Good quotations

Page 3

◆ Though I obviously have no proof of this, the one aspect of life that seems clear to me is that good people do whatever they believe is the right thing to do. Being virtuous is hard, not easy. The idea of doing good things simply because you're good seems like a zero-sum game; I'm not even sure those actions would still qualify as 'good,' since they'd merely be a function of normal behavior. Regardless of what kind of god you believe in--a loving god, a vengeful god, a capricious god, a snooty beret-wearing French god, or whatever--one has to assume that you can't be penalized for doing the things you believe to be truly righteous and just. Certainly, this creates some pretty glaring problems: Hitler may have thought he was serving God. Stalin may have thought he was serving God (or something vaguely similar). I'm certain Osama bin Laden was positive he was serving God. It's not hard to fathom that all of those maniacs were certain that what they were doing was right. Meanwhile, I constantly do things that I know are wrong; they're not on the same scale as incinerating Jews or blowing up skyscrapers, but my motivations might be worse. I have looked directly into the eyes of a woman I loved and told her lies for no reason, except that those lies would allow me to continue having sex with another woman I cared about less. This act did not kill 20 million Russian peasants, but it might be more 'diabolical' in a literal sense. If I died and found out I was going to hell and Stalin was in heaven, I would note the irony, but I couldn't complain. I don't make the fucking rules.

- Chuck Klosterman99

◆ People who cease to believe in God or goodness altogether still believe in the devil... Evil is always possible. And goodness is eternally difficult.

- Anne Rice99

◆ Most good things have been said far too many times and just need to be lived.

- Shane Claiborne99

◆ When good people consider you the bad guy, you develop a heart to help the bad ones. You actually understand them.

- Criss Jami99

◆ We need not take refuge in supernatural gods to explain our saints and sages and heroes and statesmen, as if to explain our disbelief that mere unaided human beings could be that good or wise.

- Abraham Maslow99

◆ Friendship is like peeing on yourself: everyone can see it, but only you get the warm feeling that it brings.

- Robert Bloch99

◆ There are only two forces at work in this world- black and white. Only people are grey.

- Chris Heimerdinger99

◆ Some are born virtuous, some become virtuous. To be good by nature is indeed fortunate but to become good is like walking on a double-edged sword; it takes a longer time and is more painful.

- Umera Ahmed99

◆ Hell wasn't a major reservoir of evil, any more then Heaven, in Crowley's opinion, was a fountain of goodness; they were just sides in the great cosmic chess game. Where you found the real McCoy, the real grace and the real heart-stopping evil, was right inside the human mind.

- Terry Pratchett99

◆ It was the moment I realized what music can do to people, how it can make you hurt and feel so good all at once.

- Nina LaCour99

◆ One of the main reasons that we lose our enthusiasm in life is because we become ungrateful..we let what was once a miracle become common to us. We get so accustomed to his goodness it becomes a routine..

- Joel Osteen99

◆ It is not always the same thing to be a good man and a good citizen.

- Aristotle99

◆ I wanted movement and not a calm course of existence. I wanted excitement and danger and the chance to sacrifice myself for my love.

- Leo Tolstoy99

◆ The good times of today, are the sad thoughts of tomorrow.

- Bob Marley99

◆ If you can't make it good, at least make it look good.

- Bill Gates99