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An atheist is someone who is certain that God does not exist, someone who has compelling evidence against the existence of God. I know of no such comp...more

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The world is so exquisite, with so much love and moral depth, that there is no reason to deceive ourselves with pretty stories for which there's littl...more

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A celibate clergy is an especially good idea, because it tends to suppress any hereditary propensity toward fanaticism.

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Some information is classified legitimately; as with military hardware, secrecy sometimes really is in the national interest. Further, military, polit...more

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I consider it an extremely dangerous doctrine, because the more likely we are to assume that the solution comes from the outside, the less likely we a...more

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But if the Bible is not everywhere literally true, which parts are divinely inspired and which are merely fallible and human? As soon as we admit that...more

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Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.

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Skeptical scrutiny is the means, in both science and religion, by which deep thoughts can be winnowed from deep nonsense.

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The truth may be puzzling. It may take some work to grapple with. It may be counterintuitive. It may contradict deeply held prejudices. It may not be ...more

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The suppression of uncomfortable ideasmay be common in religion and politics, but it is not the path to knowledge; it has no placein the endeavor of s...more

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It seems to me what is called for is an exquisite balance between two conflicting needs: the most skeptical scrutiny of all hypotheses that are served...more

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Religions are often state-protected nurseries of pseudoscience, although there's no reason why religions have to play that role. In a way, it's an art...more

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The method of science is tried and true. It is not perfect, it's just the best we have. And to abandon it, with its skeptical protocols, is the pathwa...more

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Who is more humble? The scientist who looks at the universe with an open mind and accepts whatever the universe has to teach us, or somebody who says ...more

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Present global culture is a kind of arrogant newcomer. It arrives on the planetary stage following four and a half billion years of other acts, and af...more