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Historically, the most dangerous men on earth were men of God…especially when their gods became threatened.
game theory is a field of mathematics that studies patterns in order to make predictions about the future.”
“Well, science and religion are not competitors, they’re two different languages trying to tell the same story. There’s room in this world for both.”
“the human brain is a binary system—synapses either fire or they don’t—they are on or off, like a computer switch. The brain has over a hundred trillion switches, which means that building a brain is not so much a question of technology as it is a question of scale.”
“If you’ve read my books,” Langdon’s voice continued, “you will have heard me use the term ‘God of the Gaps.’ That is to say, when the ancients experienced gaps in their understanding of the world around them, they filled those gaps with God.”
“Zeus’s followers were so resistant to giving up on their god that the conquering faith of Christianity had no choice but to adopt the face of Zeus as the face of their new God.”
“And so as a programmer, I have to ask myself: What kind of bizarre operating system would create such illogical output? If we could look into the human mind and read its operating system, we would find something like this.” Four words appeared in giant text overhead. DESPISE CHAOS. CREATE ORDER.
In my classroom, T > 0. For all inquiries where T = 0, please visit the Religion Department.
Nothing is invented, for it’s written in nature first. Originality consists of returning to the origin. —ANTONI GAUDÍ
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster.”
“Edmond said that if this seedpod theory were true, then the recipe that was sent to earth is probably only half-baked at the moment—not yet finished—meaning humans are not the ‘final product’ but instead just a transitional species evolving toward something else…something alien.”
“Professor,” he said with a chuckle, “Edmond Kirsch is not the first atheist in history to proclaim that ‘God is dead,’ nor will he be the last. Whatever it is that Mr. Kirsch has discovered, it will no doubt be debated on all sides. Since the beginning of time, the human intellect has always evolved, and it is not my role to impede that development. From my perspective, however, there has never been an intellectual advancement that has not included God.”
Observing your own brain in a bowl, you would not say, ‘That object is me.’ We are the sum of the interactions taking place within the mechanism.”
“So which is it? Does the universe prefer order? Or chaos?”
Edmond reappeared, now walking down a pathway toward the famed dome of Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “According to most physicists, the answer is chaos. Entropy is indeed king, and the universe is constantly disintegrating toward disorder. Kind of a depressing message.” Edmond paused and turned with a grin. “But today I’ve come to meet the bright young physicist who believes there is a twist…a twist that may hold the key to how life began.”
“May our philosophies keep pace with our technologies. May our compassion keep pace with our powers. And may love, not fear, be the engine of change.”
There is nothing more damaging for children than the loss of hope,
Love is from another realm. We cannot manufacture it on demand. Nor can we subdue it when it appears. Love is not our choice to make.
You may recall the words of our countryman Jorge Santayana—” “ ‘Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,’ ” Julián said, reciting the timeless aphorism from grade school.
People ask me all the time if I believe in God.” “And how do you reply?” “I reply with the truth,” he said. “I tell them that, for me, the question of God lies in understanding the difference between codes and patterns.”
‘If we all worshipped gravity, there would be no disagreements over which way it pulled.’
“Sometimes, all you have to do is shift your perspective to see someone else’s truth.”
Love is not a finite emotion. We don’t have only so much to share. Our hearts create love as we need it.
“Then let me ask you this famous question: Would you rather live in a world without technology…or in a world without religion? Would you rather live without medicine, electricity, transportation, and antibiotics…or without zealots waging war over fictional tales and imaginary spirits?”
