"I would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong." -Bertrand Russell
7 Hypothetical Questions
In his book A Devil's Chaplain, Richard Dawkins developed the teapot theme a little further:
“The reason organized religion merits outright hostility is that, unlike belief in Russell's teapot, religion is powerful, influential, tax-exempt and systematically passed on to children too young to defend themselves. Children are not compelled to spend their formative years memorizing loony books about teapots. Government-subsidized schools don't exclude children whose parents prefer the wrong shape of teapot. Teapot-believers don't stone teapot-unbelievers, teapot-apostates, teapot-heretics and teapot-blasphemers to death. Mothers don't warn their sons off marrying teapot-shiksas whose parents believe in three teapots rather than one. People who put the milk in first don't kneecap those who put the tea in first.â€
The concept of Russell's teapot has been extrapolated into humorous, more explicitly religion-parodying forms such as the Invisible Pink Unicorn and the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
"In all affairs it's a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted." -Bertrand Russell
Why Religion is Delusional
"So far as I can remember, there is not one word in the Gospels in praise of intelligence." -Bertrand Russell
More on the Celestial Teapot
"A stupid man's report of what a clever man says can never be accurate, because he unconsciously translates what he hears into something he can understand." -Bertrand Russell
Dawkins on the Teapot
"Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric." -Bertrand Russell
Why I'm a Strong Atheist
"In the part of this universe that we know there is great injustice, and often the good suffer, and often the wicked prosper, and one hardly knows which of those is the more annoying." -Bertrand Russell