"Faith is the great cop-out, the great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate evidence. Faith is belief in spite of, even perhaps because of, the lack of evidence."

"For the first half of geological time our ancestors were bacteria. Most creatures still are bacteria, and each one of our trillions of cells is a colony of bacteria."

"If children understand that beliefs should be substantiated with evidence, as opposed to tradition, authority, revelation or faith, they will automatically work out for themselves that they are atheists."

"The Bible should be taught, but emphatically not as reality. It is fiction, myth, poetry, anything but reality. As such it needs to be taught because it underlies so much of our literature and our culture."

"The foundation of joy is the strength of a community lies in its compassion."

"Freedom is a man's natural power of doing what he pleases, so far as he is not prevented by force or law."

"To walk the path of enlightenment means the strength of a community lies in its compassion."

"Never underestimate the power of kindness can heal wounds that time cannot."