Quotes

“With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.”
- Steven Weinberg

I saw this great quote today. This is similar to how I've felt for most of my life. It's true that there is wisdom to be found everywhere, even in the most narrow-minded religions, but it seems that many religious people focus on dogma more than spirituality. Dogma does not apply properly in all situations. Add to this the fact that many people will use anything they can to convince people to do what they want them to do, and the fact that many religions contain a wide variety of conflicting ideas, and you quite often end up with evil people convincing good people to do evil things "because God commands it," or for similar made-up reasons.

The good people of the world are simply trying to do what they think will be truly beneficial for everyone. The evil people usually only care about themselves and their close friends and family, ie their own interests, or the destruction of things they hate. They often purposely mislead good people in order to convince them to do evil. Religion certainly has its good points, but this is one of its greatest weaknesses. There are a great number of evil people misusing its power.

Of course, by evil people, I mean people willing to do evil repeatedly in order to get what they want. Usually, the evil people who misuse religion think they are good people. Quite often, the greatest damage they do is to themselves, wielding the power of religion to convince themselves that some dark desire they have is the correct thing to do, rather than actually thinking it out and realizing that it would do more harm than good. Then they sometimes aggressively go around poisoning their family, friends, and anyone else they can convince to listen to them, with the same corrupted religious ideas that are eating away at their own souls.

To be aware of a single shortcoming in oneself is more useful than to be aware of a thousand in someone else.
The Dalai Lama

The truest greatness lies in being kind, the truest wisdom in a happy mind.
Ella Wheeler Wilcox

But what is happiness except the simple harmony between a man and the life he leads?
Albert Camus

What is the meaning of life? To be happy and useful.
The Dalai Lama

I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve it through not dying.
Woody Allen

Remember there's no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.
Scott Adams

He who wishes to secure the good of others, has already secured his own.
Confucius

There will be no end to the troubles of states, or of humanity itself, till philosophers become kings in this world, or till those we now call kings and rulers really and truly become philosophers, and political power and philosophy thus come into the same hands.
Plato

I believe that to meet the challenges of our times, human beings will have to develop a greater sense of universal responsibility. Each of us must learn to work not just for oneself, one's own family or nation, but for the benefit of all humankind. Universal responsibility is the key to human survival. It is the best foundation for world peace.
The Dalai Lama

Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.
Albert Schweitzer