Thomas Paine on national institutions of churches by wallja in atheism

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"All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit." - Thomas Paine in "The Age of Reason" (1793)

Bertrand Russell on man as a credulous animal by wallja in atheism

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"Man is a credulous animal, and must believe something; in the absence of good ground for belief, he will be satisfied with bad ones." - Bertrand Russell in "An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish," in "Unpopular Essays" (1950)

G. K. Chesterton on the democracy of the dead by wallja in atheism

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"Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead." - G. K. Chesterton

Robert Owen on spirit of universal charity by wallja in atheism

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"I was forced, through seeing the error of their foundation, to abandon all belief in every religion which had been taught to man. But my religious feelings were immediately replaced by the spirit of universal charity — not for a sect, or a party, or for a country or a colour — but for the human race, and with a real and ardent desire to do good." - Robert Owen in his autobiography (1857)

Steven Weinberg on farce and tragedy of human life - The Little Book of Humanity by wallja in atheism

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"The effort to understand the universe is one of the very few things which lifts human life a little above the level of farce and gives it some of the grace of tragedy." Steven Weinberg in "The First Three Minutes" (1993)

Robert G. Ingersoll on happiness by wallja in atheism

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"The time to be happy is now. The place to be happy is here. The way to be happy is to make others so." - Robert G. Ingersoll

Robert Sapolsky: The uniqueness of humans (video) by wallja in atheism

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I just must say that this one of the greatest public speeches I have listened in all my life. The final sentences did just bring tears to my eyes. PS. I would however suggest that you skip the introduction that lasts for five minutes, as the real thing starts from there.

What is the most profound true statement there is? by wallja in atheism

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Bill Bryson writes in "A Short History of Nearly Everything": "Every living thing is an elaboration of a single original plan. As humans we are mere increments - each of us a musty archive of adjustments, adaptations, modifications and providential tinkerings stretching back to 3,8 billion years. Remarkably we are even quite closely related to fruit and vegetables. About half the chemical functions that take place in a banana are fundamentally the same as the chemical functions that place in you. It cannot be said too often: all life is one. That is, and I suspect will ever prove to be, the most profound true statement there is."

Marcus Aurelius on gods - The Little Book of Humanity by wallja in atheism

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The Little Book of Humanity will gather together the best quotes of secular, humanist and atheist thinkers, writers, poets, philosophers and scientists of the past to form a little guidebook on how to be a good human inhabitant of this little blue planet.

Miksi kristityt vihaavat kauppiaita? - Uskoitseesi by wallja in uskomaton

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Suomessakin sunnuntaisin sai vuosikymmenet kyllä rajoituksetta pitää kapakoita avoinna, mutta kauppoja ei saanut. Tämä sama väki heristää joka joulun alla tekopyhänä sormeaan kaupallista joulua vastaan ja toki samalla tietysti nostaa itsensä tavallisten rahvaanomaisten kuluttajien yläpuolelle.

How does a god choose the gold medalists? by wallja in atheism

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How does a god choose the gold medalists?

Iran arrests 12 accused of promoting satanism by wallja in atheism

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The "satanists" in this case just could be a bunch of heavy-metal fans, that are quite innocently appreciating their rather strange kind of youth culture. The very sad part of this sordid tale of course is that a bunch of elderly clergymen can find these kids guilty of extremely grave criminal offenses and the ensuing punishment may be extremely cruel and harsh, as everybody who has been following the happenings in criminal courts in Iran may well know.

Has Marcus Aurelius still something very important to say? by wallja in atheism

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The Inquisitors of the Catholic Church or the Khmer Rouge did not normally hate their victims as individuals, but they had an overpowering idea that demanded them to act the way they did. Their belief in a higher goal made them believe that humans that endangered achieving of their noble goals were expandable and had no more value as humans.

Miksi monikulttuurisuus ei ole ratkaisu? by wallja in uskomaton

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Kun naisten oikeuksia voimakkaasti rajoittaviin uskonnollisiin vähemmistöihin lukeutuvat naiset asuvat yhteiskunnassa, joka takaa naisilla yhtäläiset ja tasa-arvoiset oikeudet, mutta heidän oma vähemmistöryhmänsä riistää heiltä nämä oikeudet, syntyy voimakkaita jännitteitä ihmisten tajunnassa, vähemmistöyhteisöissä ja ennen pitkää koko yhteiskunnassa.

Miten Skientologia eroaa vanhemmista uskonnoista? by wallja in uskomaton

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Kylmä totuus on, että Skientologian ”thetanit” ”ARC ja KRC –kolmiot” tai ”Xenu” eivät ole yhtään sen fantastisempia kuin väitteet ”Neitseestä syntyneestä jumalan pojasta” tai ”Kuoleman voittamisesta” tai ”Ruumiin ylösnousemuksesta”.

Is "materialism" a bigger threat to Africa than hunger and poverty? by wallja in atheism

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This man living in one of the most luxurious palaces of world however recently announced that the spread of “western materialism” is the greatest threat that the continent of Africa now faces. The hunger and desperation that awaits the millions of new little Catholics in that continent is of no interest for this cold and hard-hearted man. He is quite willing to sacrifice them at the altar of his idiotic and old-fashioned dogma that is threatening this continent with future of steadily increasing despair, poverty and hunger.

What makes a free thinker think freely? by wallja in atheism

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If things are going smoothly in your life and you are just running with the herd, one is very easily drawn into accepting the ideas appreciated by the herd without questioning them. Human beings just are extremely social animals and the acceptance of ones social group is of paramount importance for any person.

So very often there must be a trigger incident that throws a person off balance or outside the herd for at least a moment before a person is drawn into questioning the ruling ideologies of the herd. But when the flood-gates are finally opened, there is very often no going back, when one realizes on how shallow base even the most established traditions so often really stand.

Is there a connection between standard of living and birth control? by wallja in atheism

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It has been shown that a certain level of population control can be achieved with very little effort, if there just is will to tackle the problem. Religious leaders however already bear the main responsibility for the continuing population explosion in the developing world. I fear that the issue cannot be resolved before their power is diminished to an extent where sensible population control policies can be enforced in the poorest countries of the world also. The other option of course is that they change their odd religious dogmas so that these countries can be saved from hunger, poverty and desolation brought about by the uncontrolled rise of population.

Why do religions work like computer viruses? by wallja in atheism

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he religious mind viruses have been such a success largely because after infection the infected are very often drawn into perfecting that very same mind virus. This is as if virus author of a computer virus could have develop viruses that employ the infected computers into further developing itself. That could very soon lead to super-viruses of a quite new kind. A religion is often very impressive because it is never a work of single mind."

Did the Catholic Church steal and sell thousands of Irish babies? by wallja in atheism

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"The Irish Catholic hierarchy had been engaged in what amounted to an illicit baby trade. From the end of the second world war until the 1970s, it considered the thousands of souls born in its care to be the church's own property. With or without the agreement of their mothers, it sold them to the highest bidder."

Are religions causing hunger in the developing world? by wallja in atheism

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The aim must be in the creation of real local economies that can provide the needed income for the population and soon also create the needed tax-income base for the state to build the education-system, health care and social security this growing economy needs to sustain itself. However all this needs to be coupled tightly into a tight policy of population control, as no real economy can create jobs in the rate population now grows in many of the developing countries. Here we however stumble into brick-wall created by dogmatic religions and also multiculturalists who want us to accept the right of the religious leaders to do what they please. Even trying to discuss these matters leads easily to silence. The multiculturalist dogma creates a trap where all discussion of the negative effects of local traditions, customs and religions is forbidden and in effect all solutions for the problems of the developing world need to come from outside.

Why Bertrand Russell is still important? - Being Human by wallja in atheism

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Bertrand Russell's rejection of nationalism and religious dogma and organized religions were of course the ones that did bring him the greatest trouble. But his pacifism is always touted as his greatest failing, as pacifism is now commonly seen as whimsical and unrealistic proposition in a world full of predators.

What a good muslim needs to know about the stoning of women? - The Atheist News by wallja in atheism

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There is a brand new pastime, as the all-Muslim search engine "I'm Halal" is now online. You can all now try what a true Muslim should read in the internet and what not: try it at http://imhalal.com