The Purpose Of Religion

I call him religious who understands the suffering of others.
( Mahatma Gandhi )

Above all else, guard your heart for it affects everything else you do.

I do not believe in God and I am not an atheist.
( Albert Camus )

And if there were a God, I think it very unlikely that He would have such an uneasy vanity as to be offended by those who doubt His existence.
( Bertrand Russell )

Human decency is not derived from religion.
It precedes it. 
( Christopher Hitchens )

Religion is excellent stuff for keeping common people quiet.
Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich.
( Napoleon Bonaparte )

I Had To Figure Out Who I Was.
I find it hard to believe I’ve just turned 33.
I mean honestly, I never thought that at 33 I’d be a two-time divorcee.
But ok, if that’s the path my life is going down, then I accept it.
There are many reasons why things don’t work out, and I think at some point you have to acknowledge that and work towards maintaining your own happiness.
You have to surround yourself with people who love you and want the best for you.
I call this process weeding my garden.
A year or so ago I went through all the people in my life and asked myself: Does this person inspire me, genuinely love me and support me unconditionally?
I wanted nothing but positive influences in my life.
I mean, why not live a good day everyday?
Now I’ve got to a place of real self-acceptance.
Before, I moved around so much and it was just about work and moving forward.
I had to figure out who I was.
I spent too many years over-analysing things and being too serious.
But I think that’s changed.
I’ve been incredibly lucky in my life to do something I love and I really appreciate that.
Now, I want to have a good time and have fun, because that’s what life’s all about, isn’t it?
( Mena Suvari )

If you can’t be yourself you’re doing something wrong.

I cannot believe in a God who wants to be praised all the time.
( Friedrich Nietzsche )

People Would Spit At Me In The Street.
When my first record came out, it was a big success.
It was everywhere and no one could escape it, to the point where I became an annoyance.
Horrible things were said about me.
Hateful slogans were painted on the walls outside my house.
People would spit at me in the street.
It got so bad that I would go out with a bag over my head.
It wasn’t a fun time.
I was fortunate to have parents who helped me through that difficult period.
They were always there for me with the right words.
Along with the belief in my singing and acting, it was my parents’ love that made me feel I could cope.
Without that I don’t think I’d have been strong enough to endure all the negativity.
( Vanessa Paradis )

A truth that’s told with bad intent beats all the lies you can invent.
( William Blake )

Bullying Is An Epidemic.
Bullying is an epidemic and it’s getting out of hand.
It can happen at school, the workplace or in a relationship.
People end their lives because of it.
( Roxanne Pallett )

A man who makes me laugh always stands a good chance.
( Emily Blunt )

I Don’t Like Blood.
In every day life I’m not very glamorous.
I’m pretty low-key.
I like to get dressed up and look pretty but it’s like a face I put on.
It’s fun for a while but then you go home and wash away all the glamour.
A woman likes to make an effort but I wouldn’t want to keep that up forever.
Sometimes I don’t feel sexy.
It’s not difficult for me to accept sexy icon roles now as I’m curvy and confident.
But in a couple of years it will be somebody else.
I won’t be as interesting that way.
I don’t like to pamper myself.
I like to veg out and watch movies at home.
I just love medical programmes.
Not the TV shows, the real ones about medical procedures.
I don’t like blood but I like medicine.
( Scarlett Johansson )

Forgive, O Lord, my little jokes on Thee, and I’ll forgive Thy great big one on me. 
( Robert Frost )

I Am Single And Happy.
No, I am not married.
I am single at the moment and happy.
I don’t think I have met my ideal man yet.
Sometimes you think you have, but I don’t think you know until you really know.
I haven’t given up on that, but I haven’t found the one.
( Tara Reid )

When I do good, I feel good.
When I do bad, I feel bad.
That’s my religion.
( Abraham Lincoln )

I Have A Fascination For Martial Arts.
I work with a group of people in LA who have unbelievable experience in martial arts.
They know I have studied it relentlessly for years and years.
So, when I’m not shooting, I’m working with them.
I’m absorbing and taking on board all the experience I can.
It’s great.
It’s a real passion.
That’s another reason I tend to gravitate to doing these films.
I really have a fascination for martial arts.
( Jason Statham )

I am 36 and loving it.
I wouldn’t want to go back to my twenties.
Some people have Botox and that’s great.
But hopefully I’ll be ok without it.
( Charlize Theron )

We live in a world that’s obsessed with reality TV and we use people’s tragedies as entertainment.
It takes more and more to shock us, but we still want more.
( Jennifer Lawrence )

Everyone else tries to understand but unless you have had that sinking feeling in your heart, you don’t.
( Rose Winfold )

Why Does The Universe Exist?
If we do discover a complete theory about our lives and all existing things it should in time be understandable in broad principle to everyone, not just a few scientists.
Then we shall all – philosophers, scientists, and just ordinary people – be able to take part in the discussion of the question of why it is that we and the universe exist.
If we find the answer to that, it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason, for then we would know the mind of God.
( Stephen Hawking )

I said,  “Be careful, I want you to come back but not in a box.”
He said, “I won’t, Mum, I’m not that stupid.”
( Monica Kershaw, whose son, Pte Christopher Kershaw, 19, was one of the soldiers killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan )

We all have a mind of our own, but sometimes it keeps listening to other people.
( Dion Felsrow )

If you want to do anything in life, get a good husband.
Forget being a successful business woman.
( Stella McCartney )

My Regular Reality Check.
I visit places like Ghana when I need my regular reality check.
I went there for the first time in 2009 with Unicef.
Meeting those vulnerable kids and their families was completely life-changing and eye-opening, a really humbling experience.
When I came home I realised I definitely had nothing to complain about in my life.
( Selena Gomez )

The theory of evolution is not a philosophy that advocates the ‘survival of the fittest’ (if indeed it is a philosophy at all) but an explanation of the process of evolution, from which the observation is made that “it is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change”.
( Hugh Barton )

If you stop 100 people in the street and ask if they believe in ghosts or an afterlife, most would say yes.
Sceptics are a tiny minority.
Most people on the planet are religious.
( Uri Geller )

We are part of a Holy universe, not its creators and not its rulers.
God has done the creating.
God does the judging,
And God waits for us to realise that.
( Len Firswood )

Do We Really Need Religion?
Religion has been a force for both good and bad.
The wickedness of religion are fairly clear-cut.
But would history be happier or unhappier with or without religion?
Would science have moved more quickly or more slowly without religion?
With no religion would people be sufficiently motivated to do good?
Have we made a mistake in thinking that the question of religion is the question of whether God exists or not?
Why can’t we have faith and believe in God or a Creator without belonging to any particular religion?
Would society get on without the help of religion, or would there be a breakdown of moral values?
( Rose Winfold )

Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee. 
( Augustine of Hippo )

In truth, there was only one christian and he died on the cross. 
( Friedrich Nietzsche )

The Purpose Of Religion.
The purpose of religion is not to build beautiful churches, temples or mosques, but to cultivate positive human qualities such as tolerance, generosity, kindness, empathy and love.
If you believe in God and lead a good life helping those who cannot help themselves, causing harm to no human and no creature, then you don’t need to be a member of any religion.
How you choose to live your life is far more important than the religion you choose to worship.
Make your life your religion and make the way you live your life the way you worship, and your God and your conscience will be in close harmony.
( Rose Winfold )

He – and if there is a God, I am convinced he is a he, because no woman could or would ever fuck things up this badly.
( George Carlin )

What if Earth be but the shadow of Heaven?
( John Milton )

Do not wait for the last judgment.
It comes every day.
( Albert Camus )

I Hope I Have That Desire In All That I Am Doing.
My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.
( Thomas Merton )