Francis Collins Quotes

I will begin with this confession: whatever I have done in the course of my life, whether it be good or evil, has been done freely; I am a free agent.

Where choice begins, Paradise ends, innocence ends, for what is Paradise but the absence of any need to choose this action?

With awareness come responsibility and choice.

Each is responsible for his own actions.

As contemporary history reminds us we are human to the extent that we are able to chose between alternatives.

Liberty is often a heavy burden on a man. It involves that necessity for perpetual choice which is the kind of labor men have always dreaded.

Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does.

You are responsible for the choices you make in this life period, end of story.

You have agency, and you are free to choose. But there is actually no free agency. Agency has its price. You have to pay the consequences of your choices.

There is always a choice." "You mean I could choose certain death?" "A choice nevertheless, or perhaps an alternative. You see I believe in freedom. Not many people do, although they will of course protest otherwise. And no practical definition of freedom would be complete without the freedom to take the consequences. Indeed, it is the freedom upon which all the others are based.

I am inclined to believe that a man may be free to do anything he pleases if only he will accept responsibility for whatever he does.

In one sense I feel that my book is a one-woman argument against determinism.

I don't feel guilt. Whatever I wish to do, I do.

As human beings, we are endowed with freedom of choice, and we cannot shuffle off our responsibility upon the shoulders of God or nature. We must shoulder it ourselves. It is our responsibility.

The laws of God, the laws of man he may keep that will and can; not I: let God and man decree laws for themselves and not for me.

There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences.

This means that to man God gave a degree of free will.

God gave us our agency. He taught us a way. He showed us what to do. But he gave us our agency and left us free to act as we choose to do.

You are the sum total of the choices you make every day.

I'm fascinated by human agency - by the process of decision, both in the individual and the mass.

The power of choosing good and evil is within the reach of all.

Don't get yourself in certain circumstances or instances, because it's not a good feeling to be sitting in that chair where you've got 12 people that are in control of your life. You have an opportunity to be in control of your life for yourself by the decisions that you make.

I believe that we are solely responsible for our choices, and we have to accept the consequences of every deed, word, and thought throughout our lifetime.

I believe everybody is responsible for what they do themselves.

Freedom and responsibility aren't interconnected things. They are the same thing.