Christopher Hitchens

"The beautiful thing about atheism is that there is no final exam, no eternal consequences, just this life."

"One cannot simultaneously believe in free will and predestination without embracing incoherence."

"The worst arguments for a position are usually made by those who hold it most strongly."

"If you want to understand a man's religion, look at his enemies, not his friends."

"The person who says 'I am just asking questions' usually already knows what answers he wants."

"One should be suspicious of any ideology that requires you to suppress your doubts."

"The majority has never been right in the history of human thought."

"If your moral instincts are really derived from God, what is the point of prayer and scripture?"

"The most common form of tyranny is the tyranny of mediocrity."

"One cannot love a person without respecting their autonomy."

"The future is unwritten, and that is either terrifying or liberating depending on your perspective."

"Those who sacrifice freedom for security deserve neither."

"The problem is not that people have faith; the problem is what they do with their faith."

"One should never forget that politics is about who gets what, when, and how."

"The person who tells you not to think about something has already told you it is worth thinking about."

"If you want to see what an ideology really is, remove its defenders."

"The hardest thing in the world is to think clearly about an issue that really matters to you."

"One cannot claim both freedom of speech and freedom from criticism for that speech."

"The person who has never had a doubt about his fundamental beliefs has never really examined them."

"Cleanliness is not next to godliness; it is often next to impoverishment."

"The person who says 'I am just being honest' usually means 'I am being cruel and calling it truth.'"

"If you can persuade someone with evidence, they will remain persuaded when confronted with contrary evidence."

"The role of the intellectual is to speak truth to power, not to whisper it in private."

"One cannot simultaneously believe that God is good and that He permits innocent suffering without contradiction."

"The person who claims to love humanity in general usually dislikes people in particular."

"To live is to choose, and to choose is to exclude other possibilities."

"The worst form of sentimentality is to mourn the past while defending the present."

"One should always be suspicious of the person who claims to have sacrificed everything for his beliefs."

"If reason and faith were compatible, there would be no need to choose between them."

"The person who has never changed his mind probably has never had a new thought."