About faith and God: quotes from thinkers
“Let the kings of the earth and all the nations, the princes and all the judges of the earth, the young men and maidens, the elders and youths, praise the name of the Lord, for His alone is exalted, His glory is on earth and in heaven” (Ps. 148). Many of the great people, having long denied both faith and God, changed their minds. Here is a small selection of their quotes.
Many great figures of the past - scientists and diplomats, thinkers and writers, military leaders and sovereigns, doctors and playwrights, including materialists - spoke with the deepest respect about God, the Church and the Holy Scriptures.
Poet Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin
“There is a Book in which every word is interpreted, explained, preached to all ends of the earth, applied to all kinds of circumstances of life and events of the world; from which it is impossible to repeat a single expression that is not known by heart, which would not already be a proverb of peoples.
This book is called the Gospel - and such is its eternally new charm that if we, satiated with the world or depressed by despondency, accidentally open it, we will no longer be able to resist its sweet attraction.”
Archbishop and surgeon Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky)
“We are accustomed to thinking that knowledge is stronger than the faith that underlies religion. But in fact, it is faith that imparts power to knowledge. Knowledge without confidence in it, without recognition, is dead information. You may know that the plane is capable of lifting you, but if you are not sure of this, you will never dare to board it. We know God the way scientists know electrons - by His manifestations, by His actions, by the outpouring of God's power on us, by the grace of God that we feel in our hearts.
Faith is unprovable. There were a lot of disputes, there were many attempts by some people to prove that God exists, and others - that God does not exist. And never throughout the history of mankind has anyone been able to convince their opponents, because it’s not a matter of evidence.
It is impossible to prove the existence of God by reasoning. God can only be perceived with a pure heart. Science proves the necessity of God’s existence logically, aesthetics shows ideal existence in images, and religion connects and brings into communication with God.”
Generalissimo Alexander Vasilievich Suvorov
“Most Holy Mother of God, save us! Holy Hierarch Father Nicholas, pray to God for us! - Without this prayer, do not draw your weapon, do not load your gun, do not start anything. Do you know the three sisters? Faith, Love and Hope. With them glory and victory. God is with them."
Prince Alexander Nevsky
“God is not in power, but in truth. Some with weapons, others on horses, but we will call on the Name of the Lord our God!”
Mathematician Blaise Pascal
“Only God can fill the vacuum in the heart of every person. Nothing created by man can fill this vacuum. Only God, whom we know through Jesus Christ, fills this void.
Knowing God without knowing your sinfulness leads to pride. Knowing your sinfulness without knowing God leads to despair. Knowing Jesus Christ leads us to the right path, since in Him we find God and our sinfulness.”
Writer Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol
“Be not dead souls, but living ones. There is only one door to life, and that door is Jesus Christ.”
Surgeon Nikolay Pirogov
“I cannot hear without disgust the slightest hint about the absence of a creative plan and creative expediency in the universe, and therefore the existence of the Supreme Reason, and therefore the Supreme Creative Will, I consider a necessary and inevitable fatal requirement of my own mind. So, even if I now wanted not to recognize the existence of God, I could not do this without going crazy.”
Physicist Albert Einstein
“I believe in God as a Person and in all conscience I can say that I have never been an atheist for a single minute of my life. True, I am a Jew, but the radiant experience of Jesus of Nazareth made an amazing impression on me. No one expressed himself like He did. Indeed, there is only one place on earth where we do not see a shadow, and that Person is Jesus Christ. In Him God revealed himself to us in the clearest and most understandable way. I honor him."
Physicist Isaac Newton
“The Heavenly Lord rules the entire world as the Ruler of the universe. We marvel at Him because of His perfection, we honor Him and bow before Him because of His boundless power. From blind physical necessity, which is always and everywhere the same, no variety could arise; and everything corresponding to place and time, the diversity of created objects, which constitutes the structure and life of the universe, could have happened only through the thought and will of an original Being, Whom I call the Lord God.”
Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte
“Alexander the Great, Augustus Caesar, Charlemagne and I myself founded enormous empires. And on what basis did these creations of our genius take place? - Based on violence. Jesus Christ alone founded His empire with love...
And rest assured that they were all real men, but none of them was like Him; Jesus Christ is more than a man. At a distance of one thousand eight hundred years, Jesus Christ makes a difficult demand that surpasses all other demands. He asks for the human heart."
Scientist Galileo Galilei
“Holy Scripture can never lie or err. Everything it says is absolutely immutable. Both it and nature were created by the divine Word: the Bible - according to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and nature - to fulfill Divine commands.
Physicist Max Planck
“Wherever we turn our gaze, whatever the subject of our observation, we nowhere find a contradiction between science and religion. We rather state their absolute harmony in the main points, especially in the field of natural science. Both religion and science ultimately seek the truth and come to the confession of God.
When religion and science profess belief in God, the former places God at the beginning and the latter at the end of all thoughts. Religion and science are in no way mutually exclusive.”
Biologist Louis Pasteur
“Descendants will one day laugh heartily at the stupidity of our contemporary materialist scientists. The more I study nature, the more I am amazed at the inimitable deeds of the Creator.”
Astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus
“My life, intertwined with patience, was one joy. Although before the greatness of God I must confess: Almighty! We do not comprehend Him. He is great in power, judgment and fullness of justice, but it seemed to me that I was following in the footsteps of God.
I feel that my death is not far away, but this does not scare me. Almighty God will find another form of existence for my spirit, will lead me along the road of eternity, as he leads a wandering star through the darkness of infinity.
I argued with people for the truth, but never with God, calmly awaiting the end of the time allotted to me.”
Poet Johann Wolfgang Goethe
“The Gospel reflects from itself the radiance emanating from the person of Christ. If God ever came to earth, it was only in the Person of Jesus Christ.”
Writer Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky
“In adversity the truth becomes clear. I will tell you about myself that I am a child of the century, a child of disbelief and doubt to this day, and even (I know this) to the grave. What terrible torment this thirst to believe has cost me and is now costing me, which is the stronger in my soul, the more contrary arguments I have.
And yet, God sometimes sends me moments in which I am completely calm; in these moments I love and find that I am loved by others, and in such moments I formed within myself a symbol of faith in which everything is clear and sacred to me.
This symbol is very simple, here it is: to believe that there is nothing more beautiful, deeper, more sympathetic, more reasonable, more courageous and more perfect than Christ, and not only is there not, but with jealous love I tell myself that it cannot be.
Moreover, if someone proved to me that Christ is outside the truth, and it really were that the truth is outside Christ, then I would rather remain with Christ than with the truth. Christianity is the only refuge of the Russian land from all its evils.”
President Abraham Lincoln
“I have often bowed my knees before God, prompted by the strong conviction that to no one else could I turn in my need. I believe that the Bible is God's best gift to man. Everything beautiful from the Savior of the world is transmitted to us through this Book.”
Philosopher Vladimir Solovyov
“You just need to, before deciding to take any action, evoke the moral image of Christ in your soul, concentrate on it and ask yourself: could He have performed this act; or in other words, whether He approves of it or not, whether He blesses me to do it or not - and we will get the answer.
I suggest this test to everyone, it will not deceive. In any doubtful case, if you only have the opportunity to come to your senses and think, remember Christ, imagine Him alive, as He is, and place the entire burden of your doubts on Him.”
Poet Taras Shevchenko
“Right now my only consolation is the Gospel. I read it daily and hourly."
Scientist Mikhail Vasilievich Lomonosov
“Nature is in a sense the Gospel, loudly proclaiming the creative power, wisdom and greatness of God. And not only the heavens, but also the bowels of the earth preach the glory of God.”
Playwright William Shakespeare
“I have committed my soul into the hands of God, my Creator, and have absolutely unshakable faith in Jesus Christ, my Savior.”
Naturalist Carl Linnaeus
“The eternal, infinite, omniscient and omnipotent God passed me by. I did not see Him face to face, but the glimpse of the Divine filled my soul with silent wonder.
I saw the trace of God in His creation; and everywhere, even in the smallest and most imperceptible of His works, what power, what wisdom, what indescribable perfection!
I observed how animate beings, standing at the highest level, are connected with the kingdom of plants, and plants, in turn, with minerals that are in the bowels of the globe, and how the globe itself gravitates towards the sun and revolves around it in an invariable order, receiving life from him.”
Emperor Peter the Great
“Whoever does not believe in God is either crazy or naturally insane. A sighted person must know the Creator from his creations. He who forgets God and does not keep His commandments, despite all his work, will not have success and will receive little benefit.”
Prince Vladimir Monomakh
“First of all, for the sake of God and your soul, have the fear of God in your heart and give generous alms - this is the beginning of all good.”
Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin
“Whoever has not found God on Earth will not find him in space.”
Poet George Byron
“If Man can be God and if God can be Man, then Jesus Christ was both.”
Publicist Heinrich Heine
“And what kind of book is this Bible! Majestic and vast as the world, rooted in the depths of the universe and rising to the mysterious azure of the skies! Truly, this is the Word of God, while all other books in the world express only their own, human art.”
Writer Charles Dickens
“I have surrendered my soul to the mercy of God in Christ the Savior.”
Naturalist Charles Darwin
“I have never been an atheist in the sense of denying the existence of a Creator. Life had to be breathed into the first cell by the Creator.
The world rests on patterns and in its manifestations appears as a product of the mind - this is an indication of its Creator.”
Philosopher Immanuel Kant
“You do well to seek reassurance in the Gospel, because it is the inexhaustible source of all truth, which the mind will never find anywhere else.
The existence of the Bible is the greatest and highest blessing that mankind has ever experienced."
Philosopher Karl Jaspers
“The existence of God is so obvious that not believing in him is a sin, and it is so unobvious that believing in him is a merit.”
Philosopher Nikolai Berdyaev
“Belief in immortality is not only a comforting faith that makes life easier, it is also a terrible, terrible faith that aggravates life with immeasurable responsibility.
Without the great sacrament of repentance, spiritual life is unthinkable. Sin must not only be recognized, but also burned in the fire of repentance.”
Writer Jean Jacques Rousseau
“The words of the Bible fill me with wonder, the holiness of the Gospel speaks to my heart. Look at the books of philosophers, how insignificant they are compared to the Bible. Is it possible that such an amazing and at the same time simple book was the work of human hands?
Physicist Michael Faraday
“I am amazed why people choose to wander in the dark on so many important issues when God has given them such a wonderful book of Revelation”!?
Chemist Robert Boyle
“In comparison with the Bible, all human books are small planets that receive their light and brilliance from the Sun.”
Physicist Henri Marie Ampère
“The most convincing proof of the existence of God is the harmony of means by which order is maintained in the universe; thanks to this order, living beings find in their bodies everything necessary for the development and reproduction of their physical and spiritual abilities.”
Astronomer Johannes Kepler
“Great is our Lord and great is His power, And His wisdom has no end. Praise Him the sun, the moon and the stars and the planets - in whatever language the praise occurs. And also you, witnesses of His revealed truths, and you, my soul, sing honor and glory to the Lord all your life.”
Physicist Hans Oersted
“Every thorough investigation of nature ends with the recognition of the existence of God.”
Physicist William Thomson, Lord Kelvin
“Don't be afraid to be free-thinking people. If you think deeply, through science you will gain faith in God.”
Historian Dmitry Sergeevich Likhachev
“Consciousness precedes the embodiment of ideas. God is the great architect."
Philosopher Francis Bacon
“Superficial knowledge removes one from God; deep knowledge leads to God.”
Writer Francois Mauriac
“You don't have to have faith to pray; you need to pray to gain faith.”
Writer Clive Staples Lewis
“God speaks to man in a whisper of love; if he does not hear, then with the voice of conscience; if he does not hear, then through the mouthpiece of suffering.
All events in the world are answers to prayers, in the sense that the Lord takes into account all our true needs. All prayers are heard, although not all are fulfilled.”
Writer John Tolkien
“The only cure for weakening and diminishing faith is the communion of the Holy Sacraments.”
Writer Ivan Turgenev
“Everything on earth is dust and decay, and blessed is he who cast anchor not into these bottomless waves! He who has faith has everything and cannot lose anything.”
Philosopher Ivan Ilyin
“Faith in God belongs to the deepest, most mysterious and spiritually precious states of man. This is a blessed experience of great spiritual and artistic value and vitality, which must be treasured, which must be protected and which should not be approached by cleverness and arbitrariness.”
Poet Vasily Zhukovsky
“God is positive goodness, positive truth, positive truth, positive beauty - everything that contradicts goodness, truth, beauty, truth is a negation of God. The basis of all goodness, all truth, truth and beauty in the human soul is faith in God. From faith in God comes all goodness, all truth, all truth and beauty.”
Wanderer Grigory Skovoroda
“The Kingdom of God is within us. Happiness is in the heart, the heart is in love, and love is in the eternal law.”
Philosopher Semyon Frank
“Only faith unites, while unbelief disperses and atomizes human forces.”
Physicist James Joule
“After we have known and submitted to the Will of God, we have another important task: to comprehend His Wisdom, Power and Mercy from the evidences revealed in His works. Knowledge of the laws of nature is knowledge of God.”
The devil knows a lot because he is old. Proverb
He who serves God for money will also serve the devil if he offers more. Proverb
It is better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven. Proverb
The miracle lasts only nine days. Proverb
Don't open the door when the devil comes knocking. Proverb
Tell me, where is the wisdom of Providence, When innocence suffers in vain? Geoffrey Chaucer
After all, a person suffers all the more because, according to his religion, he must overcome passions in the name of God, and the cattle do what the flesh desires. The cattle die - and they have no worries, But the man awaits punishment, Even though he has endured evil and sorrow in his life. Truly, this is his destiny. Geoffrey Chaucer
...We know that even in a stable sometimes grace descends from God. Geoffrey Chaucer
We have no access to God's secrets. Blessed is he who has not dreamed of this, who enters with faith into the house of the Lord. Geoffrey Chaucer
The Savior was a model of humility and taught us to follow him in this. Geoffrey Chaucer
It is not the one who is burned, the one who burns is a fierce heretic. William Shakespeare
Always and everywhere mortals are afraid of any visions, signs, miracles... They seem to contain revelations, they recognize the prophecies of heaven. William Shakespeare
Be gone, tempter! The more difficult it is for your soul, the less power you have over it! William Shakespeare
There is a seal on the wax with the devil's face - Is it possible to blame the wax for this? William Shakespeare
...We often ask to our own detriment, And the gods wisely reject requests, Saving us. William Shakespeare
Let the gods determine our fate, We will put all our strength into the fight. William Shakespeare
While we send prayers in vain, what we pray for loses its value. William Shakespeare
The direct calculation is to subdue the wrath of the deity by Slaughtering a defenseless lamb. William Shakespeare
Often, in order to plunge us into trouble, the weapons of darkness predict the truth and seduce with honesty in trifles, so that it is all the easier to deceive in an important matter. William Shakespeare
Let the strong mock the shrine - They have this wit; but for the lower ones it will be Blasphemy. William Shakespeare
Let them write on the devil’s horns: “here is a good angel,” - That will be a false coat of arms. William Shakespeare
...If grace leaves us, We don’t know how to live, what to desire. William Shakespeare
Sometimes the devil is also honored for his fiery throne. William Shakespeare
It has been proven that with a pious face and a lean look we can Sugar the devil. William Shakespeare
When you can help yourself, why cry out to the heavens? William Shakespeare
...Often Heaven Creates miracles with the hands of the weak. William Shakespeare
We want to weigh everything, measure everything, When the Creator commands us to believe, And what we owe to Him, We want to attribute to the human mind. William Shakespeare
Often people strive to endow an object with bizarre properties that does not have those properties. William Shakespeare
It is unreasonable to place service to God above God. William Shakespeare
Our destiny as humans is to tremble in fear, When the gods send us in signs Terrible messengers to intimidate. William Shakespeare
There are no subterfuges in direct and honest faith... William Shakespeare
He who was a violent heretic believes in virtue more zealously. William Shakespeare
In prayer we cry out for mercy - and prayer teaches us mercy. William Shakespeare
Heaven's holy will punishes us. Let our grumbling not anger them any more. William Shakespeare
The spirits of evil are especially dangerous when they take on the guise of spirits of light. William Shakespeare
In all creations the Lord is visible to us, and man and bird strive upward. William Shakespeare
Let us praise God, who grants death to the faithful in darkness and joy in despair. William Shakespeare
We pray for mercy, and this prayer should teach us to respect merciful actions. William Shakespeare
The Old Testament considers prosperity to be good, the New Testament - adversity. Francis Bacon
In all ages natural philosophy has met with a tiresome and painful enemy, namely, superstition and blind, immoderate religious zeal. Francis Bacon
There is no greater sinner than the young saint. Aphra Behn
Religion is a disease of the soul. Jonathan Swift
It is not a sin to deceive the devil. Daniel Defoe
The evil one is good at asking, but he himself will not give you an answer. William Blake
Whoever awakens doubts in children, let him himself become the prey of decay. Whoever spares a child's faith will defeat the breath of death. William Blake
The path of the gray bat is the path of a soul devoid of faith. William Blake
I was determined that my children should be brought up in the religion of their father, if, of course, they could find out what religion it was. Charles Lamb
Prayer before meals is blasphemy: it is inappropriate to praise the Lord with a slobbering mouth. Charles Lamb
Standing in the pulpit, I enjoy watching the congregation listen to my sermon and nod their heads in approval... in their sleep. Sydney Smith
There is no greater pleasure for the gods than to contemplate the struggle of a sage with hardships. Sydney Smith
I’ll pray for you this evening, but I must admit I don’t count on much success. Sydney Smith
The only cure against superstition is knowledge; nothing else can remove this plague stain from the human mind. Henry Buckle
We are visited by angels, but we recognize them only after they fly away. George Eliot
If Jesus Christ appeared today, no one would crucify him. They would have invited him to dinner, listened to him and laughed heartily. Thomas Carlyle
Piety and sourness are two different things. Thomas Carlyle
It is correctly said in all respects: every person is judged by his faith. And out of disbelief. Thomas Carlyle
The more we understand the unchanging laws of nature, the more incredible miracles become for us. Charles Darwin
Our religion is a religion of inequality. Matthew Arnold
A person can grasp what his hands cannot grasp, otherwise what would heaven be? Robert Browning
Almost every person, if you take him at his word, holds beliefs that are completely different from those that guide him in life. Robert Stevenson
Religion is a fashionable surrogate for faith. Oscar Wilde
Sometimes I think that the Lord, having created man, overestimated his strength. Oscar Wilde
Truth ceases to be truth as soon as more than one person believes in it. Oscar Wilde
Religions die when it is proven that they contained the truth. Science is the chronicle of dead religions. Oscar Wilde
Faith is the most plural thing I know. We all seem to have to believe the same thing, but in different ways. It's like eating the same dish with different colored spoons. Oscar Wilde
Those who interpret the signs do so at their own peril. Oscar Wilde
A person can believe the impossible; he will never believe the incredible. Oscar Wilde
“Know thyself” was inscribed above the entrance of the ancient world. Above the entrance of the new world will be written: “Be yourself.” Christ's commandment to man was simply: “Be yourself.” This is the mystery of Christ. Oscar Wilde
There is a special pleasure in self-reproach. By blaming ourselves, we feel that no one else has the right to blame us. It is not the priest, but confession that frees us from sins. Oscar Wilde
In the temple, everyone must be serious, except the object of worship itself. Oscar Wilde
You should never stop your mental development by formally joining any faith or teaching. Such an association is a mistake and is tantamount to taking a hotel as a house for living, suitable only for spending a night or several hours of the night in it, when there are no stars and the moon is born. Oscar Wilde
When the gods want to punish us, they grant our prayers. Oscar Wilde
It is unwise to find omens in everything you see. It fills life too much with fears. Oscar Wilde
All peoples have a secret sympathy for their evil spirits. Samuel Butler
Faith, like everything in nature, follows the path of least resistance. Samuel Butler
I hate those who hate God, but I don't think God hates those who hate me enough. Samuel Butler
God is not as bad as he is painted, but not as good either. Samuel Butler
Frankly, I don't see much point in exalting the humble and meek. When they are extolled, they cease to be humble and meek. Samuel Butler
Our spontaneity is only a consequence of ignorance of God's providence. Samuel Butler
To justify the devil, it should be said that until now we have listened to only one side: all holy books were written by God. Samuel Butler
Yes, God is Love. But what a devilish idea is this love! Samuel Butler
What is faith, if not a bet or a purely speculative hypothesis? You should have said, “I bet there is a Savior.” Samuel Butler
Approach God not through rituals and ceremonies, but through inner feeling. Heaven is neither a place nor a time. Florence Nightingale
God is for men and religion is for women. The criterion for a religion is the permissibility of jokes about it. Robert Keith Chesterton
Many great truths were at first blasphemy. Bernard Show
Fear the man whose god lives in heaven. Bernard Show
Martyrdom is the only way to become famous without having any abilities. Bernard Show
It makes no more sense that a believer is happier than a skeptic than that a drunk is happier than a sober one. Bernard Show
Why should we listen to the Pope's advice on sex? If he knows anything about it, he shouldn’t! Bernard Show
A true believer does not think - he does not need to think. Faithfulness is an unconscious state. George Orwell
Only believers find a way out without difficulty, since they consider earthly existence to be nothing more than a step towards the eternal. George Orwell
Religious beliefs are a great excuse to do nasty things to people. Richard Aldington
Perhaps this world is the hell of some other planet. Aldous Huxley
I am ready to meet my Creator. Whether my Creator is ready for such an ordeal as meeting me is another matter. Winston Churchill
Prayer is not just the order of words. Thomas Stearns Eliot
If we assume the existence of a Creator, we must also assume the presence of some kind of plan of creation. And since everything that He creates, and everything that He causes, is found on a level below Him, the question is inevitable: “What is the level above Him?” Douglas Adams
Without God, life becomes a matter of subjective opinion. Douglas Adams
In England, atheism will not surprise anyone. It’s not customary for us to defend our opinions loudly and straightforwardly. It is much more decent to drape your arguments with vague, vague words. Douglas Adams
To step from agnosticism to atheism requires, I think, greater intellectual courage than what people are accustomed to. Douglas Adams
I have the deepest interest in religion. The only thing I refuse to understand is how smart and educated people can take her seriously. Douglas Adams
Today, when the church hesitates and remains reluctant to admit women to the priesthood, the only option for those women who feel a religious calling is to become a witch. Donald Rayfield
To justify the devil, it should be said that until now we have listened to only one side: all holy books were written by God. Samuel Butler
Source - Sergey Borisovich Barsov. Aphorisms of Britain. Volume II
