If you have the guts to be yourself, other people'll pay your price.
John UpdikeRead
Among the repulsions of atheism for me has been its drastic un-interestingness as an intellectual position. Where was the ingenuity, the ambiguity, the humanity of saying that the universe just happened to happen and that when we're dead we're dead?
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses the author's disdain for atheism as a dull perspective on life and existence.
John Updike criticizes atheism for its perceived lack of depth and excitement in exploring the mysteries of life and the universe. He suggests that the idea of a random universe without purpose or afterlife is uninteresting and devoid of the very human qualities of creativity and wonder that make existence meaningful.
Themes
AtheismExistenceMeaningUniverseIntellectualHumanity
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about existentialism, this quote could highlight the importance of finding deeper meaning in life.
More from John Updike
All quotes βDost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that's the stuff life is made of. _x000D_ _x000D_ Suspect each moment, for it is a thief, tiptoeing away with more than it brings.
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Museums and bookstores should feel, I think, like vacant lots - places where the demands on us are our own demands, where the spirit can find exercise in unsupervised play.
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But it is just two lovers, holding hands and in a hurry to reach their car, their locked hands a starfish leaping through the dark.
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The reader knows the writer better than he knows himself; but the writer's physical presence is light from a star that has moved on.
John UpdikeRead
To guarantee the individual maximum freedom within a social frame of minimal laws ensures - if not happiness - its hopeful pursuit.
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