#mit

I was awakened by a tremendous earthquake, and though I hadn ever before enjoyed a storm of this sort, the strange thrilling motion could not be mistaken, and I ran out of my cabin, both glad and frightened, shouting, "A noble earthquake! A noble earthquake" feeling sure I was going to learn something. ↗

— John Muir

#earthquake #nature #yosemite #nature

Conformity—the natural instinct to passively yield to that vague something recognized as authority. ↗

— Mark Twain

#nature

Our government needs the church, because only those humble enough to admit they're sinners can bring democracy the tolerance it requires to survive ↗

— Ronald Reagan

#church #government #governments #religion #religion

A soft and sheltered Christianity, afraid to be lean and lone, unwilling to face the storms and brave the heights, will end up fat and foul in the cages of conformity. ↗

— Vance Havner

#comfort #conformity #religion #religion

Yes, Kālāmas, it is proper that your have doubt, that you have perplexity, for a doubt has arisen in a matter which is doubtful. Now, look you Kālāmas, do not be led by reports, or traditions, or hearsay. Be not led by the authority of religious texts, not by the delight in speculative opinions, nor by seeming possibilities, not by the idea: 'this is our teacher'. But, O Kālāmas, when you know for yourself that certain things are unwholesome, and wrong, and bad, then give them up... And when you know for yourself that certain things are wholesome and good, then accept them and follow them. ↗

— Gautama Buddha

#confusion #doubt #good-judgment #nonconformity #questioning

The problem with this generation is they are so quick to define who they are in the process of searching. It is their need for immediate acceptance that keeps them from exploring further. ↗

— Shannon L. Alder

#conformity #purpose #religion #religion

In the early days of the December that my father was to die, my younger brother brought me the news that I was a Jew. I was then a transplanted Englishman in America, married, with one son and, though unconsoled by any religion, a nonbelieving member of two Christian churches. On hearing the tidings, I was pleased to find that I was pleased. ↗

— Christopher Hitchens

#atheism #jews #religion #religion

I respect my limitations, but I don't use them as an excuse. ↗

— Stephen R. Donaldson

#i #limitations #respect #them #use

I am an average good Christian, when you don't push my Christianity too far. And all the rest of you—which is a great comfort—are, in this respect, much the same as I am. ↗

— Wilkie Collins

#commitment #integrity #respect

Come on, Rory! It isn't rocket science, it's just quantum physics! -The Doctor (Matt Smith) ↗

— Steven Moffat

#doctor-who #humour #matt-smith #the-god-complex #science