan-was probably Catholic; even Catholics get tired of there own ways; but Catholics are still Christians.
10. Vonnegut Witnessed the bombing of Dresdin guys. I can understand his denial of God after that; he later wrote a book about his own insanity: “The Eden Express” I think it was.
11. Shaw-socialist; kind of intrinsic to their nature to remove God from the picture.
12. Steinem- a feminist (”You mean to tell me God is a MAN?!”)
13. Denis Diderot-a card-carrying Frenchman; need I saw more?

91. Norman - December 9th, 2007 at 9:34 pm

If there’s not god, what’s the point?

92. Smartlydone - December 9th, 2007 at 9:55 pm

Playing “devil’s advocate” here (which may help the thread branch off in another direction, for good or ill): does there need to be a point?

93. Reg123456 - December 10th, 2007 at 12:27 am

3. All thinking men are atheists. — Ernest Hemingway

‘At that time Jesus said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants.”‘ - Matthew 11:25

Ditto!

94. The Dum Guy - December 10th, 2007 at 12:35 am

What is more scary to believe in, that God doesn’t exist or that God doesn’t really care about humanity?

95. snooker - December 10th, 2007 at 6:46 am

smart pointers are C++ objects that simulate simple pointers by implementing operator-> and the unary operator*.

96. Mauricio Ramirez - December 10th, 2007 at 5:31 pm

If there’s not god, what’s the point?

1. Take full responsibility of your acts
2. Live each day as it were the last. There is no second chance.
3. Live fearlessly. Full in true love and appreciation of the only chance you will ever have of seeing what you are seeing now in your life.

97. Smartlydone - December 10th, 2007 at 9:58 pm

The Dum Guy, have you seen the movie, “Angels in America”? If so, remember the ending? god just walked away, leaving sad and confused angels and humans behind. Remember the devil’s rant against god to Reeve’s character towards the end of “The Devil’s Adovcate”, re: “an absentee landlord”? It’s worse if the dear old dad you believed in no longer cares. But really: why would a god just walk away/not care about such a beautiful creation? How could it be justified, except that we need to, as Sagan said, save a step. If god created man, then man created god. So let’s save a step.

98. The Dum Guy - December 10th, 2007 at 10:14 pm

Smartlydone: Funny thing, I once rented Angels In America on accident (I was wanting to rent the docu Paradise Lost 2, the follow up on the West Memphis 3, but someone put the wrong DVD in the case) but I wasn’t able to get into it enough to finish.

My point wasn’t to agree or disagree with atheism or “faith”, but to question what is the reason for many people’s need to believe in things they cannot fully fathom.

I for one do believe in a God (of sorts), but I don’t think he/she/it cares too much for the day-to-day lives of humanity. The closest thing I’ve found to quantify my belief system would be the label of a Nihilstic-Existentialist, I think we have a lot of power over our destiny (although chaos looms around us at all times), but I see no intrinsic value in “being”… anything.

99. Mason Abbot - December 10th, 2007 at 11:51 pm

Once again, it immediately becomes clear. Good grief. The Christians will nitpick the individual trees all day, and the reasoned person will even quickly agree on the nitpicks. Unfortunately, and alas, they are blind to the forest. Simple quibling doesn’t change reality.

100. jfrater - December 11th, 2007 at 12:27 am

Mason Abbot: very well put - we all need to occasionally step back and look at the bigger picture.

101. The Dum Guy - December 11th, 2007 at 1:38 am

Mason Abbot: I agree, quibling doesn’t change reality. The only real thing that changes reality is mentaly caused or drug induced.

102. K. - December 11th, 2007 at 2:47 pm

“Religion is the opium of the people”

K. Marx

103. jfrater - December 11th, 2007 at 2:53 pm

K. god quote - though I think it was “Religion is the opium of the masses”

104. Cyn - December 11th, 2007 at 3:06 pm

http://atheism.about.com/od/we.....marx01.htm

Religious distress is at the same time the expression of real distress and the protest against real distress. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, just as it is the spirit of a spiritless situation. It is the opium of the people. The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions.
Karl Marx, Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right

the source of this version of that quote has a very detailed exploration of the quote in context of what Marx actually wrote and the ‘about’ article gives a much greater sense of what Marx was really saying. i strongly recommend reading that article.

105. Agnes M McGuire - December 11th, 2007 at 6:30 pm

Thank you for a most interesting list. I was reared in a very Christian fundamentalist household (my mother firmly believed the earth was flat and square. something about angels standing in the four corners of the earth). It is only in my adult life I have learned to question those beliefs and to think for myself. I have seen through the lie that is organized religion and lightning has not struck me dead!

106. Scott M. - December 11th, 2007 at 10:47 pm

@jonnie:
1. While technically a Deist, Franklin was certainly anti-religious and anti-church. He was about as close as you could get to being an atheist at the time (although not as close as Jefferson).

2. Clemens was most assuredly an atheist; just do a bit of research:

“I cannot see how a man of any large degree of humorous perception can ever be religious — unless he purposely shut the eyes of his mind and keep them shut by force.” –Samuel Clemens

3. You apparently have never heard of ‘ad hominem’ — one of the weakest forms of argument. Do yourself a favor and look it up, it might help next time you want to make a stronger argument.

107. Clues - December 14th, 2007 at 6:02 am

“The beauty of religious mania is that it has the power to explain everything. Once God (or Satan) is accepted as the first cause of everything which happens in the mortal world, nothing is left to chance…logic can be happily tossed out the window.”
~ Stephen King ~

108. ginesdemafra - December 16th, 2007 at 1:06 am

Magellan quote is a fabrication of Ingersoll

“The church says the earth is flat, but I know that it is round, for I have seen the shadow on the moon, and I have more faith in a shadow than in the church.” Ferdinand Magellan

The quote is a fabrication of Robert Green Ingersoll. It is found in his essay “Individuality.” This may be accessed at http://www.infidels.org/librar.....ality.html
It’s in the fourth paragraph of his essay:

It is a blessed thing that in every age some one has had individuality enough and courage enough to stand by his own convictions, — some one who had the grandeur to say his say. I believe it was Magellan who said, “The church says the earth is flat; but I have seen its shadow on the moon, and I have more confidence even in a shadow than in the church.” On the prow of his ship were disobedience, defiance, scorn, and success.

This was first pointed out, as far as I know, by Dr. Tom Gorski in his website “Knowing What Ain’t So” at http://www.churchoffreethought.....GROUP=048. Dr. Gorski is one of four founders of the The North Texas Church of Freethought.

To the credit of Wikiquote it clearly points out the quote is disputed and attributes it to Ingersoll http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/T.....d_Magellan

At http://www.animalliberationfro.....Quotes.htm it immediately corrected the attribution: “The church says the earth is flat, but I know that it is round, for I have seen the shadow on the moon, and I have more faith in a shadow than in the church.”
……….Robert Green Ingersoll (not Ferdinand Magellan)

At http://www.iidb.org/vbb/archiv.....63650.html they already were able to determine that it was Ingersoll who in fact said the words he attributes to Magellan. “Regarding a flat earth, please note that Ingersoll used a quote attributed to Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521), the Portuguese and Spanish explorer: ‘The Church says that the earth is flat, but I know that it is round, for I have seen the shadow on the moon, and I have more faith in a shadow than in the Church.’ Ingersoll uses this quote to make a point: ‘The trouble with most people is, they bow to what is called authority.’ Ingersoll’s thrust in this article is that ‘It is the duty of each and every one to maintain his individuality’ and ‘There can be nothing more utterly subversive of all that is really valuable than the suppression of honest thought–No man, worthy of the form he bears, will at the command of church or state solemnly repeat a creed his reason scorns.’ I agree with Ingersoll. If you do not, that is certainly your privilege.” The author assumes Ingersoll got it from an authentic source. But I have read the primary sources on Magellan—eyewitness accounts by Antonio Pigafetta, Gines de Mafra, Francisco Albo, The Genoese Pilot, Martinho de Aiamonte, Sebastian Elcano—nowhere is there such a statement from Magellan. Ingersoll most definitely cites no authority.

Vicente Calibo de Jesus
ginesdemafra@gmail.com

109. Mason Abbot - December 18th, 2007 at 7:50 am

Good example of quibbling. It wasn’t Magellan, so there.

110. jonnie - December 22nd, 2007 at 6:30 pm

@scott m…
1. You’re wrong
2. You’re actually…correct; I apologize.
3. Psycho-babble is extremely infantile; if you have a legitimate gripe or can otherwise validate your desire to defend the individual then please tender it; I’m all ears when it comes to debate with fellow grown-ups. If you don’t then please don’t bother to respond. Cheers.

111. jonnie - December 22nd, 2007 at 6:34 pm

Scott M…
That 3rd point was a bit rude-sorry. Fact is learning about straw-man, red herring, etc. was awfully boring the first time around. Bottom line; my arguement on Frankie works, just observe the world around you…arteeests rarely acknowledge a higher being of any king.

112. Scott M. - December 22nd, 2007 at 7:05 pm

@jonnie:

1. “For the arguments of the Deists, which were quoted to be refuted, appeared to be much stronger than the refutations; in short, I soon became a thorough Deist.” Benjamin Franklin, from his Autobiography (http://www.usgennet.org/usa/topic/preservation/bios/franklin/chpt4.htm)

2. Twain/Clemens was not a professed atheist (not many were back then), but he certainly was a free-thinker and very critical of organized religion. If you read what he wrote in _Letters from the Earth_, his notebooks, letters, etc, it’s pretty good evidence he was no friend of religion.

“I cannot see how a man of any large degree of humorous perception can ever be religious — unless he purposely shut the eyes of his mind & keep them shut by force.” Mark Twain’s Notebooks and Journals, notebook 27, August 1887-July 1888

“One of the proofs of the immortality of the soul is that myriads have believed in it. They have also believed the world was flat.” Mark Twain, Notebook (1900)

3. Psycho-babble? Wow, that’s quite an ignorant statement. I’ve studied rhetoric and was involved in debate teams (many years ago). I point you to Section 6 of Aristotle’s Art of Rhetoric or the various sites around the Web detailing logical fallacies of all types (e.g. http://www.logicalfallacies.info/). Rhetorical logic is the polar opposite of “psycho-babble.”

In your post you consistently judge the pronouncements of individuals based on who they were and what kind of person they were. “Woman beater”, “evil a money-grubbing tycoon”, “cocaine junkie”, “divorced his wife”, “went bonkers”, “socialist”, “feminist”, etc. Textbook ad hominem attacks which just don’t hold up when debating with “fellow grown-ups.”

113. bhaktapurgirl - December 23rd, 2007 at 12:56 am

great quotes of the great people thanks for sharing it

114. Yarr - December 24th, 2007 at 1:39 am

I just gotta ask:
Why do you athiests care so much?
Why are you so angry all the time?
Why are you so vocal and vehement in your arguments?

Tis Christmas Eve, and Yarr is heavenly buzzed on Coors and Jaegermeister, so here goes…

Sports do not interest me. I think they are a total waste of time. Why do you care about what a bunch of overpaid thugs do on the weekends? How does the outcome of a game affect your life one way or the other? (Unless you’re a gambler, and then it’s a whole other conversation.)
Yet people will religiously spend time, money and emotion to the GAME, which is really just a bumper for beer and cellphone commercials. At the end of it all, I think anyone who cares a lick about sports of any kind is simply uncreative. They are living vicariously through someone they think they could have been in another life; someone they don’t know, and probably wouldn’t even like.
Pointless, stupid, and wasteful…

That being said, almost everyone I know likes sports in some way or another. I do not go around sharing my ‘philosophy’ with them. If a conversation turns to sports, I politely stay quiet or go get a beer or something. I don’t get angry because I REALLY don’t care. I think it’s stupid, but if that’s your thing, then whatever.

So, I believe in God.

You don’t
Good on you.

Why do you feel the need to spend so much time and energy trying to explain to me why you think something I like is dumb?

It’s Christmas!

Just kick back. Eat some ramen and sit around not believing in anything and let the rest of us have our fun.

But really- why are you people so mad all the time?

115. jfrater - December 24th, 2007 at 1:42 am

Yarr: I think that is an excellent analogy - and I do wonder why some atheists can be as vehement and vocal as some extremist religious groups - it seems a bit weird. We appear to be moving in to an era of atheist fundamentalism which is as bad as religious fundamentalism. I think the best idea is for everyone to enjoy each other’s company and have fun.

116. Yarr - December 24th, 2007 at 2:10 am

jfrater:

Right?

Merry Christmas and congratulations on the success of your site.
Tell New Zealand hello from a drunk dude on the other side of the world!

117. jfrater - December 24th, 2007 at 2:18 am

Yarr: did you leave a bit off your first sentence? Thanks for your congratulations and hello to the other side of the world from NZ and a drunk dude here!

118. jfrater - December 24th, 2007 at 2:18 am

Oh - and Merry Christmas to you too!

119. jfrater - December 24th, 2007 at 2:19 am

Yarr: what are your plans for Christmas?

120. sdggrant - December 24th, 2007 at 2:36 am

Yarr, I agree with you, but I DONT believe in God in a traditional sense. I think that there is probably a creator or a starting point. I dont think ‘god’ is a person, hell I think its possible that it doesn’t even know what it has created, or that he created it intentionally. We might be a happy mix of accidents that result from their supreme power. But with that being said, in a discussion, I usually play the role of an atheist.

On the internet, I find my self more vocal on religion, simply because it is an avenue for a good discussion/debate. But in real life, I let people babble on about their religion, and will rarely interject unless asked, or the person is being offensive to other beliefs.

I really believe that the world would almost be a peaceful place if there weren’t religious extremists. No matter the denomination; christian, islamic, or atheism. And yes, I believe that TRUE atheism should be considered a religion, it takes the same amount of FAITH to believe in absolutely nothing,as it takes to believe in some Supreme power. Especially considering the limited amount of knowledge that we have in comparison with the enormity of the universe.

For the recors, I do celebrate christmas mostly just out of tradition, and because my family (aside from my mother) are strict roman catholic. Anyways, theres my two cents.

121. Yarr - December 24th, 2007 at 2:45 am

Jfrater:

No, I didn’t leave anything off- I guess it makes more sense when it’s said out loud…

Person 1: “Something awesome.”
Person 2: “Right?”

122. Yarr - December 24th, 2007 at 2:46 am

Got lots of folks coming to my house for 2 days of revelry, gluttony and loot!

Whoohoo!!!

How about you?

123. jfrater - December 24th, 2007 at 2:54 am

Yarr: sounds good to me! I am having a family Christmas which will also involve lots of revelry, gluttony, and loot! I am really looking forward to it. Luckily it starts in a few hours!

124. Yarr - December 24th, 2007 at 2:57 am

sddgrant:
All I’m saying is that so many people sure spend a lot of time and energy NOT believing in something, and even more being mad about it.
I don’t believe in unicorns.
If I met someone who did, I’d probably just shrug and walk away.
I surely wouldn’t be pissed about it.
That’s what I don’t get, and so that’s why I asked.
I have to get to sleep.
Merry Chrismas to all, and to all a good night!

125. sdggrant - December 24th, 2007 at 4:36 am

Yarr: I completely agree with you, sorry if I didn’t make it clear before. Most the people who get angry about it on the internet though, are usually teenager. Nothing against teenagers seeing as how im barely out of my teens, but when I was in high school I was the same way, but you just learn that it accomplishes nothing after awhile.

126. corkman - December 28th, 2007 at 4:16 am

Don’t forget Marx; “Religion is the opium of the people”

127. Stéphanie Hudé - December 28th, 2007 at 7:12 am

The author of number 9 is not Diderot (who was a fond admirer of Catherine of Russia), at least at the beginning)but by Jean Meslier (1664-1729) : “Je voudrais, et ce sera le dernier et le plus ardent de mes souhaits, je voudrais que le dernier des rois fût étranglé avec les boyaux du dernier prêtre.” “I wish, and it will be my last and dearest wish, I wish the last king were strangled with the last priest’s bowels”.

Meslier knew what he was talking about : he was a priest himself.

128. Hayzeus - January 3rd, 2008 at 4:58 pm

An interviewer once asked Bertrand Russell what he would say if he died and found himself confronted by an angry God who demanded to know why he had not believed. Russell said his reply would be “Not enough evidence, God, not enough evidence”.

129. Colleen - January 7th, 2008 at 10:26 pm

In response to what jonnie wrote (#90) Kurt Vonnegutt didnt go insane. His son Mark Vonnegutt is a schizo and wrote the book The Eden Express decribing his insanity.
(Mark is by no means the writter his father was, but it is still a fairly good book.)

130. Monkey Nuts - January 18th, 2008 at 3:30 pm

LOL it is so interesting that someone can be so far up their own ass that they can actually form a philosophy about NOT believeing in something. People seem to confuse the concept of god with the concept of organized religion. To me atheists have fallen for the biggest trick ever. They live under the conception that if the church’s conception of god is flawed then god musn’t exist at all, while all of the most enlightened people in history have known that things exist outside of the physical universe. There are forces in this universe that can be harnessed for good or evil, they are immense sources of power, and that is why religion repressed them. It takes an idiot to believe that just because a voice from the sky says that it is god, that it created the universe. It takes an even bigger idiot to preclude that that voice could never have possibly existed in the first place. i read the bible the way I read a history book 5% useful info 95% bs propganga. All of the worlds religous texts say the same thing, that a race of super-beings came from the heavens,giving us technology, and mated with the women of earth, and a race of giants was born. If organized religion is a stubborn old fool who won’t believe what is right in front of his face, then atheism is a small child having a tantrum because the world isn’t what the old man told him it would be. There is really no such thing as an atheist though, because while they may not worship a god, atheists worship their own pompous sense of intellectual superiority. Atheism serves a wonderful purpose ,just like religion, because it keeps stupid, small-minded people, away from the power that could make them gods upon this earth. If organized religion is being on your knees with your hands fixed in prayer, then atheism is being on your knees , with your head shoved so far up your own ass that that is all that one knows. To assume that because you can’t comprehend something in this amazing infinite universe that it doesnt exist is laughable. To say that after spending a few decades on this one planet in the infinity of existence, using only the 5 senses that are most readily accesible,without any exploration of consciousness or the internal universe is akin to a child saying that a solar eclipse is not real because he hasn’t seen one in his lifetime.

P.S. there is a cure for atheism, it’s called psychadelics.

P.P.S- the universe itself is the embodiment of “god”, and the life force that runs through it is the spirit of “god”. There are also hyper-terrestrial entities that exist outside of the physical realms.

131. mason abbot - January 18th, 2008 at 7:57 pm

Ahh yes. Like junior high and my first beer. The arrogance and ignorance is overwhelming.

132. hahahahaha - February 1st, 2008 at 2:30 am

hahahahahaha JONNIE GOT SERVED HAHAHAHAHA freaking christians.

133. hahahahahaaa - February 1st, 2008 at 2:31 am

hahahahahahaha, true dat

134. hahahahahaaa - February 1st, 2008 at 2:33 am

hey monkey nuts, you need to shut the fuck up and smoke a lil weed.

135. debbyo - February 1st, 2008 at 9:19 pm

Monkey Nuts, if you make any more straw men, we’ll have to have a fire ban. Atheism is not - “a philosophy about NOT believeing in something”. It’s like saying science is a philosophy about not believing in something because it doesn’t accept miracles. In fact, we could call Christianity a philosophy about not believing in something because it doesn’t accept Mohammed as a prophet.

The Atheist position put simply is that there is not enough evidence to suggest that God exists. I don’t know why that makes you angry. Atheists believe that to get closest to what might be true about the world, they should examine the world closely and question generally-held assumptions, including their own. I don’t think it is helpful to categorise those who don’t share your version of reality as either “idiots” or as people who “worship their own pompous sense of intellectual superiority”.

Also the analogy of the child with the eclipse is not a good one. The child can see photos on the internet of other eclipses, he can learn about eclipses (what they are, how often they happen etc) from many sources, he can hear stories from people who have seen eclipses first-hand – unlike what he can learn about the truth of the resurrection. You don’t have to go to China to believe in China.

Also your comment, “because you can’t comprehend something in this amazing infinite universe that it doesnt exist is laughable” is also a straw man. I can imagine all sorts of creatures, lands and stories – but imagining them doesn’t make them true. Some people find THIS universe so “amazing and infinite” that they don’t need sky-fairies to make it interesting.

136. wapiti - February 2nd, 2008 at 12:39 am

By the Funk&Wagnalls: Religions are the beliefs, attitudes, emotions, behavior, etc., constituting man’s relationship with the powers and principles of the universe”. By that statement, Atheism is a religion.
Debbyo: I’m not sure, but I don’t think Monkey Nuts is so much angry here as perhaps frustrated. A lot of the Atheist’s rebuke to Theists amount to nothing more than derogatory phrases and insults. Trying to debate with an Atheist is often like debating Al Bundy, and it can be ‘frustrating’.. I’m not type casting all Atheists that way, some are articulate and fun to banter with. However, others are just an Al Bundy, re-read some of these posts.
Also, Debbyo: “The Atheist position put simply is that there is not enough evidence to suggest that God exists”……. For such research the first thing you’ll have to do is bring out that good ole “Scientific Principle”. The exact same one you were taught in school. It looks like you haven’t considered using the scientific approach here, your remark about “not enough evidence” was very much lacking..

137. debbyo - February 2nd, 2008 at 2:38 am

wapiti, Atheism is not a religion. Religion requires faith. Atheists view faith as a hindrance to understanding the world. And I’ve never met any like Al Bundy.

You’re defending a guy who recommends psychadelics” as a cure for atheism?

138. jeff - February 2nd, 2008 at 2:48 am

wapiti, what evidence is there?

139. jocsboss - February 2nd, 2008 at 5:46 am

Brazil has some of the most beautiful and elaborate churches and cathedrals of modern times. Brazil has one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, the Christ the Redeemer statue. Brazil also has child prostitutes living in shanty towns of cardboard boxes and scrap steel sheeting running rift with their own excrement. I think the church could have found better ways to spend money in Brazil. This goes for the rest of the world. The sight of every cathedral offends me. The cost of every stone placed, every statue carved and every tile laid is borne by starving children and disadvantaged society all over the world. Believing in a God doesn’t bother me, the hypocrisy of Organized Religion does.

140. jocsboss - February 2nd, 2008 at 7:31 am

Have you ever seen inside the Basillica?

141. wapiti - February 2nd, 2008 at 2:38 pm

Hi, jocboss: I’m not Catholic, but I’ve been inside the Basilica (been up on the roof with those huge perimeter statues as well), an awesome site….. Everything is “Organized” these days. Astronauts, to girl scouts, to Zoos. Of course, things that are DIS-organized should concern you,….. at least sometimes.

Hello jeff: “what evidence(?)”, a sane question, and without insults. I’d like to talk about that.

Debbyo: I don’t think I was defending anybody, I was just trying to add a possible motive behind someone’s statement, and I may have even been wrong. It was really just a guess, I have no complete way of knowing what’s behind anyone’s thinking.
Never met the ‘Al Bundy’s’..?? Have you actually read these posts..?? Well, if you haven’t just stand-by, with the comments I’m going to make, those Bundy’s of the world will most likely spew forth.
Atheism requires more faith than I can bring myself to muster up. Atheism requires faith in the unscientific.. Atheism is the process of shutting OFF the brain.. I can’t do that anymore. I did that for decades (including the pretense of having once been the ignorant Christian) (I carried that sorry banner for decades as well).

142. Dragi - February 2nd, 2008 at 4:38 pm

The origin of every problem is this. People initially accept or deny an idea within a few moments. A person faced with the question wheather God exists or not for the first time, would answer yes or not, “immediately” and without thinking, and then for the rest of his or her life will try to justify this statement. The great thinkers will analyze the idea before they state their opinion. Unfortunately, people are faced with questions like this one, many years before they even know that phylosophy and free mind and ability to think as a complete individual even exsist.

143. wapiti - February 2nd, 2008 at 5:02 pm

Hello, Dragi: I must agree with your first sentence. I’ll even add a bit to it: People initially accept or deny an idea, a family position, a Class position, or even a consensus at the bar, within a few moments.
A free mind, and ability to think, is what I wish for everybody on the face of this planet.. For some reason tho, it’s difficult to find.. The evidence of a true scientist will be that he/she is never, ever, satisfied (even after they’ve written their book).

144. marco - February 9th, 2008 at 5:00 pm

If you believe in the christian god then surely you must believe that god LOVES YOU ANYWAY. So, if you do evil shit, thats just your perspective not gods. It doesnt matter whether you believe in god or not. Your belief does not define his/her/its existence. Some or other auther said that the only way that you could know if god existed is if you were god … That makes sense to me !

145. Trung LE - February 11th, 2008 at 10:47 pm

I’m an atheist so I believe that the existence of God is either insignificant or useless in modern day; there are still good people with good deeds and bad people with bad deeds regardless of their religions. I’m just a bit disappointed that those atheists who solved the mysteries of the universe are not credited for their works. I am also a Pacificist so if I respect Christianity, I hope for a respect from Christians (again, 3 people tried to convert me today). By the way, I just want to share this with others:
The Paradox of Omnipotence
1. Either God can create a stone that he cannot lift, or he cannot create a stone that he cannot lift.

1. If God can create a stone that he cannot lift, then he is not omnipotent.

1. If God cannot create a stone that he cannot lift, then he is not omnipotent.

1. Therefore god is not omnipotent.

Cowen 1974, reprinted in Martin and Monnier 2003, p. 337.

146. wapiti - February 11th, 2008 at 10:51 pm

Wow, Marco, none of your math adds up. The Christian God says “Jacob he loved, Esau he hated” “he loves obedience, divorce he hates”. He’s the God of love and of hate. The Christian God doesn’t always love unconditionally: God gives each of us the free will to choose what path we will follow.
Anybody that says “the only way that you could know if god existed is if you were god” is just taking the easy way out. It’s easier to say simple things like that than to actually use one’s brain, with science, and reason things out. We have the option to THINK things out logically, or to simply bypass the brain challenge and settle for cute clichés.
Marco, I suspect you’re capable of a lot more logic than you’ve shown here. Reason and think first, then make your judgments.

147. wapiti - February 11th, 2008 at 11:25 pm

Hi Trung LE: It’s good to hear that you, at least, respect Christianity. It sounds like you’re the type that participates well inside a “debate class”.
NASA has been trying to “solve the mysteries of the universe” for decades, and will always continue to do so. No Atheist has solved it or ever will. Christians have been given some answers to the mysteries, but not all. Not by any means. Christianity is the most scientific of all the ‘ism’s, but we’re still learning.
Your paradox doesn’t fit any equation. Your rock could be of infinite size, but what difference would it make, and who cares.?? God’s dimension is “spiritual” NOT physical. Your “rocks” (created by God) were created for US to live on, NOT for God to dwell on. God could take our ‘physical’ dimension and make it into one big solid monolith. So what.?? God wouldn’t have to lift it, it’s not his dimension.

148. Trung LE - February 12th, 2008 at 6:59 pm

Hi wapiti. Thanks for your response. It kind of let me down (again), that you suggest no Atheist has solved it or ever will. I don’t have specific examples about what other Atheists have, but on the personal level, you are saying I will never contribute to the progress of answering the questions of the universe. This kind of let people down, while you’re supposed to encourage others to contribute to the world, not the opposite. That maybe also one of the reason I’m an atheist, because I know I cannot predict the future and say something never will happen. However, I do agree Christians did have achievements and continue to achieve more.
For my paradox, I just think that if God can communicate with man, and is powerful, then he is also capable of “traveling” into the physical world. Then the paradox fits into the “if” situation.

149. Trung LE - February 12th, 2008 at 7:43 pm

Wapiti, I want to show you this article of Steven Weinberg. (http://www.physlink.com/Education/essay_weinberg.cfm)

He is one of the great atheist, so far as I know.

“One of the great achievements of science has been, if not to make it impossible for intelligent people to be religious, then at least to make it possible for them not to be religious. We should not retreat from this accomplishment.
“, said steven in April 1999 at the Conference on Cosmic Design of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington, D.C. This confirm my assumption about his religious view.

Weinberg is famous for his unification of 2 of the 4 major forces into one complete force: the electroweak force. This theory has a strong impact in what I said “solving the mysteries of the universe”, because it is one step closer to the unification of general relativity and quantumn physics. Nobody can neglect the effect of his work.
One of my favourite arguments that he made in the article is:
“I have to admit that, even when physicists will have gone as far as they can go, when we have a final theory, we will not have a completely satisfying picture of the world, because we will still be left with the question ‘why?’ Why this theory, rather than some other theory? For example, why is the world described by quantum mechanics? Quantum mechanics is the one part of our present physics that is likely to survive intact in any future theory, but there is nothing logically inevitable about quantum mechanics; I can imagine a universe governed by Newtonian mechanics instead. So there seems to be an irreducible mystery that science will not eliminate.

But religious theories of design have the same problem. Either you mean something definite by a God, a designer, or you don’t. If you don’t, then what are we talking about? If you do mean something definite by ‘God’ or ‘design,’ if for instance you believe in a God who is jealous, or loving, or intelligent, or whimsical, then you still must confront the question ‘why?’ A religion may assert that the universe is governed by that sort of God, rather than some other sort of God, and it may offer evidence for this belief, but it cannot explain why this should be so.

In this respect, it seems to me that physics is in a better position to give us a partly satisfying explanation of the world than religion can ever be, because although physicists won’t be able to explain why the laws of nature are what they are and not something completely different, at least we may be able to explain why they are not slightly different. For instance, no one has been able to think of a logically consistent alternative to quantum mechanics that is only slightly different. Once you start trying to make small changes in quantum mechanics, you get into theories with negative probabilities or other logical absurdities. When you combine quantum mechanics with relativity you increase its logical fragility. You find that unless you arrange the theory in just the right way you get nonsense, like effects preceding causes, or infinite probabilities. Religious theories, on the other hand, seem to be infinitely flexible, with nothing to prevent the invention of deities of any conceivable sort. ”

I would say I shouldn’t have bothered feel disappointed about others. Afterall, we are different individuals, and one has no right to interfere with the other’s belief. I hope the article will show you a fair view of both religion and science. Also, even if you disagree with him, I hope you will realize that there are atheists who are very well-educated and respectful. Thank you very much for your time, and I’m welcome to any non-abusive response.

Trung Le

150. Trung LE - February 12th, 2008 at 7:45 pm

argg…and sorry for my English, i may have made some mistakes.

151. Trung LE - February 13th, 2008 at 9:28 am

@wapiti: “Christianity is the most scientific of all the ‘ism’s”. How can you observe, experiment, collect data, calculate, hypothesize and test God? Unless you meant “scientific” in a different way, as a study for example.

152. SlickWilly - February 13th, 2008 at 10:48 am

wapiti:

“Atheism requires more faith than I can bring myself to muster up. Atheism requires faith in the unscientific.. Atheism is the process of shutting OFF the brain..”

The first point I can agree with. When you spend your whole life living in fear of burning in an eternal fire for even questioning the *will* of God, it can be quite a leap of faith to accept the fact that not only will you not spend the afterlife burning in hell, but that there is no afterlife, and indeed no God. For those people who were raised religous, or believe they have “found” religion through some other means, the thought that they have spent the majority of their lives and a great deal of effort in forming their identity around a belief that fails to live up to scrutiny is intensely uncomfortable, and instead they will invest their time into inventing reasons why their belief is correct, rather than acknowledge the evidence against them.

Secondly, perhaps you could tell me why you believe that Christianity is more “scientific” than atheism? Atheism is *non*-scientific. It is a belief….a belief not necessarily grounded in science, but definately supported by it. Christianity is also non-scientific in this manner, however it does not happen to have the support of science. Thus, how can you say that atheism requires belief in the unscientific….when clearly a majority of atheists are themselves researchers and scientists? Further….what exactly is this “unscientific” factor that atheists have faith in?

Lastly, I would contend that atheism is definately *not* the process of shutting off of the brain. I don’t even know how you might have formulated this opinion. Perhaps you could explain exactly what you mean by that statement. If your argument is that atheists close their minds to the possibility of a god-like supernatural force whose primary existence is based on a book and a concept that has been readically distorted and bastardized throughout the centuries….then I would not call that shutting down the brain, I would call that not being taken in, and standing firms in one’s beliefs…something Christians and other religous fundamentalists pride themselves on.

I might also call the person who made statements like the ones quoted above someone who is frightened and threatened by change and deviation from the beliefs they have spent so much of their time, energy, and identity in formulating. They seem awful reactionary from someone who claims to have an open mind.

153. Trung LE - February 13th, 2008 at 11:26 am

@wapiti: I agree with SlickWilly. Also, with the “shutting off the brain” concept, I want to provide my own experience to further support the opposition of your argument.

When I believed in God, I was not curious about the universe, I never cared to try to answer those mysteries, because what was the point when you knew who supposedly created it? When I believed in God, I’m fascinated by the beauty of nature, but I was never surprised, because it was arranged for me. When I believed in God, I also believed God had a reason for the Holocaust to happen.

However, when I questioned ‘why?’, I never satisfy. It’s along story how I become an atheist, but by being an atheist, my brain broadens. I’m more enthusiatic than ever, because now I have a lot more possibilities to investigate, a lot more theories to test, a stronger desire to answer, a stronger hope to discover and explore. My curiosity about nature never stops. I also see its beauty in a more friendly way, because now to me, nature reveals itself for its own sake, caused by its own power. Nature becomes a source of inspiration to me, and it is more friendly than God because I can walk in the woods, and swim in the river, I can ride a horse, and I can feel Nature. Being an Atheist, I never stop reasoning why unfortunate happens to all the good people. People died under Stalin because it is God’s plan? Because they had free will, so they chose to die to go to heaven? No. They died because Stalin was real, and he was acting according to his own plan. If God loves us so much, why did he let it happen? I am sorry but my life is short, I don’t want to waste my time trying to figure God’s plan. When I die I’m just dead. Therefore, I live every single day of my life to the best possible. Yes, I can tell you I never regret, and I am 97% happy (3% annoyed because sometimes I have to deal with intransigent people).

Also, keep in mind that Atheism is not one philosphy. It is not a combination neither. As in my case, I am more of a Objectivist and Humanist. Do you think I shut OFF my brain?

154. debbyo - February 15th, 2008 at 2:20 am

“Atheism requires more faith than I can bring myself to muster up. Atheism requires faith in the unscientific.. Atheism is the process of shutting OFF the brain..”

What the hell does that mean? To say Atheism is a faith is like saying not collecting stamps is a hobby. Or bald is a hair color. Atheism is not a belief - it’s exactly the opposite. Atheists don’t accept the existence of God - because nothing has convinced them of his existence. No evidence. No miracles. No visions. No Belief. To say it’s shutting off the brain is such an amazing claim that I can’t even begin to interpret it. It’s like saying not believing in the Easter Bunny is shutting off your brain. It’s quite the opposite – it’s opening the brain to interpretations of the universe based on what we explore through our senses, through investigation, through knowledge.

As for science not unlocking the mysteries of the universe – well that is so amazing, I wonder if the person who stated this has the faintest notion of the universe. Everything we know about the universe is through science. What were once mysteries, like why the sun moves across the sky, is now known. Not because the Bible told us – but because scientists worked it out. Through honest and thorough investigation – not by making up stuff to make us feel good.

And finally, why do Christians expect respect for their beliefs but accord none to Atheists?

155. debbyo - February 15th, 2008 at 2:35 am

Trung LE, I agree mostly with your very thoughtful and well-reasoned response except for perhaps the following: “Afterall, we are different individuals, and one has no right to interfere with the other’s belief.”

I think it is important for human progress to challenge each other’s beliefs. Progress stood still for hundreds of years during the Dark Ages when churches ruled and scientist who challenged the flat earth theory were considered heretics. People who reject reason and logic because of a sky-fairy are choosing superstition over enlightenment. Challenging superstition is essential for open-mindedness and therefore human progress.

156. Trung LE - February 15th, 2008 at 3:31 pm

debbyo, Yes, I completely agree that it is important for human progress to challenge each other’s beliefs. However, in this case of God’s existence, I have had enough arguments. Maybe because I live in an environment where there is no atheist like me around, so I know that it’s best for my own safety to say that “one has no right to interfere with the other’s belief” (I have been ‘attacked’ so I’m really cautious now). Just so you know sometimes it was a social reason to keep my words sound fair for both sides.

157. Csimmons - February 15th, 2008 at 3:34 pm

trung lee: you were attacked? how?

158. Trung LE - February 15th, 2008 at 10:55 pm

nothing serious, just some very irritating discussions. that’s why i used ‘attacked’ instead of attacked.

159. Daniel - February 24th, 2008 at 12:15 pm

I am god!!!! i’ve known since a day i was praying and i realized i was talking to myself
Dash (me)

160. Diogenes - March 23rd, 2008 at 9:25 am

a funny joke by Kinky Friedman,
“When an atheist dies his tombstone will read,
“All Dressed Up, and No Place To Go.”

161. David Lane - March 27th, 2008 at 4:18 am

I have a couple of favorites that I haven’t seen listed here. Voltaire said “if God did not exist it would be necessary for man to invent him.” My favorite, though, is written on the sign outside Homer Simpson’s church. It simply asks “is God religious enough ?

162. stayFITbikeco - April 10th, 2008 at 8:03 pm

richard dawkins ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

163. Toxic - April 22nd, 2008 at 1:29 pm

It seems that the writer of this list has confused a belief in supernatural/preternatural/multidimensional entities with a prescription to organized religion.

An atheist is someone who thinks just enough to dispell the falsities that others have taught him, but doesn’t think enough to decipher the useful aspects of ancient knowledge from the dogmatic BS used solely to control him.

164. thtrsjh - May 8th, 2008 at 7:33 pm

No bjork?

165. paul moeller - May 16th, 2008 at 4:22 pm

The only good thing about religion is the clothes and the windows.

166. Fairlight - May 21st, 2008 at 9:21 am

“Nietzsche is dead.”
-God

167. sean - May 28th, 2008 at 1:03 pm

Vonnegut was NOT an atheist. He was a Humanist. Anyone who has read any of his work and considers him an atheist needs to read it again.

168. devl36 - May 31st, 2008 at 12:34 am

Boo!

169. God - June 1st, 2008 at 6:05 pm

Randall sounds like a stupid winey bitch.

170. God - June 1st, 2008 at 6:07 pm

sean sound like a winey bitch.

171. God - June 1st, 2008 at 6:13 pm

wapiti is the queen of winey bitches.

172. God - June 1st, 2008 at 6:23 pm

Monkey Nuts if there were a god you would be dead by now!

173. MPW - June 1st, 2008 at 6:46 pm

God, your a fuckin’ loser

get a life, you stupid jerkoff

174. Cyn - June 1st, 2008 at 7:12 pm

God-
what language from a ‘god’! oh my!
stating an opinion is fine. making a legitimate comment about a list is fine. being idiotic and hateful to people is not. cool it.

175. henri.b - June 1st, 2008 at 7:26 pm

A favorite of mine by Kurt Vonnegut:

“If God were alive today, he would have to be an atheist, because the excrement has hit the air-conditioning big time, big time.”

176. Sarah - June 2nd, 2008 at 3:53 pm

Can I ask a question? Did the title of this list get changed, because I don’t understand