I like to watch the news, because I don't like people very much and when you watch the news... if you ever had an idea that people were really terrible, you could watch the news and know that you're right.
Frank ZappaRead
The whole foundation of Christianity is based on the idea that intellectualism is the work of the Devil. Remember the apple on the tree? Okay, it was the Tree of Knowledge. You eat this apple, you're going to be as smart as God. We can't have that.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote critiques the conflict between knowledge and religious belief.
Frank Zappa's quote provocatively suggests that the foundation of Christianity, and by extension many religious beliefs, stems from a distrust of intellectualism. By referencing the biblical story of Adam and Eve, Zappa evokes the idea that the pursuit of knowledge is often seen as dangerous or forbidden, implying that systems of belief may seek to suppress critical thinking and enlightenment for fear of losing control over their followers.
Themes
IntellectualismKnowledgeReligionCritiqueBeliefs
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate about faith and reason, this quote might be used to illustrate skepticism towards anti-intellectual attitudes.
More from Frank Zappa
All quotes →The richest people in the world aren't particularly smart or happy. And the happiest people in the world aren't particularly smart or rich.… That leaves me making music. But we can't talk about that.
Frank ZappaRead
Bad facts make bad law, and people who write bad laws are in my opinion more dangerous than songwriters who celebrate sexuality. Freedom of speech, freedom of religious thought, and the right to due process for composers, performers and retailers are imperiled if the PMRC and the major labels consummate this nasty bargain.
Frank ZappaRead
Don't mind your make-up, you'd better make your mind up.
Frank ZappaRead
Music is always a commentary on society.
Frank ZappaRead
I'm more interested in melodic things. I think the biggest challenge when you go to play a solo is trying to invent a melody on the spot.
Frank ZappaRead
Similar quotes
Every moment is as real as every other. Every 'now,' when you say, 'This is the real moment,' is as real as every other 'now' - and therefore all the moments are just out there. Just as every location in space is out there, I think every moment in time is out there, too.
Brian GreeneRead
Words were useless. At times, they might sound wonderful, but they let you down the moment you really needed them. You could never find the right words, never, and where would you look for them? The heart is as silent as a fish, however much the tongue tries to give it a voice.
Cornelia FunkeRead
I've seen attack ships on fire on the shoulder of Orion, I've seen moon beams glisten at the Ten hauser gate, all those memories, lost like tears in the rain.
Rutger HauerRead
Religions are, by definition, metaphors, after all: God is a dream, a hope, a woman, an ironist, a father, a city, a house of many rooms, a watchmaker who left his prize chronometer in the desert, someone who loves you - even, perhaps, against all evidence, a celestial being whose only interest is to make sure your football team, army, business, or marriage thrives, prospers, and triumphs over all opposition.
Neil GaimanRead
Why is it immoral for you to desire, but moral for others to do so? Why is it immoral to produce a value and keep it, but moral to give it away? And if it is not moral for you to keep a value, why is it moral for others to accept it? If you are selfless and virtuous when you give it, are they not selfish and vicious when they take it?
Ayn RandRead
If goodness were only a theory, it were a pity it should be lost to the world. There are a number of things, the idea of which is a clear gain to the mind. Let people, for instance, rail at friendship, genius, freedom, as long as they will -the very names of these despised qualities are better than anything else that could be substituted for them, and embalm even the most envenomed satire against them.
William HazlittRead