“To call out for the hand of the enemy is a rather extreme measure, yet a better one, I think, than to remain in continual fever over an accident that has no remedy. But since all the precautions that a man can take are full of uneasiness and uncertainty, it is better to prepare with fine assurance for the worst that can happen, and derive some consolation from the fact that we are not sure that it will happen.” ThinkingMenFactsHandsHappensEnemyWorstFineExtremesAccidentsUncertaintyNot SureRemedyConsolationAssuranceFeverPrecautionUneasiness Book:Complete Essays Source: Complete Essays
“Someone tells us that God loves us as a father loves his children. We are reassured. But then something awful happens. Some qualification is made.... We are reassured again. But then perhaps we ask: what is this assurance of God's (appropriately qualified) love worth, what is this apparent guarantee really a guarantee against? Just what would have to happen not merely (morally and wrongly) to tempt but also (logically and rightly) to entitle us to say "God does not love us" or even "God does not exist"?” ChildrenDoeMadeHappensAsksFatherAtheismPositive AtheismAwfulGod LoveGuaranteesAssuranceQualifiedQualificationsGod Loves Us Author:Antony Flew
“If to enjoy even an enjoyable present we must have the assurance of a happy future, we are “crying for the moon.” We have no such assurance. The best predictions are still matters of probability rather than certainty, and to the best of our knowledge every one of us is going to suffer and die. If, then, we cannot live happily without an assured future, we are certainly not adapted to living in a finite world where, despite the best plans, accidents will happen, and where death comes at the end.” IfsWorldStillsEndsMatterHappensSufferingDiesEnjoyPlansCryMoonAccidentsDespiteCertaintyPredictionsProbabilityFiniteAssuranceAssuredEnjoyableAdaptedIf Then Book:The Wisdom of Insecurity Source: The Wisdom of Insecurity