“From my observations, it would seem that the core message of most major religions is right, just and pure. For this reason I can not help but conclude that evil acts committed by religious people are committed not because of their religion, but in spite of it.” PeopleLifeI CanReasonHelpingSeemsEvilReligiousPureMajorsMessagesCommittedCoreObservationSpiteCan Not Author:Derek R. Audette
“The capacity for the accomplishment of religious virtuosos the "intellectual sacrifice" is the decisive characteristic of the positively religious man. That this is so is shown by the fact that in spite of (or rather in consequence) of theology (which unveils it) the tension between the value-spheres of "science" and the sphere of "the holy" is unbridgeable.” MenFactsValuesReligiousSacrificeHolyIntellectualConsequenceCapacityTheologyAccomplishmentTensionCharacteristicsSpiteSpheresPositively Book:From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology Source: From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology
“Thanksgiving is a typically American holiday. In spite of its religious form (giving thanks to God for a good harvest), its essential, secular meaning is a celebration of successful production. It is a producers’ holiday. The lavish meal is a symbol of the fact that abundant consumption is the result and reward of production. Abundance is (or was and ought to be) America’s pride-just as it is the pride of American parents that their children need never know starvation.” KnowsNeedsGivingChildrenFactsAmericaFormParentReligiousResultsSuccessfulPrideOughtEssentialsRewardsProductionsProducersThanksSymbolsMealsAbundanceSpiteHolidayCelebrationConsumptionSecularHarvestStarvation Author:Ayn Rand
“There is no ground whatever for the claim, so often made by religious apologists, that these ideals are specifically Christian and originated with Jesus. What were specifically Christian were some of the less enlightened teachings, which have done untold harm. Christians claim that organised Christianity has been a great force for good, but this view can be maintained on one assumption only: that everything good in the Christian era is a result of Christianity and everything bad happened in spite of it.” Has BeensMadeDoneChristianJesusForceReligiousResultsViewsChristianityHappenedAtheismTeachingIdealsClaimsPositive AtheismHarmErasAssumptionSpiteEnlightenedOrganised Author:Margaret E. Knight
“Organized religious institutions are in for a huge transformation, for the simple reason that people have become genuinely religious in spite of them.” PeopleReasonReligionReligiousSimpleHugeTransformationInstitutionsOrganizedSpite Book:Illuminata: Thoughts, Prayers, Rites of Passage Source: Illuminata: Thoughts, Prayers, Rites of Passage
“The bottom line is not money but some sort of demonic compulsion that drives these people to lash out against Jesus Christ, against Christians, and against anyone who holds to a sincere belief in God, in spite of the fact that it is going to cost them tens of millions of dollars to do it. They are driven to 'make a statement' regardless of the consequences.” PeopleFactsChristianJesusBeliefChristReligiousLinesMillionsCostConsequenceJesus ChristDollarsBottomDrivenStatementsSpiteSincereBottom LineCompulsionBelief In GodLashesDemonic Author:Michael Medved
“From Mount Hollywood, Los Angeles looks rather nice, enveloped in a haze of changing colors. Actually, and in spite of all the healthful sunshine and ocean breezes, it is a bad place - full of old, dying people, who were born old of tired pioneer parents, victims of America - full of curious wild and poisonous growths, decadent religious cults and fake science, and wildcat enterprises, which, with their aim for quick profit, are doomed to collapse and drag down multitudes of people.” PeopleLooksAmericaScienceParentGrowthBornReligiousNiceDyingColorOceanHollywoodAimVictimTiredProfitCuriousFakeEnterpriseSpiteSunshineLos AngelesCollapseDragMultitudesDoomedCultBreezePioneersPoisonousHazeReligious CultsWildcatsChanging Colors Author:Louis Adamic