Religion and science have a common ancestor - ignorance.

To believe something in the face of evidence and against reason - to believe something by faith - is ignoble, irresponsible and ignorant, and merits the opposite of respect.

A human lifespan is less than a thousand months long. You need to make some time to think how to live it.

To read is to fly: it is to soar to a point of vantage which gives a view over wide terrains of history, human variety, ideas, shared experience and the fruits of many inquiries.

If there is anything worth fearing in the world, it is living in such a way that gives one cause for regret in the end.

Humanism is the philosophy that you should be a good guest at the dinner table of life.

Religions survive mainly because they brainwash the young.

Look at the blogosphere - the biggest lavatory wall in the universe, a palimpsest of graffiti and execration.

Try lighting your house by prayer instead of electricity and see which one works.

And I say, the meaning of life is what you make it. There will be as many different meaningful lives as there are people to live them.

It takes a certain ingenuous faith - but I have it - to believe that people who read and reflect more likely than not come to judge things with liberality and truth.

If the novels are still being read in 50 years, no one is ever going to say: ‘What’s great about that sixth book is that he met his deadline!’ It will be about how the whole thing stands up.

I've always loved fantasy. I think it's a great way to look at issues that we have in our own lives with a little bit of the pressure off, you know.

A musician cannot move others unless he, too, is moved.

Fear of an enemy can often blind men to other hazards, not least the shape which they themselves make in the world.

Every breath, every heartbeat, was one less until maybe things stopped hurting this much.

My father always told me I should be a writer, and I found I loved writing my autobiography; writing is such an interesting process.

The fact is that ours is the only minority you can join involuntarily, without warning, at any time. And if you live long enough, as you're increasingly likely to do, you may well join it.

A true artist is an ugly man.

We live in an age of artificial scarcity, maintained by ignorance and fear.

An evangelical is somebody who, first of all, has a very high view of Scripture, believes it's an infallible message from God.