Faith rests squarely upon reason, but with the added component of revelation. Richard Dawkins More Quotes by Richard Dawkins More Quotes From Richard Dawkins Christianity, just as much as Islam, teaches children that unquestioned faith is a virtue. You don't have to make the case for what you believe. If somebody announces that it is part of his faith, the rest of society, whether of the same faith, or another, or of none, is obliged, by ingrained custom, to "respect" it without question; respect it until the day it manifests itself in a horrible massacre like the destruction of the World Trade Center, or the London or Madrid bombings. Richard Dawkins islambelievechildren Even if it were true that we need God to be moral, it would of course not make God's existence more likely, merely more desirable (many people cannot tell the difference) Richard Dawkins differencespeopleneeds A universe with a God would look quite different from a universe without one. A physics, a biology where there is a God is bound to look different. So the most basic claims of religion are scientific. Religion is a scientific theory. Richard Dawkins atheismdifferentlooks Real life seeks the gentle slopes at the back of Mount Improbable, while creationists are blind to all but the daunting precipice at the front. Richard Dawkins gentleblindreal Can omniscient God, who Knows the future, find The omnipotence to Change His future mind? Richard Dawkins omnipotenceatheismmind It is a remarkable coincidence that almost everyone has the same religion as their parents and it always just so happens they're the right religion. Richard Dawkins parentatheistreligion Isn't it sad to go to your grave without ever wondering why you were born? Who, with such a thought, would not spring from bed, eager to resume discovering the world and rejoicing to be part of it? Richard Dawkins curiosityspringworld Natural selection is anything but random. Richard Dawkins natural-selectionselectionnatural Religious faith not only lacks evidence, its independence from evidence is its pride and joy, shouted from the rooftops. Richard Dawkins pridereligiousdeath All the world’s Muslims have fewer Nobel Prizes than Trinity College, Cambridge. They did great things in the Middle Ages, though. Richard Dawkins collegeageworld With respect to those meanings of 'human' that are relevant to the morality of abortion, any fetus is less human than an adult pig. Richard Dawkins abortionadultspigs When you plant a fertile meme in my mind you literally parasitize my brain, turning it into a vehicle for the meme's propagation in just the way that a virus may parasitize the genetic mechanism of a host cell. Richard Dawkins cellsmindbrain The idea of an afterlife where you can be reunited with loved ones can be immensely consoling - though not to me. Richard Dawkins loved-onesafterlifeideas I think the important thing to learn is that we can retain a sentimental loyalty to the cultural and literary traditions of, say, Judaism, Anglicanism or Islam, and even participate in religious rituals such as marriages and funerals, without buying into the supernatural beliefs that historically went along with those traditions. We can give up belief in God while not losing touch with a treasured heritage. Richard Dawkins loyaltybusinessreligious By all means let's be open-minded, but not so open-minded that our brains drop out. -this quote is actually found in Carl Sagan's book The Demon Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, where he attributes it to engineer James Oberg, who says he stole it from someone else. Richard Dawkins darkmeanbook Atheists are the new gays; in the closet and pretty much disqualified from public office. Richard Dawkins gayofficeatheist The fact that life evolved out of nearly nothing, some 10 billion years after the universe evolved out of literally nothing, is a fact so staggering that I would be mad to attempt words to do it justice. Richard Dawkins madjusticeyears Something pretty mysterious had to give rise to the origin of the universe. Richard Dawkins mysteriousuniversegiving But what, after all, is faith? It is a state of mind that leads people to believe something - it doesn't matter what - in the total absence of supporting evidence. If there were good supporting evidence then faith would be superfluous, for the evidence would compel us to believe it anyway. It is this that makes the often-parroted claim that 'evolution itself is a matter of faith' so silly. People believe in evolution not because they arbitrarily want to believe it but because of overwhelming, publicly available evidence. Richard Dawkins sillybelievepeople It is immoral to brand children with religion. 'This is a Catholic child.' 'That is a Muslim child.' I want everyone to flinch when they hear such a phrase, just as they would if they heard, 'That is a Marxist child.' Richard Dawkins phrasescatholicchildren
