„In cases which concern private revelations, it is better to believe than not to believe, for, if you believe, and it is proven true, you will be happy that you have believed, because our Holy Mother asked it. If you believe, and it should be proven false, you will receive all blessings as if it had been true, because you believed it to be true.“
Urban VIII.
235. Papst der katholischen Kirche 1568 - 1644Ähnliche Zitate
„Perhaps you see nothing wrong with believing the theory of evolution, even if it can't be substantiated. But remember - your information will govern your actions… If you believe evolution is true, and from that premise believe that the Bible is false, then you won't repent… If your faith is placed in evolution and not in God's promises, you will find that the object to which you have tied yourself will be your eternal downfall.“
— Ray Comfort New Zealand-born Christian minister and evangelist 1949
God doesn't believe in atheists (2002)
„You are sure to be happy again. To know this, which is certainly true, will make you some less miserable now. I have had experience enough to know what I say; and you need only to believe it, to feel better at once.“
— Abraham Lincoln 16th President of the United States 1809 - 1865
1860s, Context: In this sad world of ours, sorrow comes to all; and, to the young, it comes with bitterest agony, because it takes them unawares. The older have learned to ever expect it. I am anxious to afford some alleviation of your present distress. Perfect relief is not possible, except with time. You can not now realize that you will ever feel better. Is not this so? And yet it is a mistake. You are sure to be happy again. To know this, which is certainly true, will make you some less miserable now. I have had experience enough to know what I say; and you need only to believe it, to feel better at once.
Letter to Fanny McCullough (23 December 1862); Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, edited by Roy P. Basler
„If, doubting God's words, you believe this Grant to be false, it will indeed be false. Yet, if you truly believe that you have received this Grant from the Parent and do just as God says, you will be blessed, regardless of whether there is usually good or bad in your mind. The bad will appear elsewhere. In the case of childbirth, you will be blessed with a rapid and easy delivery if you just discard doubt from your mind and follow the teachings of God. But if you harbor doubt and fear, even though there be no wrongdoing in your mind, then the wheel of fear will be set in motion and your fears will be borne out.“
— Nakayama Miki Founder of Tenrikyo 1798 - 1887
My Oyasama, From Yoshikazu Nakayama's biography of Miki, My Oyasama, vol. 2, p. 40–1.
„She lies like the moon lies, a different face every night, all but one of them false, and the one true face as barren and hard as stone. Why do you believe her?“
— Patricia A. McKillip, Winter Rose
Winter Rose (1996), Chapter 21, p. 211.
„What was that teacher trying to do?
That teacher was trying to break her spirit.
But why would school do that? So you could become someone like her parents and believe in the things they believe in. So you won’t believe in the things they don’t believe in. And believe you’re a happy person whose life has meaning. So you will go to your job and do whatever gross thing someone tells you to do and get drunk on Friday and Saturday nights and pay taxes and bills. That’s why.“
— Lisa Mason, buch Summer of Love
Summer of Love (1994), Chapter 4 “Foxy Lady” (pp. 81-82)
„Let me tell you, world,
I—do—not—believe!
If a thousand challengers lie beneath your feet,
Count me as number one thousand and one.I don't believe the sky is blue:
I don't believe in thunder's echoes;
I don't believe that dreams are false:
I don't believe that death has no revenge.“
— Bei Dao contemporary Chinese (PRC) avant garde poet 1949
The August Sleepwalker (1990), "The Answer" https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/50088/the-answer-56d22cd8d69d0, p. 33
„“Believe what you like. You'll be surprised how comforting it is.”
“I ask no comfort,” Taran replied, “but the truth, be it harsh or happy.”“
— Lloyd Alexander, The Chronicles of Prydain
The Chronicles of Prydain (1964–1968), Book IV: Taran Wanderer (1967), Chapter 1
„Can you be happy with the movies, and the ads, and the clothes in the stores, and the doctors, and the eyes as you walk down the street all telling you there is something wrong with you? No. You cannot be happy. Because, you poor darling baby, you believe them.“
— Katherine Dunn, buch Geek Love
Geek Love (1989)
„It is the natural tendency of the ignorant to believe what is not true. In order to overcome that tendency it is not sufficient to exhibit the true; it is also necessary to expose and denounce the false.“
— H.L. Mencken American journalist and writer 1880 - 1956
1920s, Context: It is the natural tendency of the ignorant to believe what is not true. In order to overcome that tendency it is not sufficient to exhibit the true; it is also necessary to expose and denounce the false. To admit that the false has any standing in court, that it ought to be handled gently because millions of morons cherish it and thousands of quacks make their livings propagating it—to admit this, as the more fatuous of the reconcilers of science and religion inevitably do, is to abandon a just cause to its enemies, cravenly and without excuse. It is, of course, quite true that there is a region in which science and religion do not conflict. That is the region of the unknowable.
The American Mercury (May 1926)
