--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For me, the Church is the enemy." description: "\"For me, the Church is the enemy.\" — Al Goldstein" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d2/al-goldstein-21685_church_for-me-the-church-is-the-enemy-2334808_2334808.jpg" --- # For me, the Church is the enemy. ![“For me, the Church is the enemy.” quote by Al Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d2/al-goldstein-21685_church_for-me-the-church-is-the-enemy-2334808_2334808.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d2/al-goldstein-21685_church_for-me-the-church-is-the-enemy-2334808_2334808.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d2/al-goldstein-21685_church_for-me-the-church-is-the-enemy-2334808_2334808.jpg) > “For me, the Church is the enemy.” [Al Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-goldstein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker views the Church as antagonistic to personal freedom or expression. **In simple terms:** Church seen as opposing freedom. Key Takeaway Question authority when it limits liberty. Themes freedom conflict authority Mood critical defiant Type political philosophical When to use this quote - activism - personal expression - religious critique - media commentary Key Concepts Secularism individualism Questions to Reflect On - What drives your opposition to organized religion? - Can dialogue replace conflict? A Different Perspective Not all religious institutions are oppressive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/) [Church Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church-enemy-2035238/) [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) ## Related quotes > [“We must remain aware that every time one or more of these seven Spirits begins to work in the church, the enemy moves in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-durham/we-must-remain-aware-that-every-time-one-or-more-of-these-seven/) [James A. Durham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-durham/) > [Prayer is the key ingredient of the church. The enemy hates it when we pray.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-peterson/prayer-is-the-key-ingredient-of-the-church-the-enemy-hates-it-when-we/) [Jacob Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-peterson/) > [Liberal Catholics are the worst enemies of the Church.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-pius-ix/liberal-catholics-are-the-worst-enemies-of-the-church/) [Pope Pius IX](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-pius-ix/) > [Women should unite upon a platform of opposition to the teaching and aim of that ever most unscrupulous enemy of freedom--the Church.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/women-should-unite-upon-a-platform-of-opposition-to-the-teaching-and/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [You find as you look around the world that every single bit of progress in humane feeling, every improvement in the criminal law, every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/you-find-as-you-look-around-the-world-that-every-single-bit-of/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [To achieve victory we must mass our forces at the hub of all power & movement. The enemy's 'Center of Gravity'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-achieve-victory-we-must-mass-our-forces-at-the-hub-of-all-power/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Pain held no terror for him. Pain was, if not friend, then family, something he had grown up with in his crèche, learning to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-bacigalupi/pain-held-no-terror-for-him-pain-was-if-not-friend-then-family/) [Paolo Bacigalupi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-bacigalupi/) > [The concept of humanity is an especially useful ideological instrument of imperialist expansion, and in its ethical-humanitarian form it is a specific vehicle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-schmitt/the-concept-of-humanity-is-an-especially-useful-ideological/) [Carl Schmitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-schmitt/) > [“Never let your Enemies become your Advocates.” by A. K. Hasan”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-k-hasan/never-let-your-enemies-become-your-advocates-by-a-k-hasan/) [A.K. Hasan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-k-hasan/) > [The surprise of an army is now next to an impossibility. ... Prearranged surprises are rare and difficult because in order to plan one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-henri-jomini/the-surprise-of-an-army-is-now-next-to-an-impossibility-prearranged/) [Antoine-Henri Jomini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-henri-jomini/) > [Fear is a man's worst enemy, but love is a man's most powerful weapon against anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/fear-is-a-man-s-worst-enemy-but-love-is-a-man-s-most-powerful-weapon/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is the rule in war, if our forces are ten to the enemy's one, to surround him; if five to one, to attack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/it-is-the-rule-in-war-if-our-forces-are-ten-to-the-enemy-s-one-to/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [“Before you were my enemy, you were my best friend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kresley-cole/before-you-were-my-enemy-you-were-my-best-friend/) [Kresley Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kresley-cole/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Shall there be truth between us, as two men? Not as friends, but as enemies and equals?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/shall-there-be-truth-between-us-as-two-men-not-as-friends-but-as/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) ## More by Al Goldstein > [Married life is an existence with bars around it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-goldstein/married-life-is-an-existence-with-bars-around-it/) [Al Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-goldstein/) > [The only way marriage can work is if a man respects the woman and she is a thinking woman and he wants to work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-goldstein/the-only-way-marriage-can-work-is-if-a-man-respects-the-woman-and-she/) [Al Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-goldstein/) > [Our stock in trade is raw, flailing sex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-goldstein/our-stock-in-trade-is-raw-flailing-sex/) [Al Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-goldstein/) > [To date or not to date that is the question. It's almost as important as Shakespeare's to be or not to be which deals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-goldstein/to-date-or-not-to-date-that-is-the-question-it-s-almost-as-important/) [Al Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-goldstein/) > [If you cannot work on the marriage or the women is a moron, staying married and cheating makes the most sense because divorce is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-goldstein/if-you-cannot-work-on-the-marriage-or-the-women-is-a-moron-staying/) [Al Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-goldstein/) > [I love going to the factories of La Plata, or Little Havana and seeing them roll cigars. I get excited. To me it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-goldstein/i-love-going-to-the-factories-of-la-plata-or-little-havana-and-seeing/) [Al Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-goldstein/) > [Even though marriage is doomed, if you turned it into a job you like and really work at it - it can be salvaged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-goldstein/even-though-marriage-is-doomed-if-you-turned-it-into-a-job-you-like/) [Al Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-goldstein/) > [The mass market eventually assimilates that which is innovative or revolutionary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-goldstein/the-mass-market-eventually-assimilates-that-which-is-innovative-or/) [Al Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-goldstein/) > [In reality there is no cause or effect, there is only the indifference of the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-goldstein/in-reality-there-is-no-cause-or-effect-there-is-only-the-indifference/) [Al Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-goldstein/) > [I'm a crusader. I really believe in the First Amendment, and I use it fully, and I pay a price for that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-goldstein/i-m-a-crusader-i-really-believe-in-the-first-amendment-and-i-use-it/) [Al Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-goldstein/) > [Since fame is an illusion and death is in our future all we have is the next moment before we are swallowed into oblivion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-goldstein/since-fame-is-an-illusion-and-death-is-in-our-future-all-we-have-is/) [Al Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-goldstein/) > [For me working on the marriage and not making the easy choice of cheating was something that I could not do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-goldstein/for-me-working-on-the-marriage-and-not-making-the-easy-choice-of/) [Al Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-goldstein/) > [The only reason that Jews are in pornography is that we think that Christ sucks. Catholicism sucks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-goldstein/the-only-reason-that-jews-are-in-pornography-is-that-we-think-that/) [Al Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-goldstein/) > [Celebrity gives us delusion of self importance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-goldstein/celebrity-gives-us-delusion-of-self-importance/) [Al Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-goldstein/) > [Our photographs are filthier and our stories are more disgusting. We make no effort to be artistic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-goldstein/our-photographs-are-filthier-and-our-stories-are-more-disgusting-we/) [Al Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-goldstein/) [Explore all 28 Al Goldstein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-goldstein/) ## More Church quotes > [While the 1963 Birmingham church bombing is the most historic, there also was a series of church burnings in the 1990s. Recognition of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthea-butler/while-the-1963-birmingham-church-bombing-is-the-most-historic-there/) [Anthea Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthea-butler/) > [If I had my brothers I think with just a little bit of the correct marketing, I'd like to be almost exclusively in small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-bozzio/if-i-had-my-brothers-i-think-with-just-a-little-bit-of-the-correct/) [Terry Bozzio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-bozzio/) > [Turn over the pages of history and read the damning record of the church's opposition to every advance in every field of science. . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/turn-over-the-pages-of-history-and-read-the-damning-record-of-the/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Jeff Chu's pilgrimage across America to discover his own place as a gay man in the Christian church as well as attitudes about being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-freitas/jeff-chu-s-pilgrimage-across-america-to-discover-his-own-place-as-a/) [Donna Freitas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-freitas/) > [God is not calling us to go to church; he is calling us to be his church, the hope of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-groeschel/god-is-not-calling-us-to-go-to-church-he-is-calling-us-to-be-his/) [Craig Groeschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-groeschel/) > [The emerging church movement has come to believe that the ultimate context of the spiritual aspirations of a follower of Jesus Christ is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samir-selmanovic/the-emerging-church-movement-has-come-to-believe-that-the-ultimate/) [Samir Selmanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samir-selmanovic/) > [ T\]he church is not a place. It's not a building. It's not a preaching point. It's not a spiritual service provider. It's a people… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/t-he-church-is-not-a-place-it-s-not-a-building-it-s-not-a-preaching/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [There could be no more powerful argument against mixing religion and government than the success of independent African American churches in placing racial segregation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/there-could-be-no-more-powerful-argument-against-mixing-religion-and/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [Worship is not about personality, temperament, personal limitations, church background, or comfort. It is about God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wimber/worship-is-not-about-personality-temperament-personal-limitations/) [John Wimber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wimber/) > [A beggarly people, A church and no steeple.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/a-beggarly-people-a-church-and-no-steeple/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [Pound St. Paul's Church into atoms, and consider any single atom; it is to be sure, good for nothing; but put all these atoms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/pound-st-paul-s-church-into-atoms-and-consider-any-single-atom-it-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The religion of art, like the religion of politics, was born from the ruins of Christianity. Art inherited from the old religion the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/the-religion-of-art-like-the-religion-of-politics-was-born-from-the/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [The minute you walk outside of your church on Sunday you're in mission territory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-barron/the-minute-you-walk-outside-of-your-church-on-sunday-you-re-in/) [Robert Barron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-barron/) > [I'm not ashamed of the things I believe and why I believe them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-huckabee/i-m-not-ashamed-of-the-things-i-believe-and-why-i-believe-them/) [Mike Huckabee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-huckabee/) [Browse all 9,430 Church quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "For me, the Church is the enemy.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Al Goldstein" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-goldstein/for-me-the-church-is-the-enemy/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Church" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-goldstein/for-me-the-church-is-the-enemy/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d2/al-goldstein-21685_church_for-me-the-church-is-the-enemy-2334808_2334808.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d2/al-goldstein-21685_church_for-me-the-church-is-the-enemy-2334808_2334808.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d2/al-goldstein-21685_church_for-me-the-church-is-the-enemy-2334808_2334808.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For me, the Church is the enemy.” — Al Goldstein", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Al Goldstein", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-goldstein/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "For me, the Church is the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-goldstein/for-me-the-church-is-the-enemy/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-goldstein/for-me-the-church-is-the-enemy/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```