Anatoli Boukreev (1958-1997)

Mountains are not Stadiums where I satisfy my ambition to achieve, they are the cathedrals where I practice my religion...I go to them as humans go to worship. From their lofty summits I view my past, dream of the future and, with an unusual acuity, am allowed to experience the present moment...my vision cleared, my strength renewed. In the mountains I celebrate creation. On each journey I am reborn.

~ Anatoli Boukreev (1958-1997)

Godwin's Law

Godwin's Law: As a Usenet discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1.

~ Mike Godwin

Secularism and Democracy

Democracy demands that the religiously motivated translate their concerns into universal, rather than religion-specific, values. It requires that their proposals be subject to argument, and amenable to reason. I may be opposed to abortion for religious reasons, but if I seek to pass a law banning the practice, I cannot simply point to the teachings of my church or evoke God’s will. I have to explain why abortion violates some principle that is accessible to people of all faiths, including those with no faith at all.

~ Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States

Oskar Gröning on Holocaust Denial

"I would like you to believe me. I saw the gas chambers. I saw the crematoria. I saw the open fires. I was on the ramp when the selections took place. I would like you to believe that these atrocities happened because I was there."

~ Oskar Gröning on Holocaust denial

Frances Wright's Quote

I am not going to question your opinions. I am not going to meddle with your belief. I am not going to dictate to you mine. All that I say is, examine, inquire. Look into the nature of things. Search out the grounds of your opinions, the for and against. Know why you believe, understand what you believe, and possess a reason for the faith that is in you.

~ Frances Wright (1795-1852)
"Divisions of Knowledge" (1828)

Lao Tzu's Quotes

“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be”

~ Lao Tzu

John Lubbock's Quotes

“What we see depends mainly on what we look for.”

~ John Lubbock (1834-1913)

Perfection by Antoine de Saint Exupéry

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away."

~ Antoine de Saint Exupéry

Apathetic Agnosticism

“It is very important not to mistake hemlock for parsley; but not at all so to believe or not in God.”

~ Denis Diderot (1713 – 1784)

Hope

“Man can live about forty days without food,
about three days without water,
about eight minutes without air,
but only for one second without hope”

~ Unknown