Sam Harris: Tell a devout Christian that his wife is cheating on him, or that frozen yogurt can make a man invisible, and he is likely to require as much evidence as anyone else, and to be persuaded only to the extent that you give it. Tell him that the book he keeps by his bed was written by an invisible deity who will punish him with fire for eternity if he fails to accept its every incredible claim about the universe, and he seems to require no evidence what so ever.

Notes to the sky. Will he read them?

The thought of your gesture calms you. It’s beautiful. Peaceful. It’s almost like you get a say in the matter. You did what you could. You did your best. You wrote a letter to the man in the sky, begging for his mercy, his attention, his love…

Sam Harris: According to the most common interpretation of biblical prophecy, Jesus will return only after things have gone horribly awry. Imagine the consequences if any significant component of the U.S. government believed that the world was about to end and that its ending would be glorious. The fact that nearly half of the American population apparently believes this should be considered a moral and intellectual emergency.

George Carlin: I don’t know how you feel, but I’m pretty sick of church people. You know what they ought to do with churches? Tax them. If holy people are so interested in politics, government, and public policy, let them pay the price of admission like everybody else. The Catholic Church alone could wipe out the national debt if all you did was tax their real estate.

George Carlin: Religion has convinced people that there’s an invisible man … living in the sky. Who watches everything you do every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a list of ten specific things he doesn’t want you to do. And if you do any of these things, he will send you to a special place, of burning and fire and smoke and torture and anguish for you to live forever, and suffer, and suffer, and burn, and scream, until the end of time. But he loves you. He loves you. He loves you and he needs money

Sam Harris: Are you really surprised by the endurance of religion? What ideology is likely to be more durable than one that conforms, at every turn, to our powers of wishful thinking? Hope is easy; knowledge is hard.

Christopher Hitchens: Thus, though I dislike to differ with such a great man, Voltaire was simply ludicrous when he said that if god did not exist it would be necessary to invent him. The human invention of god is the problem to begin with.

George Carlin: I’ve begun worshipping the sun for a number of reasons. First of all, unlike some other gods I could mention, I can see the sun. It’s there for me every day. And the things it brings me are quite apparent all the time: heat, light, food, and a lovely day. There’s no mystery, no one asks for money, I don’t have to dress up, and there’s no boring pageantry. And interestingly enough, I have found that the prayers I offer to the sun and the prayers I formerly offered to “God” are all answered at about the same 50% rate.

It is the end. But of what? The end of France? No. The end of kings? Yes.

She wore the nickname of the plague

What would your good be doing if there were no evil, and what would the earth look like if shadows disappeared from it? After all, shadows are cast by objects and people. There is the shadow of my sword. But there are also shadows of trees and living creatures. Would you like to denude the earth of all the trees and all the living beings in order to satisfy your fantasy of rejoicing in the naked light? You are a fool.

- The procurator doesn’t like Yershalaim?
- Good heavens! There’s no more hopeless place on earth. I wish that the feasts would be over soon, because then I will finally have the possibility of going back to Caesarea.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1NdJKJlrcw&feature=artist

Kanskje du spør i angst,

udekket, åpen:

hva skal jeg kjempe med

 hva er mitt våpen?

Her er ditt vern mot vold,

her er ditt sverd:

 troen på livet vårt,

 menneskets verd.

        Til Ungdommen, Nordahl Grieg (utdrag)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxpHQ5FRMes&feature=related

Have you ever noticed that anyone driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster is a maniac? (Carlin)

Life changing

Voiceless it cries

Wingless flutters

Toothless bites

Mouth-less mutters.

What is it?

How now, Horatio? You tremble and look pale.

Is not this something more than fantasy?