D Steven Ledingham

“Words like “God” and “Allah” must go the way of “Apollo” and “Baal,” or they will unmake our world.”
― Sam Harris, The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason

“But we're here today to offer a different version of Yahweh's makeover, a different way of looking at this history. This is the story about how humans shaped God's image rather than the other way around. We're going to learn how the transformation of Abraham's god-of-armies to our God Almighty is the result of an evolutionary process, the powerful and inexorable forces known as "survival of the fittest." But it was cultural evolution, not biological evolution, that was at work, changing and improving Yahweh's image over the millennia. And it wasn't just Yahweh who was shaped by cultural evolution; these same forces created and refined all of our religious beliefs.”
― Craig A. James, The Religion Virus: Why We Believe in God: An Evolutionist Explains Religion's Incredible Hold on Humanity

“Why should I have to hide the fact that I don't believe there’s a supreme being? There’s no proof of it. There’s no harm in saying you’re an atheist. It doesn't mean you treat people any differently. I live by the Golden Rule to do unto others, as you'd want to be treated.

I just simply don't believe in religion, and I don’t believe necessarily that there’s a supreme being that watches over all of us. I follow the teachings of George Carlin. George said he worshipped the sun. He was a fellow atheist. I’m in good company … Albert Einstein, Mark Twain, Charles Darwin. It’s not like I’m not with good company and intelligent people. There have been some good, intelligent atheists who have lived in the world.”
― Jesse Ventura

“Microbiology and meteorology now explain what only a few centuries ago was considered sufficient cause to burn women to death.”
― Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark