That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which it may be said, “See, this is new”? It has already been in ancient times before us. There is no remembrance of former things, Nor […]
[Read more →]
Tags:change·History Repeating·Quotes·The Bible
(Long couldn’t be blamed for corruption in his machine as) “Even Jesus Christ had one apostle who had gone wrong.”
[Read more →]
Tags:Corruption·Guilt by Association·Politics·us politics
In some places I have seen women who put a piece of cloth or a towel or something like it over their heads to hide their faces, and who turn their backs or huddle themselves on the ground when a man passes by,” Kemal (Ataturk) said in one speech. “What are the meaning and sense […]
[Read more →]
“For everything in the world—for civilization, for life, for success—the truest guide is knowledge and science,” Atatürk declared in one famous speech.
[Read more →]
Tags:atheism·enlightenment·Rationalism·religion·science·Turkey
‘When the existence of the Church is threatened, she is released from the commandments of morality. With unity as the end, the use of every means is sanctified, even cunning, treachery, violence, simony, prison, death. For all order is for the sake of the community, and the individual must be sacrificed to the common good.’ […]
‘As soon as you appeared on this roof you made yourself ridiculous. It was your tone of voice. You spoke your words as though you denied the very existence of the shadows or of evil. Think, now: where would your good be if there were no evil and what would the world look like without […]
[Read more →]
‘Unhappy poet! But it’s your own fault, my dear fellow. You shouldn’t have treated him so carelessly and rudely. Now you’re paying for it. You should be thankful that you got off comparatively lightly.’ ‘But who on earth is he?’ asked Ivan, clenching his fists in excitement. The visitor stared at Ivan and answered with […]
[Read more →]
It’s difficult to take oneself with sufficient seriousness to begin any sentence with the words “Thou shalt not.” But who cannot summon the confidence to say: Do not condemn people on the basis of their ethnicity or color. Do not ever use people as private property. Despise those who use violence or the threat of […]
[Read more →]
Tags:atheism·Christianity·morality·religion
I am trying my best not to view things through a smug later prism. Only the Almighty can scan matters sub specie aeternitatis: from the viewpoint of eternity. One must also avoid cultural and historical relativism: There’s no point in retroactively ordering the Children of Israel to develop a germ theory of disease (so as […]
[Read more →]
Tags:atheism·Christianity·morality·religion
As for (Commandment) Number Five, by all means respect for the elders, but why is there nothing (in the Ten Commandments) to forbid child abuse? (Insolence on the part of children is punishable by death, according to Leviticus 20:9, only a few verses before the stipulation of the death penalty for male homosexuals.) A cruel […]
[Read more →]