“Questioning our own motives, and our own process, is critical to a skeptical and scientific outlook. We must realize that the default mode of human psychology is to grab onto comforting beliefs for purely emotional reasons, and then justify those beliefs to ourselves with post-hoc rationalizations.” HumansReasonReligionBeliefProcessRealizingPsychologyAtheismEmotionalCriticalPostsMotiveJustifyQuestioningOutlookComfortingSkepticalDefault Author:Steven Novella
“The proper office of religion is to regulate the heart of men, humanize their conduct, infuse the spirit of temperance, order, andobedience; and as its operation is silent, and only enforces the motives of morality and justice, it is in danger of being overlooked, and confounded with these other motives.” MenHeartSpiritReligionOrderJusticeDangerMoralityOfficeSilentOperationsMotiveTemperanceOverlooked Book:Dialogues and Natural History of Religion Source: Dialogues and Natural History of Religion
“To tell one comprehensive story of how it has happened that what is is, one which shall hold true, come what may, now-after - a story that whatever comes shall perfectly continue or confirm: such is the ideal motive of religions.” MayStoriesReligionHappenedIdealsMotiveComprehensive Author:Laura Riding
“Secrecy is the keystone to all tyranny. Not force, but secrecy and censorship. When any government or church for that matter, undertakes to say to its subjects, "This you may not read, this you must not know," the end result is tyranny and oppression, no matter how holy the motives. Mighty little force is needed to control a man who has been hoodwinked in this fashion; contrariwise, no amount of force can control a free man, whose mind is free. No, not the rack nor the atomic bomb, not anything. You can't conquer a free man; the most you can do is kill him.” KnowsMenMindMayLittlesHas BeensEndsMatterGovernmentReligionForceCan DoChurchFreedomResultsSubjectsFashionAmountNeededHolyAtheistTyrannyOppressionConquerMotiveBombsCensorshipSecrecyFree ManAtomic BombRacksEnd ResultsKeystones Author:Robert A. Heinlein