About the quotations

About the quotations on this site

"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."

- Aristotle

1. "I can't tell if a quote is by a believer or nonbeliever - why not indicate that?"

I have four reasons:

1) An argument or claimed insight should almost always stand or fall on its own merit, regardless of who said it.

2) It's not always clear what perspective the writer/speaker is coming from.

3) The writer/speaker might have since changed positions and may not want to be identified by their abandoned worldview.

4) By not revealing the presupposition of the writer/speaker, I want readers to really think about what is being said, and become used to discerning truth from error.

2. "You've used a quotation out of context."

Within the body of the articles, I've tried to place quotations of the same subject and context accurately. In cases where a quotation has been used slightly out of context, I've tried to plainly state so.

In the margins and lead-ins, however, the quotes are used more freely. Many quotations convey truisms or generalities that apply to a spectrum of subjects. Some pose an interesting contrast or parallel to an adjacent quote, event, or belief being discussed. Others are simply there for entertainment.

3. "I hate some of your quotes. Some contain outright lies!"

They sure do, but at least I can say those are someone else's lies, not mine. That's the context in which we live, isn't it? New York Times reporters making up interviews, CNN biasing their coverage to maintain access to hostile regimes, NBC faking truck explosions, Catholic priests caught in predatory homosexuality, a former president convicted of perjury, "No new taxes", WMDs...; we live in a world of deception.

Some of the quotes are admittedly offensive and irritating, but opposition and conflict is the battlefield of thoughts and ideas. I hope to slightly irritate the reader with some of these quotes because I believe our best arguments are forged in the fire of opposition. So if an opposing point of view is raising your blood pressure, there is probably something there from which you need to learn.

4. "Where did each quote come from?"

Quotations within articles largely came from books encountered in researching the subjects and are formally documented. I heard several of them firsthand. Other quotes, including many on the margins and lead-ins, came from books or websites purely devoted to quotations. To name any one site would likely credit it too much because I've used a wide variety of sources.

5. "But I've heard your quoted source contradict your citation!"

You may have, especially concerning words attributed to politicians. I quote several presidents and it would not surprise me if you found a completely contradictory statement by each one. Since politicians tend to say what their current audience likes to hear, their core beliefs can be very difficult to determine. Nevertheless, I quote them because of the position they attained and the effect their words consequently have, sincere or not (example).

As for non-political sources, people change. It could be that two contradictory opinions were each sincerely believed at the time each was said.

People also make mistakes and sometimes contradict themselves, even in print. In no case, however, have I knowingly invented or passed along a fabricated quote. Should you discover such an oversight, I will gladly revise or remove it.

6. "You've repeated some of the quotes."

Thank you for spending enough time in these articles to discover that!

While I have tried to avoid being repetitious, some quotations are just too thought provoking to display once. And I don't expect most readers will look at every page I've posted. The content you'll find here I had originally formatted as a 400 page book using well over 300 quotes, not including the repeats.

Thanks again for visiting this site. You may contact me by following a link on the main page.

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