"At one time,' Golenishchev continued, either not observing or not willing to observe that both Anna and Vronsky wanted to speak, 'at one time a freethinker was a man who had been brought up in the conception of religion, law, and morality, who reached freethought only after conflict and difficulty. But now a new type of born freethinkers has appeared, who grow up without so much as hearing that there used to be laws of morality, or religion, that authorities existed. They grow up in ideas of negation in everything - in other words, utter savages."
Atheist quotes
Atheist
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Atheist quotes (page 33 of 93)
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"I suppose I'm a lapsed Catholic. You would consider me an atheist or agnostic."
"Somehow one can never manage to be an atheist."
"Even in an empire of atheists the dead man is always sacred."
"There are arguments for atheism, and they do not depend, and never did depend, upon science. They are arguable enough, as far as they go, upon a general survey of life; only it happens to be a superficial survey of life."
"When a man ceases to believe in god, he does not believe in nothing. He believes in everything."
"The worst moment for an atheist is when he feels a profound sense of gratitude and has no one to thank."
"The atheist is not interested in anything except attacks on atheism."
"There is no bigot like the atheist."
"It is still bad taste to be an avowed atheist. But now it is equally bad taste to be an avowed Christian."
"To a born-again atheist like myself, it is clear that each of us has multiple selves, talents, perceptions. But to the Roman Catholic, unity is all."
"Of course his dust would be absorbed in other living things and to that degree at least he would exist again, though it was plain enough that the specific combination which was he would never exist again."
"...if you ask me whether or not I'm an atheist, I wouldn't even answer. I would first want an explanation of what it is that I'm supposed not to believe in, and I've never seen an explanation."
"I do not see why the schoolmaster should be taxed to support the priest, and not the priest the schoolmaster."
"Hundreds of hysterical persons must confuse these phenomena with messages from the beyond and take their glory to the bishop rather than the eye doctor."
"If there were gods, how could I endure not to be a god? Therefore there are no gods."
"He who lives as children live - who does not struggle for his bread and does not believe that his actions possess any ultimate significance - remains childlike."
"The last Christian died on a cross."
"Historical refutation as the definitive refutation.- In former times, one sought to prove that there is no God - today one indicates how the belief that there is a God arose and how this belief acquired its weight and importance: a counter-proof that there is no God thereby becomes superfluous.- When in former times one had refuted the 'proofs of the existence of God' put forward, there always remained the doubt whether better proofs might not be adduced than those just refuted: in those days atheists did not know how to make a clean sweep."
"As is well known, the priests are the most evil enemies—but why? Because they are the most impotent. It is because of their impotence that in them hatred grows to monstrous and uncanny proportions, to the most spiritual and poisonous kind of hatred. The truly great haters in world history have always been priests; likewise the most ingenious haters: other kinds of spirit hardly come into consideration when compared with the spirit of priestly vengefulness."