Wise Words
Faith/Religion
“Faith without reason leads to superstition. Reason without faith leads to cynicism.”
Anonymous
“Faith has to do with things that are not seen, and hope with things that are not in hand.”
St. Thomas Aquinas, (1225–1274), Roman Catholic priest, philosopher, & theologian
“Faith is a continuation of reason.”
William Adams, (1564–1620), English navigator & explorer
“Faith is to believe what we do not see; and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe.”
St. Augustine, (354–430), Bishop of Hippo Regius, philosopher, & theologian
“Atheism is rather in the lip than in the heart of man.”
Francis Bacon, (1561–1626), English philosopher, statesman, scientist, lawyer, jurist, & author
“All things are possible to him who believes.”
Bible, Mark 9:23
“Faith is not being sure where you’re going but going anyway.”
Frederick Buechner, American Presbyterian minister, theologian, & writer
“Believe in something larger than yourself.”
Barbara Bush, wife of the 41st & mother of the 43rd Presidents of the US
“You shouldn’t fear a religious person.” (Ladies Home Journal, October 2003, p. 134)
George W. Bush, 43rd President of the US
“Faith is the daring of the soul to go farther than it can see.”
William Newton Clarke, (1840-1912), Baptist theologian
“There are no atheists in the foxholes.”
William Thomas Cummings, (1924–2006), Christian clergyman
“Religion consists in the simple feeling of a relationship of dependence upon something above us and a desire to establish relations with this mysterious power.”
Miguel de Unamuno, (1864–1936) Spanish essayist, novelist, poet, playwright, & philosopher
“Man … is a being born to believe.”
Benjamin Disraeli, (1804–1881), British Prime Minister, statesman, & author
“Science has sometimes been said to be opposed to faith, and inconsistent with it. But all science, in fact, rests on a basis of faith, for it assumes the permanence and uniformity of natural laws—a thing which can never be demonstrated.”
Tryon Edwards, (1809–1894 ), American theologian
“Science without religion is lame; religion without science is blind.”
Albert Einstein, (1879–1955), German-born American theoretical physicist
“You say, there is no religion now. ’Tis like saying, in rainy weather, there is no sun.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson, (1803–1882), American essayist, philosopher, & poet
“Faith is much better than belief. Belief is when someone else does the thinking.”
R. Buckminster Fuller, (1895–1983), American architect, author, inventor, & visionary
“Faith does not contradict reason but transcends it.”
Mohandas Gandhi, (1869–1948), major political and spiritual leader of India
“I have been experimenting with myself and my friends by introducing religion into politics. Let me explain what I mean by religion… It is the permanent element in human nature which counts no cost too great in order to find full expression and which leaves the soul utterly restless until it has found itself, known its Maker and appreciated the true correspondence between the Maker and itself.”
Mohandas Gandhi, (1869–1948), major political and spiritual leader of India
“Faith is the function of the heart.”
Mohandas Gandhi, (1869–1948), major political and spiritual leader of India
“Spirituality is to religion as justice is to law.”
Richard M. Gross
“America's founding fathers did not intend to take religion out of education. Many of the nation's greatest universities were founded by evangelists and religious leaders; but many of these have lost the founders concept and become secular institutions. Because of this attitude, secular education is stumbling and floundering.”
Billy Graham, American evangelist
“That religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence; and therefore all men are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates of conscience; and that is the mutual duty of all to practice Christian forbearance, love, and charity towards each other.”
Patrick Henry, (1736–1799), American revolutionary leader & governor of Virginia
“Religion begins with a consciousness that something is asked of us.”
Abraham Joshua Heschel, (1907–1972) Warsaw-born American rabbi
“Some things have to be believed to be seen.”
Ralph Hodgson, (1871–1962), English poet
“It’s faith in something and enthusiasm for something that makes life worth living.”
Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., (1841–1935), American jurist
“Give us a religion that will help us to live—we can die without assistance.”
Elbert Hubbard, (1856–1915), American writer, publisher, artist, & philosopher
“True faith is belief in the reality of absolute values.”
William Ralph Inge, (1860–1954), English author, Anglican priest, & Cambridge professor
“It is in our lives, and not from our words, that our religion must be read.”
Thomas Jefferson, (1743–1826), 3rd President of the US
“Science deals mainly with facts; religion deals mainly with values. The two are not rivals. They are complementary.”
Martin Luther King, Jr., (1929–1968), American clergyman, activist, & civil rights leader
“Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it.”
Abraham Lincoln, (1809–1865), 16th President of the US
“Religion is a set of social and political institutions and spirituality is a private pursuit which may or may not take place in a church setting.”
D. Patrick Miller
“The spiritual life does not remove us from the world but leads us deeper into it.”
Henri J.M. Nouwen, (1932–1996), Dutch-born Catholic priest & writer
“Every religion is good that teaches man to be good; and I know of none that instructs him to be bad.”
Thomas Paine, (1737–1809), pamphleteer, revolutionary, inventor, & intellectual
“I believe in one God and no more, and I hope for happiness beyond this life. I believe in the equality of man; and I believe that religious duties consist in doing justice, loving mercy, and endeavoring to make our fellow creatures happy.”
Thomas Paine, (1737–1809), pamphleteer, revolutionary, inventor, & intellectual
“Anybody who has been seriously engaged in scientific work of any kind realizes that over the entrance to the gates of the temple of science are written the words: Ye must have faith. It is a quality which the scientist cannot dispense with.”
Max Planck, (1858–1947), German physicist
“We are twice armed if we fight with faith.”
Plato, (428/427 BC–348/347 BC), Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, & writer
“Science is not only compatible with spirituality; it is a profound source of spirituality.”
Santayana, George: “Religion in its humility restores man to his only dignity, the courage to live by grace.”
Carl Sagan, (1934–1996), American astronomer, astrochemist, & author
“There is only one religion, though there are a hundred versions of it.”
George Bernard Shaw, (1856–1950), Irish playwright
“Faith is the subtle chain which binds us to the infinite.”
Elizabeth Oakes Smith, (1806–1893), American poet, writer, editor, & lecturer
“When you get to the end of all the light you know and it's time to step into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing that one of two things shall happen: either you will be given something solid to stand on, or you will be taught how to fly.”
Edward Teller, (1908–2003), Hungarian-American theoretical physicist
“Believing where we cannot prove.”
Alfred Lord Tennyson, (1809–1892), Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom
“’Tis not the dying for a faith that’s so hard, Master Harry—every man of every nation has done that—’tis the living up to it that’s difficult.”
William Makepeace Thackeray, (1811–1863), English novelist
“True religion [is] right belief and right feeling taking effect in right action. Without right action, right feeling and right belief have no virtue in them.”
Arnold J. Toynbee, (1889–1975), British historian
“It was the schoolboy who said, ‘Faith is believing what you know ain’t so.’”
Mark Twain, (1835–1910), American author & humorist
“If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him.”
Voltaire, (1694–1778), French Enlightenment writer, essayist, & philosopher
“Religion is as necessary to reason as reason is to religion. The one cannot exist without the other.”
George Washington, (1732–1799), Continental Army leader & 1st President of the US
“Whatever makes men good Christians, makes them good citizens.”
Daniel Webster, (1782–1852), American statesman
“Religion is… the calm bottom of the sea at its deepest point, which remains calm however high the waves on the surface may be.”
Ludwig Wittgenstein, (1889–1951), Austrian-British philosopher
“Don't try to tear down other people's religion about their ears, Build up your own perfect structure of truth, and invite your listeners to enter in and enjoy it's glories.”
Brigham Young, (1801–1877), American leader in the Latter Day Saint movement
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