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From ancient Greece to modern America, from short essays to long arguments, from individual lives to history and philosophy, in words reasoned quietly or
shouted loudly,
The Atheist God Would Read (or watch or listen) . . . offers a wide range of books for rational people in an often irrational world.
New titles added weekly. Plus DVDs, MP3s and more.
Added February 2010: Fiction: an eclectic selection of
novels and short stories from an atheist perspective. Come browse.
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If you Google 'atheist quotes' you'll come up with hundreds, perhaps thousands, of thoughtful, interesting, challenging, humorous statements from women and men across the centuries. There are a couple of problems, however; sometimes these words were never spoken or written by the person they were attributed to, and sometimes the speaker or writer was a believer (often a
Deist) not an atheist.
We are - or should be - atheists because we think; We take care - or should take care - to base our statements on proven reality and research. If we repeat a quote only because someone else repeats it, we are no better than believers who mindlessly repeat words attributed to Jesus or Mohammed. That means that quotes are only included in this section when their origin can be ascertained. And don't necessarily trust this website; before you refer to it, make sure you are satisfied that what it states is accurate.
"They all err - Muslims, Christians, Jews and Magians. There are two kinds of humans - the intelligent, who have no religion, and the religious, who have no intellect."
Abū al-'Ala al-Ma'arrī, Arab philosopher and poet, 973 - 1057
for more on al-'Ala al-Ma'arrī and this quote, see the Wikipedia entry
"I find the whole business of religion profoundly interesting. But it does mystify me that otherwise intelligent people take it seriously."
Douglas Adams, British author, 1952 - 2001, in the posthumously published The Salmon of Doubt, 2002
Adams is best known for his The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series -
see his take on the origins of God here
"Think hard about the reasons for believing and not believing, what
your religion teaches you and demands so inexorably that you believe.
I am convinced that if you follow closely the natural light of your
spirit, you will see ... that all the religions in the world are only
human inventions and that everything your religion teaches you and
forces you to believe as supernatural and divine is at heart only
error, lie, illusion and trickery."
Jean Meslier, French priest, 1664-1729, in his Testament
for more on Meslier and his Testament see Wikipedia:
English;
français
"I don't know if God exists, but it would be better for His reputation if He didn't."
Jules Renard, French author, 1864-1910, in his Journal, 26 January 1906
for more on Meslier see Wikipedia:
English;
français
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WHY DON'T HE LEND A HAND?
By Samuel P. Putnam
(1838-1896)
You say there is a God
Above the boundless sky,
A wise and wondrous deity
Whose strength none can defy
You say that he is seated
Upon a throne most grand,
Millions of angels at his beck . . .
Why don’t he lend a hand?
See how the earth is groaning,
What countless tears are shed,
See how the plague stalks forward
And brave and sweet lie dead.
Homes burn and hearts are breaking,
Grim murder stains the land;
You say he is omnipotent . . .
Why don’t he lend a hand?
Behold, injustice conquers;
Pain curses every hour;
The good and true and beautiful
Are trampled like the flower.
You say he is our father,
That what he wills doth stand;
If he is thus almighty
Why don’t he lend a hand?
What is this monarch doing
Upon his golden throne,
To right the wrong stupendous,
Give joy instead of moan?
With his resistless majesty,
Each force at his command,
Each law his own creation . . .
Why don’t he lend a hand?
Alas! I fear he’s sleeping,
Or is himself a dream,
A bubble on thought’s ocean,
Our fancy’s fading gleam.
We look in vain to find him
Upon his throne so grand,
Then turn your vision earthward
,
‘Tis we must lend a hand.
‘Tis we must grasp the lightning,
And plow the rugged soil;
‘Tis we must beat back suffering,
And plague and murder foil;
‘Tis we must build the paradise
And bravely right the wrong;
The god above us faileth,
The god within is strong.
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"Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by rulers as useful."
Seneca the Younger, Roman philosopher and dramatist, 4 BCE - 65 CE
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"Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear."
Thomas Jefferson
Third US President and principal author of that country's
Declaration of Independence, in a letter to his nephew (date uncertain).
Like many, if not most, of the Founding Fathers, Jefferson was more Deist than
atheist.
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If God existed, he would...
admire the beauty of a universe that he did not create
recognize that eternity is meaningless
deny both heaven and hell
disown all men and women who speak in his name
denounce the harm caused by religious "morality"
help the human race to thrive without him
If God existed, he would be an atheist.
What is the difference between science and faith?
science is certain of nothing and requires proof of everything
faith is certain of everything and requires proof of nothing
Which do you trust?
"I know there is no God"
or
"I believe there is no God"
???
Check the answer
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