"A god's primary function is to confirm for us deeply held beliefs that we
can't let go of, even in the face of overwhelming evidence. When you are
totally and absolutely convinced of something fundamentally unreasonable,
it helps to believe you have divine guidance

The undoubted sign of a society well under control or in decline is that
language has ceased to be a means of communication and has become instead a
shield for those who master it."   John Ralston Saul, Voltaire's Bastards