The only way to reconcile science and religion is to set up something which is not science and something that is not religion.
Interpretation
The quote suggests that science and religion are fundamentally different and can only coexist if we create a separate framework that doesn't fit into either category.
H. L. Mencken's quote reflects on the inherent conflict between science and religion, arguing that true reconciliation cannot occur within the confines of either perspective. Instead, he proposes the need for a new framework or understanding that exists apart from both, indicating that their natures are so distinct that meaningful integration is impossible without a third perspective.
In practice
This quote could be used in a debate about the relationship between faith and scientific inquiry.
I know a good many men of great learning-that is, men born with an extraordinary eagerness and capacity to acquire knowledge. One and all, they tell me that they can't recall learning anything of any value in school. All that schoolmasters managed to accomplish with them was to test and determine the amount of knowledge that they had already acquired independently-and not infrequently the determination was made clumsily and inaccurately.
It takes a long while for a naturally trustful person to reconcile himself to the idea that after all God will not help him
It is the theory of all modern civilized governments that they protect and foster the liberty of the citizen; it is the practice of all of them to limit its exercise, and sometimes very narrowly.
The central belief of every moron is that he is the victim of a mysterious conspiracy against his common rights and true deserts.
The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy.
It is my conviction that no normal man ever fell in love, within the ordinary meaning of the term, after the age of thirty.
I am misanthropos, and hate mankind, For thy part, I do wish thou wert a dog, That I might love thee something.
Qu'ils mangent de la brioche. Let them eat cake. On being told that her people had no bread. Attributed to Marie-Antoinette, but remark is much older. Rousseau refers in his Confessions, 1740, to a similar remark, as a well-known saying. Others attribute the remark to the wife of Louis XIV.
As long as there are rich people in the world, they will be desirous of distinguishing themselves from the poor.
In most of mankind gratitude is merely a secret hope of further favors.
My friend wants to get moving and so do I,' Eddie said. 'We've got miles to go yet.' I know that. It's on your face, son. Like a scar.' Eddie was fascinated by the idea of duty and ka as something that left a mark, something that might look like decoration to one eye and disfigurement to another. Outside, thunder cracked and lightning flashed.
The problem with introspection is that it has no end.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.