As science advances, belief in divine miracles and the efficacy of prayer becomes fainter and fainter. Even the weakest disputant is made so conceited by what he calls religion, as to think himself wiser than the wisest who thinks differently from him. The most pernicious of absurdities is that weak, blind, stupid faith is better than the constant practice of every human virtue. What Great Men Think of Religion, quoted from James A. Haught , ed. Every sect is a moral check on its neighbour.
Competition is as wholesome in religion as in commerce.
Stereotypes are the mind's shorthand for dealing with complexities. Their rationales are endowed with moral qualities. The telescope sweeps the skies without finding God. The political type is characterized by an intense craving for deference. Whether he attacks or defends social institutions is a secondary matter.