General Criticism
Charles Darwin used theology to show that in Darwin's opinion living organisms are not the way an intelligent designer would have made them. Therefore in Darwin's opinion theology supports natural selection. Steven Dilley, a philosopher of science educated at Arizona State University claims the above.
Charles Bradlaugh believed theology prevented human beings achieving liberty. Bradlaugh noted theologians of his time stated that modern scientific research contradicted sacred scriptures therefore the scriptures must be wrong.
Robert G. Ingersoll stated that when theologians had power the majority of people lived in hovels while a privileged few had palaces and cathedrals. In Ingersol's opinion science rather than theology improved people's lives. Ingersol maintained further that trained theologians reason no better than a person who assumes the devil must exist because pictures resemble the devil so exactly.
Mark Twain stated that several mutually incompatible religions claimed to be the True Religion and that people cut each the throats of others for following a different theology.
Famous quotes containing the words general and/or criticism:
“All the critics who could not make their reputations by discovering you are hoping to make them by predicting hopefully your approaching impotence, failure and general drying up of natural juices. Not a one will wish you luck or hope that you will keep on writing unless you have political affiliations in which case these will rally around and speak of you and Homer, Balzac, Zola and Link Steffens.”
—Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961)
“People try so hard to believe in leaders now, pitifully hard. But we no sooner get a popular reformer or politician or soldier or writer or philosopher—a Roosevelt, a Tolstoy, a Wood, a Shaw, a Nietzsche, than the cross-currents of criticism wash him away. My Lord, no man can stand prominence these days. It’s the surest path to obscurity. People get sick of hearing the same name over and over.”
—F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940)