‘Do to others as you would have them do to you’ (Luke 6:31)
"The man who killed Yitszhak Rabin said that, "God told him to do it." Most of us would not think much of that man's religion, or his God. When Jesus speaks, and teaches, he sets forth moral principles that recommend themselves as being universally apt."
"Many despise all religion because they have seen its perversions. Many good things are caricatured, but we ought not dismiss the genuine article for that reason. Take music, as an example. There is a cacophony abroad, that passes for music. Much of it gives music a bad name. But let us not reject all music because some of it is of poor quality. The same can be said of poetry. If the only poetry you have ever read was a piece of unsavory doggerel from the school yard, you might think ill of all poetry. But if you have read Keats, Cowper, or Grey you will know how enriching poetry can be."
"Aristotle said that the true character of something , should be judged by the highest that it can become. There is much bad religion, yet before one dismisses it altogether, he should consider religion as taught and lived by Jesus. 'Treat others as you would like to be treated yourself.' There is something utterly right about that principle. It puts high value on every human life. It consecrates humankind; giving to each one of an equal share in guarding its sanctity."
"This is... religion---that we can use and admire."