Neither Are You

Do not be daunted
by the enormity
of the world's grief.
Do justly, now.
Walk humbly, now.
You are not obligated to complete the work,
but neither are you free
to abandon it.
--Pirke Avot 2:21 (Mishnah; the first text of the Jewish oral law)

Legs

I prayed for twenty years but received no answer until I prayed with my legs.
--Frederick Douglass

Concept

I'm a very hardline, angry atheist. Yet I am fascinated by the concept of devotion.
--Joss Whedon

Share

Anybody who wants religion is welcome to it, as far as I'm concerned--I support your right to enjoy it. However, I would appreciate it if you exhibited more respect for the rights of those people who do not wish to share your dogma, rapture, or necrodestination.
--Frank Zappa

Modesty

I suppose that one reason I have always detested religion is its sly tendency to insinuate the idea that the universe is designed with "you" in mind or, even worse, that there is a divine plan into which one fits whether one knows it or not. This kind of modesty is too arrogant for me.
--Christopher Hitchens

Tiny Piece

We try to connect. We try to find truth. We dream and we hope. And underneath all of these strivings, we are haunted by the suspicion that what we see and understand of the world is only a tiny piece of the whole.
--Alan Lightman

Ambiguity

The difference between theism and nontheism is not whether one does or does not believe in God. Theism is a deep-seated conviction that there's some hand to hold: if we just do the right things, someone will appreciate us and take care of us. Nontheism is relaxing with the ambiguity and uncertainty of the present moment without reaching for anything to protect ourselves.
--Pema Chödrön

Ceases

The day that this country ceases to be free for irreligion, it will cease to be free for religion.
--Justice Robert Jackson

Community

At its best, the primary achievement and consoling power of religion stems from community--a group of people bound by some commonality or another. We don't need religion--we need each other.
--Tundra New England

Decency

Human decency is not derived from religion. It precedes it.
--Christopher Hitchens

Throw Out

The history and purpose of science has been to supplant itself, throw out old paradigms as they reach a crisis and are supplanted by new ones. This never happens in theology.
--Kayle Clark

Exhale

We don't die inhaling, we exhale, we leave it all behind.
--Sam Jaeger

Fix

It's very hard to see us fixing the climate until we fix our democracy.
--Dr. James E. Hansen

Test

The test of the machine is the satisfaction it gives you. There isn't any other test. If the machine produces tranquility it's right. If it disturbs you it's wrong until either the machine or your mind is changed.
--Robert M. Pirsig

Opinions

It's tempting to believe that computers will be neutral and objective, but algorithms are nothing more than opinions embedded in mathematics.
--Cathy O'Neil

Be

Be obscure clearly.
--E.B. White