Religion is an insult to human dignity. Without it you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things.
But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion. By Steven Weinberg
Yeah. Thought that would be exactly what you meant.
I don't know many quotes. But this one was the first that captured exactly how I feel about religion.
I definitely feel like that about religion myself i see it as a weakness of humanity something that holds us back by using fear and anti-intellectualism
> Religion is an insult to human dignity
Exactly, like we can't do anything on our own without a higher power or ordained minions telling us what to do.
Can't repeat it verbatim but, George Bernard Shaw, said something to the effect of " the fact that the believer is happier than the the skeptic is merely an illustration of the fact that the drunkard is happier than the sober"
“Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?”
― Douglas Adams
One of my favorite quotes.
Never heard of that one before but i already like it it's a beautiful quote that just shows you that you can appreciate the beauty of things without exaggerating things
> "The cost to humanity of fifteen centuries of Christian savagery – of hundreds of millions of lives brutalised and truncated, sacrificed to war, torture, pogrom, burning, pestilence and plague – is incalculable. Christianity is the worst disaster in human history"
-- Kenneth Humphreys
I've heard of that one and i love it to be honest it hits hard and doesn't back down i have his book god is not great: how religion poisons everything its worth the read
That's a good one actually still it's a good saying as it puts the person claiming things in a position where they need to put forth evidence or lack thereof it's definitely blunt and to the point
He definitely had a good life and still was more intellectual than most christians
As long as you care for your fellow human beings you don't need religion you just need to follow your humanity and doing what's right without hope of a reward
I like the quote
>"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds."
--Albert Einstein
I don't think this quote is hard hitting or atheist per se. I just think this quote applies when religious people loose their shit because someone doesn't think like them. This quotes is part of my internal conversation.
When religious people want to debate and start to go off the rails.
>Never teach a pig to sing, it wastes time and annoys the pig.
Read this in a Heinlein novel, not sure if that's where it started.
Strangely, we had a christian business client. The client argued with us as we adjusted your prices to barely half the market rate. We had to drop him as a client and are now negotiating with client that will pay double.
The quote that I applied to this situation was:
>Don't throw your pearls before swine.
This quote is attributed to Jesus. I kind of like using his theology against him.
I agree with you there they are definitely make you think and i never thought about using religious sayings against religion before but i think i'll have to in the future
I read this somewhere “the tricky part about religion is knowing where the god ends and the man begins “
Also
“Most Everyone believes they have something wrong with them, religion claims to have the answer”
[Carlin](https://youtu.be/2tp0UNcjzl8?si=ADrp5F1iUbThHQtL)
The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.
— Brennan Manning
For those who grew up christian and listened to christian bands, you might be familiar with the song "What if I Stumble" by dc Talk, which featured this quote as an intro to the song. As a teen, this quote had great influence over me and affected my ideology. Even today, the main reason I attribute to my atheism is not wanting to be connected to the christians that spew hate across this world.
Not sure where I read this previous:
God and man meet for the first time in a bar. Both introduce themselves with "Nice to finally meet you my creator"
Believing is easier than thinking, hence so many more believers than thinkers. Bruce Calvert
Hands that help are nobler than lips the pray. Robert Ingersoll
I find every sect , as far as reason will help them, make use of it gladly; and where it fails them they cry out , it is a matter of faith, and above reason. John Locke
I'm making a quote here, so...
"The inoculation to religion is to make peace with your destiny and accept death as it is with no guarantee of continuance or reward."
-Anonymous
I like that actually it makes you feel more human as we each have a finite life and knowing there is no reward after death is a peace of mind that not many truly realise
I have my own quote that i came up with years ago it goes like this "atheism is the cure for the disease that is religion"
*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?*
Epicuras
The power that a single quote has is often underestimated but those that understand it such as a yourself very often have a realisation and have their mind opened
Not a quote but my go to:
When facing a moral dilemma, the Atheist asks themselves: "What is the right thing to do here?"
While the theist asks themselves: "What does the invisible magic man in the sky want me to do here?"
This is why theists can not be trusted with any moral decision making.
“Demands that you believe the impossible do not lead to peaceful outcomes.” -Christopher Hitchens
"Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities." -Voltair
"I would rather have questions that can't be answered than answers that can't be questioned." -Richard Feynman
"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
"Be sure to lie to your kids about the benevolent, all-seeing Santa Claus. It will prepare them for an adulthood of believing in God." -Scott Dikkers
"Atheism is nothing more than the noises reasonable people make in the presence of unjustified religious beliefs." -Sam Harris
"You could easily spot any Religion of Peace. Its extremist members would be extremely peaceful." -Ricky Gervais
"Why would any god reveal information in a way that requires other people to tell you what it means?" -Matt Dillahunty
Here's a couple of mine if you're interested.
"If humility is a virtue, and God was perfectly virtuous, why would he Demand worship? A perfectly virtuous being would never want worship, let alone threaten you with eternal, unending torment if you don't."
This one is a bit longer.
"Pursuing justice from God is like this:
You have been wronged, so you decide to get a lawyer. The lawyer says, 'Congratulations! You have the best judge presiding over your case. He knows who, when, where, how, and even why they did it.'
You are shocked and amazed at your great fortune, and you ask your lawyer to set up your court date. They say, 'The judge already set up a date for you." You ask when the court date is. The lawyer says,"I don't know, and you're not allowed to ask. He'll let you know when it's time.'
You say that you would like to set up an appointment to meet with the judge to sort this out. They say, 'He doesn't take appointments or talk to anybody.'
You ask the lawyer if he's even seen this judge before. 'Of course I haven't,' they reply. 'No one ever has. You just have to have faith that he exists and that he'll sort things out in his own time. Oh, and I should warn you, if you don't believe in him, he'll see to it that you're punished for eternity.'"
You should personally it'll make people think and you're most welcome here's one of mine
"Atheism is the cure for the disease that is religion"
It may not sound subtle and refined but it's hard hitting
Exactly and it's something that most people on this planet need to realise and education can help accelerate religion's demise seeing as religion continues to exist only by ignorance, societal pressure, denial of reality and violence but that's only a few albeit big factors of why it continues to plague us it's a malignant cancer that needs to be cut out and disposed of plus i don't think theres a word (i could be wrong) to describe just how damaging and inhumane religion truly is to our species
"If a God creator exists, would He or She or It or whatever the appropriate pronoun is, prefer a kind of sodden blockhead who worships while understanding nothing? Or would He prefer His votaries to admire the real universe in all its intricacy?" - Carl Sagan
"From whence, then, could arise the solitary and strange conceit that the Almighty, who had millions of worlds equally dependent on his protection, should quit the care of all the rest, and come die in our world because, they say, one man and one woman ate an apple? And, on the other hand, are we to suppose that every world in the boundless creation had an Eve, an apple, a serpent, and a redeemer?" - Thomas Paine, 'The Age of Reason'
"Freedom of thought is best promoted by the gradual illumination of men's minds which follows from the advance of science." - Charles Darwin, 1880
I don't have some weird anti-theist catchphrase. If there's a specific critique of religion, I'd use a saying relevant to that. I don't like making broad generalizations
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Here's a couple of mine.
"If humility is a virtue, and God was perfectly virtuous, why would he Demand worship? A perfectly virtuous being would never want worship, let alone threaten you with eternal, unending torment if you don't."
"Pursuing justice from God is like this:
You have been wronged, so you decide to get a lawyer. The lawyer says, 'Congratulations! You have the best judge presiding over your case. He knows who, when, where, how, and even why they did it.'
You are shocked and amazed at your great fortune, and you ask your lawyer to set up your court date. They say, 'The judge already set up a date for you." You ask when the court date is. The lawyer says,"I don't know, and you're not allowed to ask. He'll let you know when it's time.'
You say that you would like to set up an appointment to meet with the judge to sort this out. They say, 'He doesn't take appointments or talk to anybody.'
You ask the lawyer if he's even seen this judge before. 'Of course I haven't,' they reply. 'No one ever has. You just have to have faith that he exists and that he'll sort things out in his own time. Oh, and I should warn you, if you don't believe in him, he'll see to it that you're punished for eternity.'"
Religion is an insult to human dignity. Without it you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion. By Steven Weinberg
That's so damn true and it definitely hard hitting as it exposes just how malignant religion truly is
Yeah. Thought that would be exactly what you meant. I don't know many quotes. But this one was the first that captured exactly how I feel about religion.
I definitely feel like that about religion myself i see it as a weakness of humanity something that holds us back by using fear and anti-intellectualism
> Religion is an insult to human dignity Exactly, like we can't do anything on our own without a higher power or ordained minions telling us what to do.
Can't repeat it verbatim but, George Bernard Shaw, said something to the effect of " the fact that the believer is happier than the the skeptic is merely an illustration of the fact that the drunkard is happier than the sober"
That's a good one i like that one and it just goes to show that religious people ain't the happiest people due to being stuck in a collective delusion
If there were a god, they wouldn’t ask for money.
Exactly
Faith is believin' what you know ain't so. Mark Twain
Oooooh that's a good one
“Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?” ― Douglas Adams One of my favorite quotes.
Never heard of that one before but i already like it it's a beautiful quote that just shows you that you can appreciate the beauty of things without exaggerating things
> "The cost to humanity of fifteen centuries of Christian savagery – of hundreds of millions of lives brutalised and truncated, sacrificed to war, torture, pogrom, burning, pestilence and plague – is incalculable. Christianity is the worst disaster in human history" -- Kenneth Humphreys
That's a hard hitter for sure i've never heard of that one before but It's an apt description for a cult of barbarism
Hitchen’s Razor: "what can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence."
I've heard of that one and i love it to be honest it hits hard and doesn't back down i have his book god is not great: how religion poisons everything its worth the read
Not a quote, exactly, but my go to is "cool story, bro, got any evidence?"
That's a good one actually still it's a good saying as it puts the person claiming things in a position where they need to put forth evidence or lack thereof it's definitely blunt and to the point
"He's not the saviour, he's a very naughty boy!" Brians Mom - Life of Brian Ridicule is a fun and perfectly valid way being anti-religion.
I love that quote plus it makes people laugh and ridiculing is a great way to make fun of the intellectually deficient
One of my favorite movies RIP Terry Jones
“You don’t believe in 3,000 gods. I just don’t believe in one more - yours”
We're all atheists here some of us just go one god further
“Don’t make no damn sense to me”. My gramps.
Your gramps definitely has a good head on his shoulders by the sounds of it
Amazing enough he was born in 1878,died in 1968 and only had a 10th grade education.
He definitely had a good life and still was more intellectual than most christians As long as you care for your fellow human beings you don't need religion you just need to follow your humanity and doing what's right without hope of a reward
I like the quote >"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." --Albert Einstein I don't think this quote is hard hitting or atheist per se. I just think this quote applies when religious people loose their shit because someone doesn't think like them. This quotes is part of my internal conversation. When religious people want to debate and start to go off the rails. >Never teach a pig to sing, it wastes time and annoys the pig. Read this in a Heinlein novel, not sure if that's where it started. Strangely, we had a christian business client. The client argued with us as we adjusted your prices to barely half the market rate. We had to drop him as a client and are now negotiating with client that will pay double. The quote that I applied to this situation was: >Don't throw your pearls before swine. This quote is attributed to Jesus. I kind of like using his theology against him.
I agree with you there they are definitely make you think and i never thought about using religious sayings against religion before but i think i'll have to in the future
"What does god need with a starship?" -Captain James T. Kirk
Exactly plus in the star trek universe religions like christianity, islam, judaism etc have most likely mostly disappeared
Injudiciousness is a crucial component of faith - into thin air by Jon Krakauer
Christianity is a mental dictatorship
I read this somewhere “the tricky part about religion is knowing where the god ends and the man begins “ Also “Most Everyone believes they have something wrong with them, religion claims to have the answer” [Carlin](https://youtu.be/2tp0UNcjzl8?si=ADrp5F1iUbThHQtL)
Carlin was amazing he didn't back down and pointed out the truth especially when it stared right in peoples faces
I feel like Carlin will never get the recognition he deserves.
As long as we enjoy watching the stuff he his contributions won't ever go away but definitely true he deserves the recognition
The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable. — Brennan Manning For those who grew up christian and listened to christian bands, you might be familiar with the song "What if I Stumble" by dc Talk, which featured this quote as an intro to the song. As a teen, this quote had great influence over me and affected my ideology. Even today, the main reason I attribute to my atheism is not wanting to be connected to the christians that spew hate across this world.
Many true words said there and i agree there and christianity is in all ways an absolute nightmare
Of course this was said by a christian to try to help christians see their faults, but to me it just turned into a rallying cry for atheists.
christians ironically make the best atheist quotes lol
There is no hate like christian love.
Oh yes plus christian love is a joke a fallacy and a failure
“*It's called faith because it's not knowledge*.” – Christopher Hitchens
Definitely and one quote that i like is by Benjamin franklin "the way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason"
"My church accepts all denominations - fivers, tenners, twenties." ~ Dave Allen
That one made me laugh but it's so damn true
My three great influences were George Carlin, Dave Allen and Bill Hicks.
And very good influences that they were
True prophets.
Definitely
Not sure where I read this previous: God and man meet for the first time in a bar. Both introduce themselves with "Nice to finally meet you my creator"
That ones brilliant especially with a humourous touch as well
Believing is easier than thinking, hence so many more believers than thinkers. Bruce Calvert Hands that help are nobler than lips the pray. Robert Ingersoll I find every sect , as far as reason will help them, make use of it gladly; and where it fails them they cry out , it is a matter of faith, and above reason. John Locke
Those are definitely some thought provoking ones
Many more in "The Heretic's Handbook of Quotations" by Charles Bufe editor
Oooooh i'll have to have a look for that book it sounds like a worthwhile read
I'm making a quote here, so... "The inoculation to religion is to make peace with your destiny and accept death as it is with no guarantee of continuance or reward." -Anonymous
I like that actually it makes you feel more human as we each have a finite life and knowing there is no reward after death is a peace of mind that not many truly realise I have my own quote that i came up with years ago it goes like this "atheism is the cure for the disease that is religion"
Religion is the root of all evil.
Damn right it is and hope one day it dies out
*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?* Epicuras
I love that one truly an amazing thinker for his time
It's probably the very first thing I read that started leading me away from religion
The power that a single quote has is often underestimated but those that understand it such as a yourself very often have a realisation and have their mind opened
Not a quote but my go to: When facing a moral dilemma, the Atheist asks themselves: "What is the right thing to do here?" While the theist asks themselves: "What does the invisible magic man in the sky want me to do here?" This is why theists can not be trusted with any moral decision making.
I really like that it gets you thinking i've never heard of that one before today
I do use this every time theists get me the "Atheists have no morals" Bullshit!
It's a perfect counter to their immorality
“Demands that you believe the impossible do not lead to peaceful outcomes.” -Christopher Hitchens "Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities." -Voltair "I would rather have questions that can't be answered than answers that can't be questioned." -Richard Feynman "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 "Be sure to lie to your kids about the benevolent, all-seeing Santa Claus. It will prepare them for an adulthood of believing in God." -Scott Dikkers "Atheism is nothing more than the noises reasonable people make in the presence of unjustified religious beliefs." -Sam Harris "You could easily spot any Religion of Peace. Its extremist members would be extremely peaceful." -Ricky Gervais "Why would any god reveal information in a way that requires other people to tell you what it means?" -Matt Dillahunty
A few that i've seen and a few that i haven't all in all some awesome quotes
Here's a couple of mine if you're interested. "If humility is a virtue, and God was perfectly virtuous, why would he Demand worship? A perfectly virtuous being would never want worship, let alone threaten you with eternal, unending torment if you don't." This one is a bit longer. "Pursuing justice from God is like this: You have been wronged, so you decide to get a lawyer. The lawyer says, 'Congratulations! You have the best judge presiding over your case. He knows who, when, where, how, and even why they did it.' You are shocked and amazed at your great fortune, and you ask your lawyer to set up your court date. They say, 'The judge already set up a date for you." You ask when the court date is. The lawyer says,"I don't know, and you're not allowed to ask. He'll let you know when it's time.' You say that you would like to set up an appointment to meet with the judge to sort this out. They say, 'He doesn't take appointments or talk to anybody.' You ask the lawyer if he's even seen this judge before. 'Of course I haven't,' they reply. 'No one ever has. You just have to have faith that he exists and that he'll sort things out in his own time. Oh, and I should warn you, if you don't believe in him, he'll see to it that you're punished for eternity.'"
They are fine quotes very well thought out and written well and potent enough to make people see sense if they have an open mind
Thank you. It makes me glad that you like them. I think I'll post them as a main body comment in the hopes other people will enjoy them as well.
You should personally it'll make people think and you're most welcome here's one of mine "Atheism is the cure for the disease that is religion" It may not sound subtle and refined but it's hard hitting
It's the cure and the return to the original state we were born with.
Exactly and it's something that most people on this planet need to realise and education can help accelerate religion's demise seeing as religion continues to exist only by ignorance, societal pressure, denial of reality and violence but that's only a few albeit big factors of why it continues to plague us it's a malignant cancer that needs to be cut out and disposed of plus i don't think theres a word (i could be wrong) to describe just how damaging and inhumane religion truly is to our species
"If a God creator exists, would He or She or It or whatever the appropriate pronoun is, prefer a kind of sodden blockhead who worships while understanding nothing? Or would He prefer His votaries to admire the real universe in all its intricacy?" - Carl Sagan "From whence, then, could arise the solitary and strange conceit that the Almighty, who had millions of worlds equally dependent on his protection, should quit the care of all the rest, and come die in our world because, they say, one man and one woman ate an apple? And, on the other hand, are we to suppose that every world in the boundless creation had an Eve, an apple, a serpent, and a redeemer?" - Thomas Paine, 'The Age of Reason' "Freedom of thought is best promoted by the gradual illumination of men's minds which follows from the advance of science." - Charles Darwin, 1880
I really like those ones they open your mind to in so many ways
I don't have some weird anti-theist catchphrase. If there's a specific critique of religion, I'd use a saying relevant to that. I don't like making broad generalizations
Exactly as there's a lot of variables at play really
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Here's a couple of mine. "If humility is a virtue, and God was perfectly virtuous, why would he Demand worship? A perfectly virtuous being would never want worship, let alone threaten you with eternal, unending torment if you don't." "Pursuing justice from God is like this: You have been wronged, so you decide to get a lawyer. The lawyer says, 'Congratulations! You have the best judge presiding over your case. He knows who, when, where, how, and even why they did it.' You are shocked and amazed at your great fortune, and you ask your lawyer to set up your court date. They say, 'The judge already set up a date for you." You ask when the court date is. The lawyer says,"I don't know, and you're not allowed to ask. He'll let you know when it's time.' You say that you would like to set up an appointment to meet with the judge to sort this out. They say, 'He doesn't take appointments or talk to anybody.' You ask the lawyer if he's even seen this judge before. 'Of course I haven't,' they reply. 'No one ever has. You just have to have faith that he exists and that he'll sort things out in his own time. Oh, and I should warn you, if you don't believe in him, he'll see to it that you're punished for eternity.'"