--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A great swindle of our time is the…" description: "\"A great swindle of our time is the assumption that science has made religion obsolete. All science has damaged is the story of Adam and Eve and the sto..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b91/kurt-vonnegut-41_adam_a-great-swindle-of-our-time-is-the-assum_1259981.jpg" --- # A great swindle of our time is the assumption that science… ![“A great swindle of our time is the assumption that science has made religion obsolete. All science has damaged is the story of Adam and Eve and the story of Jonah and the Whale. Everything else holds up pretty well, particularly lessons about fairness and gentleness. People who find those lessons…” quote by Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b91/kurt-vonnegut-41_adam_a-great-swindle-of-our-time-is-the-assum_1259981.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b91/kurt-vonnegut-41_adam_a-great-swindle-of-our-time-is-the-assum_1259981.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b91/kurt-vonnegut-41_adam_a-great-swindle-of-our-time-is-the-assum_1259981.jpg) > “A great swindle of our time is the assumption that science has made religion obsolete. All science has damaged is the story of Adam and Eve and the story of Jonah and the Whale. Everything else holds up pretty well, particularly lessons about fairness and gentleness. People who find those lessons irrelevant in the twentieth century are simply using science as an excuse for greed and harshness. Science has nothing to do with it, friends.” [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Science and religion address different aspects of human experience; one does not invalidate the other. **In simple terms:** Science and religion can coexist. Key Takeaway Recognize the limits of science in moral matters. Themes ethics religion science human nature Mood thoughtful critical inquisitive Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - personal decision - public policy - education - community building Key Concepts moral philosophy epistemology cultural critique Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance scientific reasoning with moral teachings? - What role should religion play in modern ethics? A Different Perspective Science cannot dictate moral values; cultural and religious traditions also shape ethics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adam/) [Adam and eve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adam-and-eve/) [Assumption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assumption/) [Century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/century/) [Excuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excuse/) [Fairness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fairness/) [Gentleness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gentleness/) [Greed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greed/) [Harshness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harshness/) [Irrelevant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irrelevant/) [Jonah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jonah/) [Lessons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lessons/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Obsolete](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obsolete/) [Obsolete Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obsolete-science-4003047/) [Our time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-time/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religion Obsolete](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion-obsolete-4003046/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Science and religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-and-religion/) [Science Damaged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-damaged-4003048/) [Science religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-religion/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Twentieth century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twentieth-century/) [Using Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/using-science-917056/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) [Whales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whales/) ## Related quotes > [Medicine, electronic communications, space travel, genetic manipulation . . . these are the miracles about which we now tell our children. These are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/medicine-electronic-communications-space-travel-genetic-manipulation/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [Politics And Religion Are Obsolete, The Time Has Come For Science And Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinoba-bhave/politics-and-religion-are-obsolete-the-time-has-come-for-science-and/) [Vinoba Bhave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinoba-bhave/) > [Look at what's happening with scientific things. They have discovered dark matter. They have discovered what is called the God Particle. All that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-cliff/look-at-what-s-happening-with-scientific-things-they-have-discovered/) [Jimmy Cliff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-cliff/) > [To ask me to verify my life by giving you my statistics is like using science to validate sorcery. It robs the world of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-castaneda/to-ask-me-to-verify-my-life-by-giving-you-my-statistics-is-like-using/) [Carlos Castaneda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-castaneda/) > [At its heart, engineering is about using science to find creative, practical solutions. 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It depends on the soul of the man using the science.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/science-can-heal-or-science-can-kill-it-depends-on-the-soul-of-the/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [Using science to tell us what customers are looking for is second nature for us here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-tans/using-science-to-tell-us-what-customers-are-looking-for-is-second/) [Gillian Tans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-tans/) > [“Using science to prove religion is like using a ruler to measure love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-julian/using-science-to-prove-religion-is-like-using-a-ruler-to-measure-love/) [Rick Julian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-julian/) > [Are we using science in ways that it wasn't intended to, in which case we should be a little careful, or are we using…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-collins/are-we-using-science-in-ways-that-it-wasn-t-intended-to-in-which-case/) [Francis Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-collins/) > [There is something wrong with using faith - belief without evidence - as a political weapon. I wouldn't say there is something similar about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/there-is-something-wrong-with-using-faith-belief-without-evidence-as/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“Jonah-John-if I had been a Sam, I would have been a Jonah still-not because I have been unlucky for others, but because somebody or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/jonah-john-if-i-had-been-a-sam-i-would-have-been-a-jonah-still-not/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Call me Jonah. My parents did, or nearly did. They called me John.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/call-me-jonah-my-parents-did-or-nearly-did-they-called-me-john/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Back onto their horses, and shortly thereafter word had come around from the command units that any soldier brawling over any matter relating to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-cashore/back-onto-their-horses-and-shortly-thereafter-word-had-come-around/) [Kristin Cashore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-cashore/) ## More by Kurt Vonnegut > [“You must bloom as a writer and I must bloom as a painter. Everything else about us is uninteresting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/you-must-bloom-as-a-writer-and-i-must-bloom-as-a-painter-everything/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“People aren't supposed to look back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/people-aren-t-supposed-to-look-back/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Have a good nap, did you?” said the porter. “Yes,” said Billy. “Man,” said the porter, “you sure had a hard-on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/have-a-good-nap-did-you-said-the-porter-yes-said-billy-man-said-the/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“I told him that if we doubted that we are demons in Hell, he should read The Mysterious Stranger, which Mark Twain wrote in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-told-him-that-if-we-doubted-that-we-are-demons-in-hell-he-should/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [ “Thomas Jefferson High School \[..\] His high school was named after a slave owner who was also one of the world’s greatest theoreticians on… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/thomas-jefferson-high-school-his-high-school-was-named-after-a-slave/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“I had a certain amount of skill as a dramatist, and Dr. Goebbels wanted me to use it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-had-a-certain-amount-of-skill-as-a-dramatist-and-dr-goebbels-wanted/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [I was some of the mud that got to sit up and look around. Lucky me, lucky mud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-was-some-of-the-mud-that-got-to-sit-up-and-look-around-lucky-me/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“The town was Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.A., Earth, Solar System, Milky Way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/the-town-was-newport-rhode-island-u-s-a-earth-solar-system-milky-way/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Her face was one of a kind, a surprising variation that made observers think, Yes--that would be another very nice way for people to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/her-face-was-one-of-a-kind-a-surprising-variation-that-made-observers/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“You finally fell in love, I see,” said Salo. “Only an Earthling year ago,” said Constant. “It took us that long to realize that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/you-finally-fell-in-love-i-see-said-salo-only-an-earthling-year-ago/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Like all Earthlings at the point of death, Mary Young sent faint reminders of herself to those who had known her. She released a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/like-all-earthlings-at-the-point-of-death-mary-young-sent-faint/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“And contrast Mary Kathleen, if you will, with my wife Ruth, the Ophelia of the death camps, who believed that even the most intelligent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/and-contrast-mary-kathleen-if-you-will-with-my-wife-ruth-the-ophelia/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Someday, someday, this crazy world will have to end, And our God will take things back that He to us did lend. And if,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/someday-someday-this-crazy-world-will-have-to-end-and-our-god-will/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“They were going back to the slaughterhouse for souvenirs of the war.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/they-were-going-back-to-the-slaughterhouse-for-souvenirs-of-the-war/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“There are plenty of good reasons for fighting," I said, "but no good reason ever to hate without reservation, to imagine that God Almighty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/there-are-plenty-of-good-reasons-for-fighting-i-said-but-no-good/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) [Explore all 2,089 Kurt Vonnegut quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) ## More Adam quotes > [Women rule the world. It's not really worth fighting because they know what they're doing. Ask Napoleon. Ask Adam. Ask Richard Burton or Richie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-bon-jovi/women-rule-the-world-it-s-not-really-worth-fighting-because-they-know/) [Jon Bon Jovi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-bon-jovi/) > [The writings of latter-day prophets clearly teach that the sorrows and sufferings endured by Adam and Eve upon their leaving the Garden of Eden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-k-judd/the-writings-of-latter-day-prophets-clearly-teach-that-the-sorrows/) [Daniel K Judd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-k-judd/) > [“Mary: Some call this "Eve's curse," but I think that is stupid because the real curse of Eve was having to put up with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/mary-some-call-this-eve-s-curse-but-i-think-that-is-stupid-because/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Adam Clayton Powell's entire political career has to be looked at in the entire context of the American history and the history of, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/adam-clayton-powell-s-entire-political-career-has-to-be-looked-at-in/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [“Adam could imagine what he looked like: a debauched nerd.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-cullinan/adam-could-imagine-what-he-looked-like-a-debauched-nerd/) [Heidi Cullinan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-cullinan/) > [Adam Berenson knows how to compose, organize an ensemble, do musical research, play solo and trio piano, write for musical journals, and enlist others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bley/adam-berenson-knows-how-to-compose-organize-an-ensemble-do-musical/) [Paul Bley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bley/) > [“Finally, someone had seen him. And what had he done? Let her get away. Undermined by his disgusting human anatomy. It had just been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/finally-someone-had-seen-him-and-what-had-he-done-let-her-get-away/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [“I’d think there are degrees of greatness,” Adam said. “I don’t think so,” said Samuel. “That would be like saying there is a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-d-think-there-are-degrees-of-greatness-adam-said-i-don-t-think-so/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [An ineffably holy God, who has the utmost abhorrence of sin, was never invented by any of Adam's descendents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-w-pink/an-ineffably-holy-god-who-has-the-utmost-abhorrence-of-sin-was-never/) [Arthur W. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-w-pink/) > [“think Adam is looking to break Kenji’s neck at this point.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/think-adam-is-looking-to-break-kenji-s-neck-at-this-point/) [Tahereh Mafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahereh-mafi/) > [“Adam's lips are set in a grime line. I can't tell if he's about to cry or about to punch the guard. For his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-forman/adam-s-lips-are-set-in-a-grime-line-i-can-t-tell-if-he-s-about-to-cry/) [Gayle Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-forman/) > [And as regards Adam and Eve we must maintain that before the fall they were virgins in Paradise: but after they sinned, and were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/and-as-regards-adam-and-eve-we-must-maintain-that-before-the-fall/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [Adam became so proud that he wished to become God and died for his pride; the Son of God humbled Himself unto death, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-of-kronstadt/adam-became-so-proud-that-he-wished-to-become-god-and-died-for-his/) [John of Kronstadt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-of-kronstadt/) > [Oh, Adam was a gardener, and God who made him sees That half a proper gardener's work is done upon his knees, So when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/oh-adam-was-a-gardener-and-god-who-made-him-sees-that-half-a-proper/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [“Barışı elde etmek için çabalayan her adam olağanüstü bir adamdır!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/bar-elde-etmek-i-in-abalayan-her-adam-ola-an-st-bir-adamd-r/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) [Browse all 1,360 Adam quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adam/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A great swindle of our time is the assumption that science has made religion obsolete. 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