Each step is not too improbable for us to countenance, but when you add them up cumulatively over millions of years, you get these monsters of improbability, like the human brain and the rain forest. It should warn us against ever again assuming that because something is complicated, God must have done it.

I'm a sucker for nice religious leaders. I fall for it every time.

I mean it as a compliment when I say that you could almost define a philosopher as someone who won't take common sense for an answer.

My thoughts, my beliefs, my feelings are all in my brain. My brain is going to rot.

The universe doesn't owe you a sense of hope

What's wrong with being elitist if you are trying to encourage people to join the elite rather than being exclusive?

It is interesting to ask whether there's any general reason why being religious might make you do nice things or indeed nasty things. It's possible that people do nice things because they're religious. One reason might be they're hoping for a reward in Heaven, which is not a very noble reason.