Heinz R. Pagels Quotes

Between two evils, choose neither; between two goods, choose both.

A moral choice in its basic terms appears to be a choice that favors survival: a choice made in favor of life.

In a room sit three great men, a king, a priest, and a rich man with his gold. Between them stands a sellsword, a little man of common birth and no great mind. Each of the great ones bids him slay the other two. ‘Do it,’ says the king, ‘for I am your lawful ruler.’ ‘Do it,’ says the priest, ‘for I command you in the names of the gods.’ ‘Do it,’ says the rich man, ‘and all this gold shall be yours.’ So tell me—who lives and who dies?

When faced with the choice to Love or Decieve, therein lies the path to the Heroes and Thieves.

The moral landscape is the framework I use for thinking about questions of morality and human values in universal terms.

Science by itself has no moral dimension. But it does seek to establish truth. And upon this truth morality can be built.

The fundamental basis of ethics must be chosen in some non-scientific way.

All parties to the human embryo debate have something vital to defend.

Philosophy is easier than politics.

Technological advances have brought our nation to a point where momentous public choices are inescapable.

We are now facing a problem more of ethics than of physics.

Principles and rules are binding, but when they come into conflict they must be balanced.

The attempt to turn a complex problem of the head into a simple moral question for the heart to answer, is of course a necessary part of all political discussion.

There comes a time in the life of every public official when he must decide between right and regularity.

What would Jesus have done in precisely similar situations?

The hardest thing in life is to know when to hold fast to one’s principles and when it is acceptable to bend them.

The ends do not always justify the means

It is not enough to show me that a measure is expedient: you must show me also that it is right.

I always try to follow my moral compass.

You have to make your choices however you see fit and just keep your integrity as best you can.

With a lot of things in life, it's hard to do the right thing.

You have to follow your moral compass: it's a good guide of telling you what is right and wrong.

Our moral philosophy determines our values - what we care about and what we don't care about - and our values determine our decisions, actions, and beliefs. Therefore, moral philosophy applies to everything in our lives.

One needs to know what is right and what is wrong.

Is it important to be right or is it important to do what's right? That's one of the hardest lessons to learn.