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Richard Dawkins

Richard Dawkins Quotes

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Famous Richard Dawkins Quotes

“The distribution of species on islands and continents throughout the world is exactly what you'd expect if evolution was a fact. The distribution of fossils in space and in time are exactly what you would expect if evolution were a fact. There are millions of facts all pointing in the same direction and no facts pointing in the wrong direction.”

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Author:Richard Dawkins
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“In childhood our credulity serves us well. It helps us to pack, with extraordinary rapidity, our skulls full of the wisdom of our parents and our ancestors. But if we don't grow out of it in the fullness of time, our ... nature makes us a sitting target for astrologers, mediums, gurus, evangelists, and quacks. We need to replace the automatic credulity of childhood with the constructive skepticism of adult science.”

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Author:Richard Dawkins
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“Only a tiny fraction of corpses fossilize, and we are lucky to have as many intermediate fossils as we do. We could easily have had no fossils at all, and still the evidence for evolution from other sources, such as molecular genetics and geographical distribution, would be overwhelmingly strong. On the other hand, evolution makes the strong prediction that if a single fossil turned up in the wrong geological stratum, the theory would be blown out of the water.”

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Book:The God Delusion
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“The God of the Old testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction.”

CharacterGodReligionReligiousFictionAtheismAtheistDelusionSecularTestamentAgnosticOld TestamentThere Is No GodOrganized ReligionIf There Is A GodTheistAnti ReligiousControl FreakThere Being No GodUnforgivingHomophobicReligion ChristianVindictiveGod DelusionFaith ReligionReligion In SocietySelfish GeneAnti AtheistAnti GodEvil GodReligion Today
Book:The God Delusion
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“In medieval times, the Church used to sell 'indulgences' for money. This amounted to paying for some number of days' remission from purgatory, and the Church literally (and with breathtaking presumption) issued signed certificates specifying the number of days off that had been purchased. . . . And of all its money-making rip-offs, the selling of indulgences must surely rank among the greatest con tricks in history. . . .”

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Author:Richard Dawkins
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“People who do not know the Bible well have been gulled into thinking it is a good guide to morality. This mistaken view may have motivated the "millionaire Conservative party donors". I have even heard the cynically misanthropic opinion that, without the Bible as a moral compass, people would have no restraint against murder, theft and mayhem. The surest way to disabuse yourself of this pernicious falsehood is to read the Bible itself.”

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Author:Richard Dawkins
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“A delusion that encourages belief where there is no evidence is asking for trouble. Disagreements between incompatible beliefs cannot be settled by reasoned argument because reasoned argument is drummed out of those trained in religion from the cradle. Instead, disagreements are settled by other means which, in extreme cases, inevitably become violent. Scientists disagree among themselves but they never fight over their disagreements. They argue about evidence or go out and seek new evidence. Much the same is true of philosophers, historians and literary critics.”

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Author:Richard Dawkins
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“With so many mind-bytes to be downloaded, so many mental codons to be replicated, it is no wonder that child brains are gullible, open to almost any suggestion, vulnerable to subversion, easy prey to Moonies, Scientologists and nuns. Like immune-deficient patients, children are wide open to mental infections that adults might brush off without effort.”

MindChildrenMightReligionEasyEffortBrainWonderAdultsPatientWideVulnerableSuggestionsBrushesPreyImmuneNunInfectionGullibleSubversion
Book:A Devil's Chaplain
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