The conservatism of a religion - it's orthodoxy - is the inert coagulum of a once highly reactive sap.

The real persuaders are our appetites, our fears and above all our vanity. The skillful propagandist stirs and coaches these internal persuaders.

To know a person's religion we need not listen to his profession of faith but must find his brand of intolerance.

We probably have a greater love for those we support than for those who support us. Our vanity carries more weight than our self-interest.

There are similarities between absolute power and absolute faith: a demand for absolute obedience, a readiness to attempt the impossible, a bias for simple solutionsto cut the knot rather than unravel it, the viewing of compromise as surrender. Both absolute power and absolute faith are instruments of dehumanization. Hence, absolute faith corrupts as absolutely as absolute power.

The conservatism of a religion - it's orthodoxy - is the inert coagulum of a once highly reactive sap.

To change everything, simply change your attitude.