--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: God is, but at the same time God also is…" description: "\"“God is, but at the same time God also is not. The Universe is governed by blind chance and at the same time by a providence with ethical preoccupation..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc8/aldous-huxley-97_contradictions_god-is-but-at-the-same-time-god-also-is_3121217.jpg" --- # God is, but at the same time God also is not. The Universe… ![“God is, but at the same time God also is not. The Universe is governed by blind chance and at the same time by a providence with ethical preoccupations. Suffering is gratuitous and pointless, but also valuable and necessary. The universe is an imbecile sadist, but also, simultaneously, the most…” quote by Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc8/aldous-huxley-97_contradictions_god-is-but-at-the-same-time-god-also-is_3121217.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc8/aldous-huxley-97_contradictions_god-is-but-at-the-same-time-god-also-is_3121217.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc8/aldous-huxley-97_contradictions_god-is-but-at-the-same-time-god-also-is_3121217.jpg) > ““God is, but at the same time God also is not. The Universe is governed by blind chance and at the same time by a providence with ethical preoccupations. Suffering is gratuitous and pointless, but also valuable and necessary. The universe is an imbecile sadist, but also, simultaneously, the most benevolent of parents. Everything is rigidly predetermined, but the will is perfectly free. This list of contradictions could be lengthened so as to include all problems that have ever vexed the philosopher and the theologian.”” [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote highlights the paradoxical nature of existence, where opposing forces coexist, suggesting that truth is complex and multifaceted. **In simple terms:** Life contains opposite truths at once. Key Takeaway Embrace complexity, avoid black‑and‑white thinking. Themes philosophy theology paradox existence free will Mood contemplative conflicted inquisitive Type philosophical theological When to use this quote - personal reflection - academic debate - spiritual practice - ethical decision making Key Concepts dualism determinism theodicy existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How do you reconcile contradictory beliefs? - What role does suffering play in personal growth? A Different Perspective The tension between determinism and free will can be unresolved. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Contradictions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradictions/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [whoever is so stupid as to imagine God to be either masculine or feminine openly shows that he is as bad a philosopher as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-de-gournay/whoever-is-so-stupid-as-to-imagine-god-to-be-either-masculine-or/) [Marie de Gournay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-de-gournay/) > [“I recall the story of the philosopher and the theologian... The two were engaged in disputation and the theologian used the old quip about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-huxley/i-recall-the-story-of-the-philosopher-and-the-theologian-the-two-were/) [Julian Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-huxley/) > [Let no Christian therefore, whether philosopher or theologian, embrace eagerly and lightly whatever novelty happens to be thought up from day to day, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-pius-xii/let-no-christian-therefore-whether-philosopher-or-theologian-embrace/) [Pope Pius XII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-pius-xii/) > [“The world' is man's experience as it appears to, and is moulded by, his ego. It is that less abundant life, which is lived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/the-world-is-man-s-experience-as-it-appears-to-and-is-moulded-by-his/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [I believe the universe is governed by the laws of science. The laws may have been decreed by God, but God does not intervene…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/i-believe-the-universe-is-governed-by-the-laws-of-science-the-laws/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [The lesson of the book is that the universe is governed by the laws of science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/the-lesson-of-the-book-is-that-the-universe-is-governed-by-the-laws/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [Whatever your religious persuasion, if you believe that the universe is governed by benign forces, at some point you have to explain why there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-baggini/whatever-your-religious-persuasion-if-you-believe-that-the-universe/) [Julian Baggini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-baggini/) > [“the most important point: that the universe is governed by a set of rational laws that we can discover and understand.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/the-most-important-point-that-the-universe-is-governed-by-a-set-of/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [Since man, fragment of the universe, is governed by the same laws that preside over the heavens, it is by no means absurd to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-yourcenar/since-man-fragment-of-the-universe-is-governed-by-the-same-laws-that/) [Marguerite Yourcenar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-yourcenar/) > [Order is manifestly maintained in the universe... governed by the sovereign will of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-prescott-joule/order-is-manifestly-maintained-in-the-universe-governed-by-the/) [James Prescott Joule](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-prescott-joule/) > [The universe is governed by science. But science tells us that we can't solve the equations, directly in the abstract.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/the-universe-is-governed-by-science-but-science-tells-us-that-we-can/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [I'm not religious in the normal sense. I believe the universe is governed by the laws of science. The laws may have been decreed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/i-m-not-religious-in-the-normal-sense-i-believe-the-universe-is/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [“Einstein never accepted that the universe was governed by chance; his feelings were summed up in his famous statement “God does not play dice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/einstein-never-accepted-that-the-universe-was-governed-by-chance-his/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [There are evidently limits to the achievements of science; and there are irresolvable contradictions both between prosperity and virtue, and between happiness and ''the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/there-are-evidently-limits-to-the-achievements-of-science-and-there/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [“You can study God through everything and everyone in the universe, because God is not confined in a mosque, synagogue or church. But if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taken-from-the-forty-rules-of-love-by-elif-shafak/you-can-study-god-through-everything-and-everyone-in-the-universe/) [Taken from The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taken-from-the-forty-rules-of-love-by-elif-shafak/) ## More by Aldous Huxley > [“Unorthodoxy threatens more than the life of a mere individual; it strikes at Society itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/unorthodoxy-threatens-more-than-the-life-of-a-mere-individual-it/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Man has an almost infinite capacity for taking things and people for granted and thereby missing out on the pleasure of being grateful that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/man-has-an-almost-infinite-capacity-for-taking-things-and-people-for/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [My fate cannot be mastered; it can only be collaborated with and thereby, to some extent, directed. Nor am I the captain of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/my-fate-cannot-be-mastered-it-can-only-be-collaborated-with-and/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Impulse arrested spills over, and the flood is feeling, the flood is passion, the flood is even madness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/impulse-arrested-spills-over-and-the-flood-is-feeling-the-flood-is/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Of course the Dharma-body of the Buddha was the hedge at the bottom of the garden. At the same time, and no less obviously,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/of-course-the-dharma-body-of-the-buddha-was-the-hedge-at-the-bottom/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“The question for the man of sense is: Do we or do we not want to go to hell? And his answer is: No,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/the-question-for-the-man-of-sense-is-do-we-or-do-we-not-want-to-go-to/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“I’ll MAKE you be free whether you want to or not.’ -The Savage”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/i-ll-make-you-be-free-whether-you-want-to-or-not-the-savage/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Thought of the incomprehensible sequence of changes and chances that make up a life, all the beauties and horrors and absurdities whose conjunctions create…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/thought-of-the-incomprehensible-sequence-of-changes-and-chances-that/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [The third petition of the Lord's Prayer is repeated daily by millions who have not the slightest intention of letting anyone's will be done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/the-third-petition-of-the-lord-s-prayer-is-repeated-daily-by-millions/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“Then what’s time for?” asked Lenina in some astonishment. Apparently, for going on walks in the Lake District; for that was what he now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/then-what-s-time-for-asked-lenina-in-some-astonishment-apparently-for/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [All right then," said the Savage defiantly, "I'm claiming the right to be unhappy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/all-right-then-said-the-savage-defiantly-i-m-claiming-the-right-to-be/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Speed, it seems to me, provides the one genuinely modern pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/speed-it-seems-to-me-provides-the-one-genuinely-modern-pleasure/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“What you need is a gramme of soma.” “All the advantages of Christianity and alcohol; none of their defects.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/what-you-need-is-a-gramme-of-soma-all-the-advantages-of-christianity/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [To be enlightened is to be aware, always, of total reality in its immanent otherness - to be aware of it and yet remain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/to-be-enlightened-is-to-be-aware-always-of-total-reality-in-its/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“Quote of the day:Quote of the day: A democracy which makes or even effectively prepares for modern, scientific war must necessarily cease to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/quote-of-the-day-quote-of-the-day-a-democracy-which-makes-or-even/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) [Explore all 1,291 Aldous Huxley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) ## More Contradictions quotes > [:)So Micayla didn't quite understand the meaning of the word paradox, so like most things I struggle to understand or make sense of I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/micayla-ludick-basson/so-micayla-didn-t-quite-understand-the-meaning-of-the-word-paradox-so/) [Micayla Ludick Basson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/micayla-ludick-basson/) > [I've realized that life is indeed full of contradictions. Sometimes its crazy to be sane.You need to fall to fly. People suffer because you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ve-realized-that-life-is-indeed-full-of-contradictions-sometimes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Contradictions in human character are one of its most consistent notes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-spark/contradictions-in-human-character-are-one-of-its-most-consistent-notes/) [Muriel Spark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-spark/) > [There are evidently limits to the achievements of science; and there are irresolvable contradictions both between prosperity and virtue, and between happiness and ''the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/there-are-evidently-limits-to-the-achievements-of-science-and-there/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [The reflection of nature in man's thought must be understood not lifelessly but in the eternal process of movement, the arising of contradictions and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-lenin/the-reflection-of-nature-in-man-s-thought-must-be-understood-not/) [Vladimir Lenin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-lenin/) > [“Seemed she should learn to smile when she was unhappy, to stop laughing, to speak up, to never speak to strangers, to share guilt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-aylett/seemed-she-should-learn-to-smile-when-she-was-unhappy-to-stop/) [Steve Aylett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-aylett/) > [We both wondered whether these contradictions that one can't avoid if one begins to think of time and space may not really be proofs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-machen/we-both-wondered-whether-these-contradictions-that-one-can-t-avoid-if/) [Arthur Machen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-machen/) > [I spend a great deal of time on research, on finding all the available accounts of a scene or incident, finding out all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/i-spend-a-great-deal-of-time-on-research-on-finding-all-the-available/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [We crave support in vanity, as we do in religion, and never forgive contradictions in that sphere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/we-crave-support-in-vanity-as-we-do-in-religion-and-never-forgive/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [“ If "If freckles were lovely, and day was night, And measles were nice and a lie warn't a lie, Life would be delight,--…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings-2/if-if-freckles-were-lovely-and-day-was-night-and-measles-were-nice/) [E.E. Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings-2/) > [There is, in short, no 'spatial fix' that can contain the contradictions of capitalism in the long run.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harvey/there-is-in-short-no-spatial-fix-that-can-contain-the-contradictions/) [David Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harvey/) > [“A true god surely cannot have been born of a girl, nor died on the gibbet, nor be eaten in a piece of dough...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/a-true-god-surely-cannot-have-been-born-of-a-girl-nor-died-on-the/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Songwriters such as Alanis Morissette write about the constant balance of contradictions, and that's something I adhere to in my life and work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade-bird/songwriters-such-as-alanis-morissette-write-about-the-constant/) [Jade Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade-bird/) > [“One of the things about Ike that makes him so indisputably a hero is that he doesn't leave his own contradictions to the effete…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-leyner/one-of-the-things-about-ike-that-makes-him-so-indisputably-a-hero-is/) [Mark Leyner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-leyner/) > [When an individual does not become conscious of their inner contradictions, the world acts out the conflict and is torn in opposite halves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/when-an-individual-does-not-become-conscious-of-their-inner/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) [Browse all 348 Contradictions quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradictions/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“God is, but at the same time God also is not. 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