Famous Men Falsley Accused of Being "Atheist"

(Francis Bacon: ,critical in the development of the scientific method )

"It is true, that a little philosophy inclineth man's mind to atheism; but depth in philosophy brings about man's mind to religion: for while the mind of man looketh upon second causes scattered, it may sometimes rest in them, and go no further; but when it beholdeth the chain of them confederate and linked together, it must needs fly to Providence and Deity."

“They that deny a God destroy man's nobility; for certainly man is of kin to the beasts in his body; and, if he be not of kin to God by his spirit, he is a base and ignoble creature.”

“It is better to have no opinion of God at all, than such an opinion as is unworthy of him: for the one is unbelief the other is contumely; and certainly superstition is the reproach of the Deity.”

 Charles Darwin:

'In my most extreme fluctuations I have never been an atheist in the sense of denying the existence of God."

DOSTOEVSKY

“The beautiful is the ideal; with us as in civilized Europe, have long been wavering. There is in the world only one figure of absolute beauty: Christ. That infinitely lovely figure is, as a matter of course, an infinite marvel.”

(Sandoz, 1971, 42)

“I have formulated my creed, wherein all is clear and holy to me . . . I believe that there is nothing holier, deeper, more sympathetic, more rational, more manly, and more perfect than the Saviour; I say to myself with jealous love that not only is there no one else like Him, but there could be no one.”

(Sandoz, 46)

“No religion has brought the mystery of the need for atonement or expiation to so complete, so profound, or so powerful expression as Christianity.”

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN:

“God is immaterial; as He is invisible. He can, therefore, have no form. But from what we are able to perceive in His works we conclude that He is eternal, almighty, omniscient, and omnipresent. The Mighty One, He alone is free from all desire or passion. There is no greater than He . . . His mind is self-existent. He, the Almighty, is present in every part of space. His omniscience is self-inspiredincludes every other. Of His all-embracing attributes the greatest is omniscience. For there is no threefold kind of being--it is independent of everything--O God! Thou art the true, eternal, blessed, unchangeable light of all time and space. Thy wisdom apprehends thousands and still thousands of laws, and yet Thou ever actest of Thy free will, and to Thy honor. Thou wast before all that we worship. To Thee is due praise and adoration. Thou alone art the true . . . Thou, the best of all laws, the image of all wisdom, present throughout the whole world. Thou sustaineth all things.”

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN:

"Here is my creed. I believe in one God, Creator of the universe. That He governs it by His Providence. That He ought to be worshipped. That the most acceptable service we render to him is doing good to His children."

GALILEO:

“Holy Scripture and nature, are both emanations from the divine word: the former dictated by the Holy Spirit, the latter the observant executrix of God’s commands.” Therefore “…no truth discovered in Nature could contradict the deep truth of the Holy Writ.”

 “ When I consider what marvellous things men have understood, what he has inquired into and contrived, I know only too clearly that the human mind is a work of God, and one of the most excellent.” Yet the potential of the human mind “. . . is separated from the Divine knowledge by an infinite interval.” [xi]

“God could have made birds with bones of massive gold, with veins full of molten silver, with flesh heavier than lead and with tiny wings . . . He could have made fish heavier than lead, and thus twelve times heavier than water, but He has wished to make the former of bone, flesh, and feathers that are light enough, and the latter as heavier than water, to teach us that He rejoices in simplicity and facility.”[

“Whatever the course of our lives, we should receive them as the highest gift from the hand of God, in which equally reposed the power to do nothing whatever for us. Indeed, we should accept misfortune not only in thanks, but in infinite gratitude to Providence, which by such means detaches us from an excessive love of Earthly things and elevates our minds to the celestial and divine.”[, and His conception

 

“To the Lord; whom I worship and thank;

That governs the heavens with His eyelid

To Him I return tired, but full of living.”[xviii]

KANT:

"But if we ask who has so firmly established the laws of nature and who has limited its operations, then we will come to God as the supreme cause of the entirety of reason and nature."

"God created the world for his honor's sake because it is only through the obedience to his holy laws that God can be honored. For what does it mean to honor God? What, if not to serve him? But how can He be served? Certainly by trying to entice his favor by rendering him all sorts of praise. For such praise is best only a means for preparing our hearts to a good disposition. Instead, the service of God consists simply and solely in following his will and observing his holy laws and commands."
(Kant, 143)

"God's omnipresence is not local, but virtual. That is, God's power operates constantly and everywhere in all things."
(Kant, 151)

"God is the only ruler of the world. He governs as a monarch, but not as a despot; for He wills to have his commands observed out of love, and not out of servile fear. Like a father, he orders what is good for us, and does not command out of mere arbitrariness, like a tyrant. God even demands of us that we reflect on the reason for his commandments, and he insists on our observing them because he wants first to make us worthy of happiness and then participate in it. God' s will is benevolence, and his purpose is what is best. If God commands something for which we cannot see the reason, then this is because of the limitation of our knowledge, and not because of the nature of the commandment itself. God carries out his rulership of the world alone. For He surveys everything with one glance. And certainly he may often use wholly incomprehensible means to carry out His benevolent aims.                                                                                               

LEONARDO DA VINCI:

“I obey Thee, Lord, first for the love I, in all reason, owe Thee; secondly, because Thou can shorten or prolong the lives of men.” (Richter, 1970, 237)

"Thou, O God, sell us all good things at the price of labour." (Richter, 237)

“O admirable Justice, Thou First Mover; Thou hast not wished that any force should fail the order or quality of its necessary effects.” (Richter, 237)

“The body is subject to heaven and heaven to the Spirit.” (Richter, 238)

“You think that the body is a wonderful work. In reality this is nothing compared to the soul that inhabits in that structure...It is the work of God.” (Richter, 238)

“A lie is a terrible thing. Even if it spoke great things about God it would take away from God’s grace.” (Richter, 242)

“The works of God are appreciated best by other creators.” (Richter, 387)

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

(Last Will and Testament)

"In the name of God, I William Shakespeare...God be praised, do make and ordain this, my last will and testament in manner and form following. That is to say, first I commend my soul into the hands of God my Creator, hoping and assuredly believing, through the merits of Jesus Christ, my saviour, to be made partaker of eternal life, and my body to the earth whereof it is made."

SPINOZA:

(Spinoza had a great influence on Einstein. Einstein stated, in fact, that he believed in "Spinoza's God.")

"If this be denied, conceive, if possible, that God does not exist: then his essence does not involve existence. But this (by Prop. vii.) is absurd. "Of everything whatsoever a cause or reason must be assigned, either for its existence, or for its non-existence--e.g., if a triangle exist, a reason or cause must be granted for its existence; if, on the contrary, it does not exist, a cause must also be granted, which prevents it from existing, or annuls its existence. This reason or cause must either be contained in the nature of the thing in question, or be external to it. For instance, the reason for the non-existence of a square circle is indicated in its nature, namely, because it would involve a contradiction. On the other hand, the existence of substance follows also solely from its nature, inasmuch as its nature involves existence." (See Prop. vii.)

"But the reason for the existence of a triangle or a circle does not follow from the nature of those figures, but from the order of universal nature in extension. From the latter it must follow, either that a triangle necessarily exists, or that it is impossible that it should exist. So much is self-evident. It follows therefrom that a thing necessarily exists, if no cause or reason be granted which prevents its existence. "
"If, then, no cause or reason can be given, which prevents the existence of God, or which destroys his existence, we must certainly conclude that he necessarily does exist. If such a reason or cause should be given, it must either be drawn from the very nature of God, or be external to him--that is, drawn from another substance of another nature. For if it were of the same nature, God, by that very fact, would be admitted to exist. But substance of another nature could have nothing in common with God (by Prop. ii.), and therefore would be unable either to cause or to destroy his existence.
As, then, a reason or cause which would annul the divine existence cannot be drawn from anything external to the divine nature, such cause must, perforce, if God does not exist, be drawn from God's own nature, which would involve a contradiction. To make such an affirmation about a being absolutely infinite and supremely perfect, is absurd; therefore, neither in the nature of God; nor externally to his nature, can a cause or reason be assigned which would annul his existence. Therefore, God necessarily exists." Q.E.D.

"The potentiality of non-existence is a negation of power, and contrariwise the potentiality of existence is a power, as is obvious. If, then, that which necessarily exists is nothing but finite beings, such finite beings are more powerful than a being absolutely infinite, which is obviously absurd; therefore, either nothing exists, or else a being absolutely infinite necessarily exists also. Now we exist either in ourselves, or in something else which necessarily exists (see Ax. i. and Prop. vii.) Therefore a being absolutely infinite--in other words, God (Def. vi.)--necessarily exists"

                                                                 VOLTAIRE:

("Atheists see Voltaire as the ultimate infidel. He openly criticized both Catholics and Protestants as they entered various conflicts, and condemned religious hypocrisy firmly. This has led many to wrongly conclude that he was the enemy of God and religion. But this is totally wrong. All along Voltaire held a firm belief in God and as he moved toward old age he became a Christian." Parton, J. Life of Voltaire, Vol. II. Boston: Houghton, Mofflin and Company, 1884)

“We want a religion that is simple, wise, grand, worthy of God and made for us; in one word we want to serve God and men.” (Pomeau, 338)

“Let’s worship this great Being ... It is He who from all eternity arranged matter in the immensity of space.” (Pomeau, 339)

“(God)is the supreme being .He is unique, infinite, eternal, creator of the world.”(Pomeau, 385)

“What is true religion? Love God and your neighbor as yourself.” (Pomeau, 386)

“If God did not exist, everything would be allowed.” (Pomeau, 660)

“(Christ) consoles in secret the hearts He enlightens. In the greatest of trials, He offers them support.” (Pomeau, 661)

 “Praying means submitting.” (Pomeau, 662)

“If God would not exist, it would be necessary to invent Him.” (Parton, 1884, P. 554)

“But all nature cries to us that He exists, that there is a Supreme Intelligence, a power immense, an order admirable, and all teaches us our dependence.” (Parton, 554)

“I die, adoring God, loving friends, not hating my enemies and detesting superstitions.” (Parton, 577)

                                                   EINSTEIN :

( Not a Born Again, Christian but certainly NOT an Atheist)

“Strenuous labour and the contemplation of God’s nature are the angels which, reconciling, fortifying, and yet mercilessly severe, will guide me through the tumults of life.”

“I am not a family man. I want my peace. I want to know how God created this world. I am not interested in this or that phenomenon, in the spectrum of this or that element. I want to know His thoughts, the rest are details.”

“science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.”

"The scientist's religious feeling takes the form of a rapturous amazement at the harmony of natural law, which reveals an intelligence of such superiority that, compared with it, all the systematic thinking and acting of human beings is an utterly insignificant reflection."

(Iain, 1982, 57)

 Abraham Lincoln:
"Nevertheless, amid the greatest difficulties of my Administration, when I could not see any other resort, I would place my whole reliance on God, knowing that all would go well, and that He would decide for the right."

"All the good the Saviour gave to the world was communicated through this book. But for it we could not know right from wrong. All things most desirable for man's welfare, here and hereafter, are to be found portrayed in it. "

"I do not think I could myself, be brought to support a man for office, whom I knew to be an open enemy of, and scoffer at, religion."