There is, in fact, no worldview more reprehensible in its arrogance than that of a religious believer: the creator of the universe takes an interest … - Sam Harris

las investigaciones indican que los mentirosos confían menos en aquellos a quienes mienten que si no les mintieran; y cuanto más dañinas son sus mentiras, menos confían en sus víctimas, e incluso menos les agradan. Parece que los mentirosos suelen despreciar a las personas a las que mienten para preservar su ego e interpretar que su conducta está justificada.

Once a person accepts the premises upon which most religious identities are built, the withdrawal of his moral concern from those who do not share these premises follows quite naturally.

Man is manifestly not the measure of all things. This universe is shot through with mystery. The very fact of its being, and of our own, is a mystery absolute, and the only miracle worthy of the name. The consciousness that animates us is itself central to this mystery and ground for any experience we may wish to call “spiritual.” No myth needs to be embraced for us to commune with the profundity of our circumstance. No personal God need be worshipped for us to live in awe at the beauty and immensity of creation. No tribal fictions need be rehearsed for us to realize, one fine day, that we do, in fact, love our neighbors, that our happiness is inextricable from their own, and that our interdependence demands that people everywhere be given the opportunity to flourish. The days of our religious identities are clearly numbered. Whether the days of civilization itself are numbered would seem to depend, rather too much, on how soon we realize this.