I don't think it's possible to have a sense of tragedy without having a sense of humor.

The atheist proposition is the following - most of the time - it may not be said that there is no god; it may be said that there is no reason to think that there is one.

Terrorism works better as a tactic for dictatorships, or for would-be dictators, than for revolutionaries .

I think I write in a fairly self-confident manner.

The fragility of love is what is most at stake here—humanity's most crucial three-word avowal is often uttered only to find itself suddenly embarrassing or orphaned or isolated or ill-timed—but strangely enough it can work better as a literal or reassuring statement than a transcendent or numinous or ecstatic one.

Morality comes from humanism and is stolen by religion for its own purposes.

Thus, though I dislike to differ with such a great man, Voltaire was simply ludicrous when he said that if god did not exist it would be necessary to invent him. The human invention of god is the problem to begin with.