It seems to me what is called for is an exquisite balance between two conflicting needs: the most skeptical scrutiny of all hypotheses that are served up to us and at the same time a great openness to new ideas . . . If you are only skeptical, then no new ideas make it through to you . . . On the other hand, if you are open to the point of gullibility and have not an ounce of skeptical sense in you, then you cannot distinguish the useful ideas from the worthless ones.
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Men are doubtful and skeptical about the Church they suspect and dislike the clergy they are impatient of theological systems but for Jesus Christ, as he stand out to view in the sacred pages, as they dimly realize him in their own best selves, as they catch faint traces of him in the lives of his saints, they have no other sentiments than those of respect and affection.
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Skeptical scrutiny is the means, in both science and religion, by which deep insights can be winnowed from deep nonsense.
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More people die from falling airplane parts each year than from shark attacks.
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The sky is not burning, and to claim that it is amounts to journalistic malpractice... the press only promotes the global warming alarmists and ignores or minimizes those of us who are skeptical.
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Suicide, moreover, was at the time in vogue in Paris: what more suitable key to the mystery of life for a skeptical society?
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It is not clear that buying songs over the air makes economic sense. I am skeptical because of the cost...but we will see.
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I've been rather skeptical based on how long it has taken and the nature of the charges that have been brought to date [against Enron officials] whether they would ever get to Ken Lay.
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Great intellects are skeptical.
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I am skeptical in principle, gullible in practice.
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The people who teach us that it is wrong to be skeptical are themselves the reasons that we should be skeptical.
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