““A priest is a functionary of a social sort. The society worships certain deities in a certain way, and the priest becomes ordained as a functionary to carry out that ritual. The deity to whom he is devoted is a deity that was there before he came along. But the shaman's powers are symbolized in his own familiars, deities of his own personal experience. His authority comes out of a psychological experience, not a social ordination.””
![“[priests are] the pretenders to power and dominion, and to a superior sanctity of character, distinct from virtue and good morals.” quote by David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/76b/david-hume-538_atheism_priests-are-the-pretenders-to-power-and_932921.jpg)
![“The fall [of your soul] from perfection into duality...was naturally followed by the discovery of the duality of good and evil...This is the Biblical version of a myth known to many lands.” quote by Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/9ff/joseph-campbell-300_biblical_the-fall-of-your-soul-from-perfection-in_22526.jpg)
![“Spirituality can be severed from both vicious sectarianism and thoughtless banalities. Spirituality, I have come to see, is nothing less than the thoughtful love of life. [Spirituality for the Skeptic]” quote by Robert C. Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/1a2/robert-c-solomon-13743_banality_spirituality-can-be-severed-from-both-vi_28872.jpg)
