"Science and religion are not at odds. Science is simply too young to understand."
"Whether or not you believe in God, you must believe this: when we as a species abandon our trust in a power greater than us, we abandon our sense of accountability. Faiths … all faiths … are admonitions that there is something we cannot understand, something to which we are accountable. With faith we are accountable to each other, to ourselves, and to a higher truth. Religion is flawed, but only because man is flawed. The church consists of a brotherhood of imperfect, simple souls wanting only to be a voice of compassion in a world spinning out of control."
"Nothing captures human interest more than human tragedy."
"You are confused because the Bible describes God as an omnipotent and benevolent deity…Omnipotent-benevolent simply means that God is all-powerful and well-meaning.”
I understand the concept. It’s just…there seems to be a contradiction.”
Yes. The contradiction is pain. Man’s starvation, war, sickness…”
Exactly!” Chartrand knew the camerlengo would understand. “Terrible things happen in this world. Human tragedy seems like proof that God could not possibly be both all-powerful and well-meaning. If He loves us and has the power to change our situation, He would prevent our pain, wouldn’t He?”
The Camerlengo frowned. “Would He?”
Chartrand felt uneasy. Had he overstepped his bounds? Was this one of those religious questions you just didn’t ask? “Well…if God loves us, and He can protect us, He would have to. It seems He is either omnipotent and uncaring, or benevolent and powerless to help.”
Do you have children, Lieutenant?”
Chartrand flushed. “No, signore.”
Imagine you had an eight-year-old son…would you love him?”
Of course.”
Would you let him skateboard?”
Chartrand did a double take. The camerlengo always seemed oddly “in touch” for a clergyman. “Yeah, I guess,” Chartrand said. “Sure, I’d let him skateboard, but I’d tell him to be careful.”
So as this child’s father, you would give him some basic, good advice and then let him go off and make his own mistakes?”
I wouldn’t run behind him and mollycoddle him if that’s what you mean.”
But what if he fell and skinned his knee?”
He would learn to be more careful.”
The camerlengo smiled. “So although you have the power to interfere and prevent your child’s pain, you would choose to show your love by letting him learn his own lessons?”
Of course. Pain is part of growing up. It’s how we learn.”
The camerlengo nodded. “Exactly."
I understand the concept. It’s just…there seems to be a contradiction.”
Yes. The contradiction is pain. Man’s starvation, war, sickness…”
Exactly!” Chartrand knew the camerlengo would understand. “Terrible things happen in this world. Human tragedy seems like proof that God could not possibly be both all-powerful and well-meaning. If He loves us and has the power to change our situation, He would prevent our pain, wouldn’t He?”
The Camerlengo frowned. “Would He?”
Chartrand felt uneasy. Had he overstepped his bounds? Was this one of those religious questions you just didn’t ask? “Well…if God loves us, and He can protect us, He would have to. It seems He is either omnipotent and uncaring, or benevolent and powerless to help.”
Do you have children, Lieutenant?”
Chartrand flushed. “No, signore.”
Imagine you had an eight-year-old son…would you love him?”
Of course.”
Would you let him skateboard?”
Chartrand did a double take. The camerlengo always seemed oddly “in touch” for a clergyman. “Yeah, I guess,” Chartrand said. “Sure, I’d let him skateboard, but I’d tell him to be careful.”
So as this child’s father, you would give him some basic, good advice and then let him go off and make his own mistakes?”
I wouldn’t run behind him and mollycoddle him if that’s what you mean.”
But what if he fell and skinned his knee?”
He would learn to be more careful.”
The camerlengo smiled. “So although you have the power to interfere and prevent your child’s pain, you would choose to show your love by letting him learn his own lessons?”
Of course. Pain is part of growing up. It’s how we learn.”
The camerlengo nodded. “Exactly."
"Religion is like language or dress. We gravitate toward the practices with which we were raised. In the end, though, we are all proclaiming the same thing. That life has meaning. That we are grateful for the power that created us."
"Faith is universal. Our specific methods for understanding it are arbitrary. Some of us pray to Jesus, some of us go to Mecca, some of us study subatomic particles. In the end we are all just searching for truth, that which is greater than ourselves."
"God answers all prayers, but sometimes his answer is 'no'."
"The media is the right arm of anarchy."
"Science tells me God must exist. My mind tells me I will never understand God. And my heart tells me I am not meant to."
"No good deed goes unpunished."
"It seemed there was always a close correlation between true believers and high body counts."
"Skepticism has become a virtue. Cynicism and demand for proof has become enlightened thought. Is it any wonder that humans now feel more depressed and defeated than they have at any point in human history? "
"Seek the goodness, become the goodness.D"
"Vittoria slipped off her robe. 'You've never been to bed with a yoga master, have you?"
"Fear cripples faster than any implement of war."
"One does not need to have cancer to analyze its symptoms."
"Mr. Langdon all questions were once spiritual. Since the beginning of time spirituality and religion have been called on to fill in the gaps that science did not understand. The rising and setting of the sun was once attributed to Helios and a flaming chariot. Earthquakes and tidal waves were the wrath of Poseidon. Science has now proven those gods to be false idols. Soon all gods will be proven to be false idols. Science has now provided answers to almost every question man can ask. There are only a few questions left and they are the esoteric ones. Where do we come from What are we doing here? What is the meaning of life and the universe? "
"Mr. Langdon, I did not ask if you believe what man says about God. I asked if you believed in God. There is a difference. Holy scripture is stories...legends and history of man's quest to understand his own need for meaning. I am not asking you to pass judgment on literature. I am asking if you believe in God. When you lie out under the stars, do you sense the divine? Do you feel in your gut that you are staring up at the work of God's hands?"
"Hardly. Faith is universal. Our specific methods for understanding it are arbitrary. Some of us pray to Jesus, some us go to Mecca, some of us study subatomic particles. In the end we are all just searching for truth, that which is greater than ourselves."
"Oh, this faithless world! Someone must deliver them. You. If not you, who? You have been saved for a reason. Show them the old demons. Remind them of their fear. Apathy is death. Without darkness, there is no light. Without evil, there is no good. Make them choose. Dark or light. Where is the fear? Where are the heroes? If not now, when?"
"faith does not protect you. medicine and airbags... those are the things that protect you. God does not protect you. Intelligence protects you. enlightenment. put your faith in something with tangible results. how long has it been since someone walked on water? modern miracles belong to science.. computers, vaccines, space stations... even the devine miracle of creation. Matter from nothing... in a lab. Who needs God? No! Science is God!"
"For centuries the church has stood by while science picked away at religion bit by bit. Debunking miracles. Training the mind to overcome the heart. Condemning religion as the opiate of the masses. They denounce God as a hallucination - a delusional crutch for those too weak to accept that life is meaningless. I could not stand by while science presumed to harness the power of God himself! Proof, you say? Yes, proof of science's ignorance! What is wrong with the admission that something exists beyond our understanding? The day science substantiates God in a lab is the day people stop needing faith!"
"Buddha had said:
"Each of us is a God. Each of us knows all. We need only open our minds to hear our own wisdom."
"Medicine, electronic communications, space travel, genetic manipulation . . . these are the miracles about which we now tell our children. These are the miracles we herald as proof that science will bring us the answers. The ancient stories of immaculate conceptions, burning bushes, and parting seas are no longer relevant. God has become obsolete. Science has won the battle."
"Cathedral terminology was like stage directions—totally counterintuitive."
"SCIENCE AND RELIGION ARE NOT ODDS.
SCIENCE IS SIMPLY TOO YOUNG TO UNDERSTAND."
"One does not need to have cancer to analyze its symptoms."
"Mr. Langdon all questions were once spiritual. Since the beginning of time spirituality and religion have been called on to fill in the gaps that science did not understand. The rising and setting of the sun was once attributed to Helios and a flaming chariot. Earthquakes and tidal waves were the wrath of Poseidon. Science has now proven those gods to be false idols. Soon all gods will be proven to be false idols. Science has now provided answers to almost every question man can ask. There are only a few questions left and they are the esoteric ones. Where do we come from What are we doing here? What is the meaning of life and the universe? "
"Mr. Langdon, I did not ask if you believe what man says about God. I asked if you believed in God. There is a difference. Holy scripture is stories...legends and history of man's quest to understand his own need for meaning. I am not asking you to pass judgment on literature. I am asking if you believe in God. When you lie out under the stars, do you sense the divine? Do you feel in your gut that you are staring up at the work of God's hands?"
"Hardly. Faith is universal. Our specific methods for understanding it are arbitrary. Some of us pray to Jesus, some us go to Mecca, some of us study subatomic particles. In the end we are all just searching for truth, that which is greater than ourselves."
"Oh, this faithless world! Someone must deliver them. You. If not you, who? You have been saved for a reason. Show them the old demons. Remind them of their fear. Apathy is death. Without darkness, there is no light. Without evil, there is no good. Make them choose. Dark or light. Where is the fear? Where are the heroes? If not now, when?"
"faith does not protect you. medicine and airbags... those are the things that protect you. God does not protect you. Intelligence protects you. enlightenment. put your faith in something with tangible results. how long has it been since someone walked on water? modern miracles belong to science.. computers, vaccines, space stations... even the devine miracle of creation. Matter from nothing... in a lab. Who needs God? No! Science is God!"
"For centuries the church has stood by while science picked away at religion bit by bit. Debunking miracles. Training the mind to overcome the heart. Condemning religion as the opiate of the masses. They denounce God as a hallucination - a delusional crutch for those too weak to accept that life is meaningless. I could not stand by while science presumed to harness the power of God himself! Proof, you say? Yes, proof of science's ignorance! What is wrong with the admission that something exists beyond our understanding? The day science substantiates God in a lab is the day people stop needing faith!"
"Buddha had said:
"Each of us is a God. Each of us knows all. We need only open our minds to hear our own wisdom."
"Medicine, electronic communications, space travel, genetic manipulation . . . these are the miracles about which we now tell our children. These are the miracles we herald as proof that science will bring us the answers. The ancient stories of immaculate conceptions, burning bushes, and parting seas are no longer relevant. God has become obsolete. Science has won the battle."
"Cathedral terminology was like stage directions—totally counterintuitive."
"SCIENCE AND RELIGION ARE NOT ODDS.
SCIENCE IS SIMPLY TOO YOUNG TO UNDERSTAND."
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