“Man’s morality was not advancing as fast as man’s science. Mankind was not spiritually evolved enough for the powers he possessed. We have never created a weapon we have not used!”

“Mr. Langdon all questions were once spiritual. Since the beginning of time spirituality and religion have been called on to fill in the gaps that science did not understand. The rising and setting of the sun was once attributed to Helios and a flaming chariot. Earthquakes and tidal waves were the wrath of Poseidon. Science has now proven those gods to be false idols. Soon all gods will be proven to be false idols. Science has now provided answers to almost every question man can ask. There are only a few questions left and they are the esoteric ones. Where do we come from What are we doing here? What is the meaning of life and the universe? ”

“Religion is like language or dress. We gravitate toward the practices with which we were raised. In the end, though, we are all proclaiming the same thing. That life has meaning. That we are grateful for the power that created us.”

“He thought about science, about faith, about man. he thought about how every culture, in every country, in every time, had always shared one thing. We all had the Creator. We used different names, different faces, and different prayers, but God was the universal constant for man. God was the symbol we all shared...the symbol of all the mysteries of life that we could not understand. The ancients had praised God as a symbol of our limitless human potential, but that ancient symbol had been lost over time. Until now.”

“We are creators, and yet we naively play the role of "the created." We see ourselves as helpless sheep buffeted around by the God who made us. We kneel like frightened children, begging for help, for forgiveness, for good luck. But once we realize that we are truly created in the Creator's image, we will start to understand that we, too, must be Creators. When we understand this fact, the doors will burst wide open for human potential.”

“The Bible did not arrive by fax from heaven. The Bible is the product of man, my dear. Not of God. The Bible did not fall magically from the clouds. Man created it as a historical record of tumultuous times, and it has evolved through countless translations, additions, and revisions. History has never had a definitive version of the book.”

“Lieutenant Chatrand: I don’t understand this omnipotent-benevolent thing.Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca: You are confused because the Bible describes God as an omnipotent and benevolent deity.Lieutenant Chatrand: Exactly.Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca: Omnipotent-benevolent simply means that God is all-powerful and well-meaning.Lieutenant Chatrand: I understand the concept. It’s just... there seems to be a contradiction.Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca: Yes. The contradiction is pain. Man’s starvation, war, sickness...Lieutenant Chatrand: Exactly! Terrible things happen in this world. Human tragedy seems like proof that God could not possibly be both all-powerful and well-meaning. If He loves us and has the power to change our situation, He would prevent our pain, wouldn’t he?Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca: Would He?Lieutenant Chatrand: Well... if God Loves us, and He can protect us, He would have to. It seems He is either omnipotent and uncaring, or benevolent and powerless to help.Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca: Do you have children?Lieutenant Chatrand: No, signore.Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca: Imagine you had an eight-year-old son... would you love him?Lieutenant Chatrand: Of course.Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca: Would you let him skateboard?Lieutenant Chatrand: Yeah, I guess. Sure I’d let him skateboard, but I’d tell him to be careful.Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca: So as this child’s father, you would give him some basic, good advice and then let him go off and make his own mistakes?Lieutenant Chatrand: I wouldn’t run behind him and mollycoddle him if that’s what you mean.Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca: But what if he fell and skinned his knee?Lieutenant Chatrand: He would learn to be more careful.Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca: So although you have the power to interfere and prevent your child’s pain, you would choose to show you love by letting him learn his own lessons?Lieutenant Chatrand: Of course. Pain is part of growing up. It’s how we learn.Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca: Exactly.”