Western Religion Quotes

“A wide and vague impression exists that so-called Eastern religion is more contemplative, innocuous, and humane than the proselytizing monotheisms of the West. Don't believe a word of this: try asking the children of Indochina who were dumped by their parents for inherited deformities that were attributed to sins in a previous 'life.”
― Christopher Hitchens

“Monotheism exhibits what is essentially a pathological personality pattern projected onto the ideal of God: the pattern of the paranoid, possessive, power-obsessed male ego. This God is not someone you would care to invite to a garden party. Also interesting is that the Western ideal is the only formulation of deity that has no relationship with woman at any point in the theological myth. In ancient Babylon Anu was paired with his consort Inanna; Grecian religion assigned Zeus a wife, many consorts, and daughters. These heavenly pairings are typical. Only the god of Western civilization has no mother, no sister, no female consort, and no daughter.”
― Terence McKenna, Food of the Gods: The Search for the Original Tree of Knowledge

“Religion in (the US) is so focused on fighting science and these compelling atheist voices that your preachers have lost track of what religion is really about. In... - the Eastern Church - and in Eastern religions like Buddhism and Hinduism, religion isn't there to offer theories or explanation. We accept that the divine is unknowable.....for a lot of rational people..., it's become a choice. Fact or faith. Science or religion....You shouldn't have to choose.”
― Raymond Khoury, The Sign