This is my doctrine: Give every other human being every right you claim for yourself.
To hate man and worship God seems to be the sum of all the creeds.
Any doctrine that will not bear investigation is not a fit tenant for the mind of an honest man. Any doctrine that will not bear investigation is not a fit tenant for the mind of an honest man. Any man who is afraid to have his doctrine investigated is not only a coward but a hypocrite.
Every man should stand under the blue and stars, under the infinite flag of nature, the peer of every other man.
Courage without conscience is a wild beast.
Religion can never reform mankind because religion is slavery.
I want no heaven for which I must give my reason; no happiness in exchange for my liberty, and no immortality that demands the surrender of my individuality. Better rot in the windowless tomb, to which there is no door but the red mouth of the pallid worm, than to wear the jeweled collar of a god.
The greatest test of courage on earth is to bear defeat without losing heart.
Happiness is not a reward – it is a consequence. Suffering is not a punishment – it is a result.
Shakespeare has done far more for the world than the Bible.
Blasphemy is what an old dogma screams at a new truth.
The few have said, Think! The many have said, Believe! The first doubt was the womb and cradle of progress, and from the first doubt, man has continued to advance.
The church teaches us that we can make God happy by being miserable ourselves.