One thing you learn doing magic tricks for a living is how close every performance of every magic trick is to disaster. There are no robust magic tricks. They're all hanging from a thread - sometimes literally. Penn Jillette More Quotes by Penn Jillette More Quotes From Penn Jillette If every trace of any single religion were wiped out and nothing were passed on, it would never be created exactly that way again. There might be some other nonsense in its place, but not that exact nonsense. If all of science were wiped out, it would still be true and someone would find a way to figure it all out again. Penn Jillette atheismatheistmight If you believe that there’s a heaven and hell and people could be going to hell—or not getting eternal life or whatever—and you think that, well, it’s not really worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward. . . . How much do you have to hate somebody to not proselytize? How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that? Penn Jillette hatefaithlife Much better than the feeling of having things is the feeling of having earned things. Penn Jillette feelings People need to be fed, medicated, educated, clothed, and sheltered, and if we're compassionate we'll help them, but you get no moral credit for forcing other people to do what you think is right. There is great joy in helping people, but no joy in doing it at gunpoint. Penn Jillette compassionpeoplethinking We are only here for a little while, and our bodies belong to ourselves and no one else. Penn Jillette bodylittles Atheism is the absence of religion. We don’t really need atheism. We just need to get rid of religion. Penn Jillette atheismabsenceneeds If the bible were published as fiction, no reviewer would give it a passing grade. There are some vivid scenes and quotable phrases but there's no plot, no structure, a tremendous amount of filler and the characters are painfully one dimensional. Whatever you do, don't read the bible for a moral code. It advocates prejudice, cruelty, superstition and murder. Read it because we need more atheists. Penn Jillette atheistgivingcharacter In music, if you hit a wrong note, people forgive you. In magic when something goes wrong, the entire art is destroyed. Penn Jillette magicpeopleart Believing there is no God gives me more room for belief in family, people, love, truth, beauty, sex, Jell-O, and all the other things I can prove and that make this life the best life I will ever have. Penn Jillette atheistbelievesex You get no moral credit for forcing other people to do what you think is right. Penn Jillette creditpeoplethinking It's amazing to me how many people think that voting to have the government give poor people money is compassion. Helping poor and suffering people yourself is compassion. Voting for our government to use guns to give money to help poor and suffering people is immoral, self-righteous, bullying laziness. Penn Jillette bullyinggunthinking The first thing I said to myself on 9/11 was, 'There go our civil rights.' I found out by comparing notes later that George Carlin and I both said that at the exact same time. That's the first thing that popped into our head. Penn Jillette notesrightsfirsts Better to be uneducated than educated by your government. Penn Jillette uneducatededucatedgovernment Every time something really bad happens, people cry out for safety, and the government answers by taking rights away from good people Penn Jillette governmentrightspeople Everyone's goals are the same with very small differences. I mean, the goal of a socialist and the goal of a libertarian are exactly the same. The goals are happiness and security and freedom, and you balance those. Penn Jillette security-and-freedomdifferencesmean If you are doing something for reward or punishment, you do not have morality. Penn Jillette punishmentrewardsmorality If there's something you really want to believe, that's what you should question the most. Penn Jillette shouldwantbelieve Religion cannot and should not be replaced by atheism. Religion needs to go away and not be replaced by anything. Atheism is not a religion. It's the absence of religion, and that's a wonderful thing. Penn Jillette atheismgoing-awayneeds Only Atheists have morals, the religious have reward and punishment. That's not morality, that's sucking up. Penn Jillette punishmentatheistreligious Behaving morally because of a hope of reward or a fear of punishment is not morality. Penn Jillette punishmentrewardsmorality
