#kept

He surprised me by his familiarity with details of movements and battles which I did not suppose had come to his knowledge. As he kept me talking for over half an hour, I flattered myself that what I had to say interested him. ↗

— Henry Villard

#come #details #did #familiarity #flattered

I had a very wise mother. She always kept books that were my grade level in our house. ↗

— Beverly Cleary

#books #grade #had #house #i

An atheist is someone who is certain that God does not exist, someone who has compelling evidence against the existence of God. I know of no such compelling evidence. Because God can be relegated to remote times and places and to ultimate causes, we would have to know a great deal more about the universe than we do now to be sure that no such God exists. To be certain of the existence of God and to be certain of the nonexistence of God seem to me to be the confident extremes in a subject so riddled with doubt and uncertainty as to inspire very little confidence indeed. ↗

— Carl Sagan

#antitheism #atheism #new-atheism #skepticism #inspirational

It all depends on what people you're talking about helping. That's the wonderful think about just about every religion on the planet - they're all so incredibly selfish. ↗

— Derek Landy

#cynicism #helping-others #perspective #religion #selfishness

The catchword I use with my classes is: The authority of the writer always overcomes the skepticism of the reader. ↗

— Nikki Giovanni

#authority #classes #i #overcomes #reader

People are not stupid. They believe things for reasons. The last way for skeptics to get the attention of bright, curious, intelligent people is to belittle or condescend or to show arrogance toward their beliefs. ↗

— Carl Sagan

#skepticism #intelligence

The views of the Earth are really beautiful. If you've ever seen a space IMAX movie, that's really what it looks like. I wish I'd had more time just to sit and look out the window with a map, but our science program kept us very busy in the lab most of the time. ↗

— David M. Brown

#busy #earth #ever #had #i

scepticism, as we know, can never be thoroughly applied, else life would come to a standstill ↗

— George Eliot

#life

Though one believes in nothing, there are moments in life when one accepts the religion of the temple nearest at hand. ↗

— Victor Hugo

#belief #in-the-foxholes #skepticism #life

Be aware of this truth that the people on this earth could be joyous, if only they would live rationally and if they would contribute mutually to each others' welfare. This world is not a vale of sorrows if you will recognize discriminatingly what is truly excellent in it; and if you will avail yourself of it for mutual happiness and well-being. Therefore, let us explain as often as possible, and particularly at the departure of life, that we base our faith on firm foundations, on Truth for putting into action our ideas which do not depend on fables and ideas which Science has long ago proven to be false. ↗

— Kurt Vonnegut

#clemens-vonnegut #freethinker #funeral #science #skeptic