Religious Quotes

"This is not a political battle at all. It is a contest over whether or not the word of God is true." -- Sen. James Inhofe, R-Oklahoma, explaining US policy on the Middle East.

On why we're the ones who have to defend God's word: "What does God need with a starship?" -- James T. Kirk

On why environmentalism is a waste of time: "God gave us these things to use. After the last tree is felled, Christ will come back" -- James Watt, 1981(while he was Secretary of the Interior under Reagan.)

On the religious foundations of the USA: "But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no God. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg." -- Thomas Jefferson, 1782.

On why it matters who marries whom: "Because we were trying ... to enforce something, a principle, that is much greater than this. We stand against the one world government, against the coming world of the antichrist." -- Bob Jones III explaining why his university instituted a ban on interracial dating 50 years ago. (Though now he says, "We realize that an interracial marriage is not going to bring in the world of antichrist by any means.")

"Sex is not the one string on the guitar. There are nine more Commandments." -- Jesse Jackson

More political quotes.

"Physics is not a religion. If it were, we'd have a much easier time raising money." -- Leon Lenderman

"Buddhist monks are wasting their time. They should convert to Jesus. Is there any Buddhist country in the world that is rich?" -- Jang Kyong Dong (South-Korean Protestant minister) 2008.

"Science is a differential equation. Religion is a boundary condition." -- Alan Turing

5 A woman must not wear men's clothing, nor a man wear women's clothing, for the LORD your God detests anyone who does this. 6 If you come across a bird's nest beside the road, either in a tree or on the ground, and the mother is sitting on the young or on the eggs, do not take the mother with the young. -- Moses

"The idea of god implies the abdication of human reason & justice; it is the most decisive negation of human liberty & necessarily ends in the enslavement of mankind both in theory & practice. He who desires to worship god must harbor no childish illusions about the matter but bravely renounce his liberty & humanity." -- Mikhail Bakunin

On writing about science: "I will detract nothing from God; for whatever is, is from him and by him; yet not even this is said vaguely and without due care, as we must listen to the very limits of human knowledge: only where this utterly breaks down, should we refer things to God." -- Adelard of Bath Quaestiones Naturales, 1116

"Intelligent design is nothing more than creationism dressed in a cheap tuxedo."-- Leonard Krishtalka

"In the time of Galileo it was argued that the texts, 'And the sun stood still ... and hasted not to go down about a whole day' (Joshua x. 13) and 'He laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not move at any time' (Psalm cv. 5) were an adequate refutation of the Copernican theory."  -- Alan Turing Computing Machinery and Intelligence, Mind 59 (1950), 443.

"God is a comedian playing to an audience too afraid to laugh" -- Voltaire

"We have several Buddhas around the house, but I don't necessarily believe in that either. But if I'm going to have a god, I'm going to have a smiling god." -- Chuck Jones

"We don't have a curse. We just have a lot of failure." -- Jerry Reinsdorf (Oct. 2005, explaining why no one cared the White Sox were going to win their first World Series in 88 years.)

"The perfect search engine would be like the mind of God." -- Sergey Brin, Google.

"Men make gods in their own image; those of the Ethiopians are black and snub-nosed, those of the Thracians have blue eyes and red hair." -- Xenophanes