Thus, there is no human nature, because there is no God to have a conception of it. Man simply is. Not that he is simply what he conceives himself to be, but he is what he wills, and as he conceives himself after already existing...as he wills to be after that leap towards existence.
Existentialism is a Humanism (1946)
Atheistic existentialism...declares with greater consistency that if God does not exist there is at least one being whose existence comes before its essence, a being which exists before it can be defined by any conception of it. That being is man or, as Heidegger has it, the human reality.
Existentialism is a Humanism (1946)
I used to think it was a terrible thing that life was so unfair. Then I thought, 'what if life were fair, and all of the terrible things that happen to us came because we really deserved them?' Now I take great comfort in the general unfairness and hostility of the universe.
Spoken by the character Marcus Cole on the television series Babylon 5
This site serves as an archive of quotations dealing with religion and philosophy. Specific topics covered include, but are not limited to: God, faith, reason, skepticism, atheism, agnosticism, fundamentalism, extremism. The quotes are chosen on the basis of my finding them interesting - regardless of whether I agree with them or not. This is by no means an exhaustive collection, although it does grow as I add quotes regularly.
Suggestions? Feel free to email me with quotations you think could be added. I can't guarantee that I will respond to each message and, please, be sure to include a full citation with each quote. There are a lot of sites out there that have many quotes without citations, thus preventing readers from being able to trace the authorship. I have very few of those and don't want any more, if I can help it.
Copyright © 2003 - 2004 by Austin Reed Cline