You donโt have to be brave or a saint, a martyr, or even very smart to be an atheist. All you have to be able to say is โI donโt knowโ.
Penn JilletteMy tolerance for crazy people is, I think, high a tolerance as you're ever going to find. I love being around David Allen Coe. I would have loved to hang out with Tiny Tim. I can listen to Sun Ra on a tape-recording rant.
Penn JilletteWe all have friends we love dearly that couldn't pass for human in a strict Turing test.
Penn JilletteBelieving there's no God stops me from being solipsistic. I can read ideas from all different people from all different cultures. Without God, we can agree on reality, and I can keep learning where I'm wrong. We can all keep adjusting, so we can really communicate.
Penn JilletteIf you believe that thereโs a heaven and hell and people could be going to hellโor not getting eternal life or whateverโand you think that, well, itโs not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward. . . . How much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize? How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?
Penn Jillette