--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Wouldn't it be wonderful if we had a…" description: "\"Wouldn't it be wonderful if we had a world where everybody said, 'We don't know?' The fact is that you're surrounded -God and you don't see God, becaus..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3a/anthony-de-mello-1331_barriers_wouldn-t-it-be-wonderful-if-we-had-a-wor_656586.jpg" --- # Wouldn't it be wonderful if we had a world where everybody… ![“Wouldn't it be wonderful if we had a world where everybody said, 'We don't know?' The fact is that you're surrounded -God and you don't see God, because you KNOW ABOUT God. The final barrier to the vision of God is your God concept. You miss God because you think you know. The highest knowledge of…” quote by Anthony de Mello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3a/anthony-de-mello-1331_barriers_wouldn-t-it-be-wonderful-if-we-had-a-wor_656586.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3a/anthony-de-mello-1331_barriers_wouldn-t-it-be-wonderful-if-we-had-a-wor_656586.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3a/anthony-de-mello-1331_barriers_wouldn-t-it-be-wonderful-if-we-had-a-wor_656586.jpg) > “Wouldn't it be wonderful if we had a world where everybody said, 'We don't know?' The fact is that you're surrounded -God and you don't see God, because you KNOW ABOUT God. The final barrier to the vision of God is your God concept. You miss God because you think you know. The highest knowledge of God is to know God as unknowable. All revelations, however divine, are never any more than a finger pointing at the moon. As we say in the East, 'When the sage points to the moon, all the idiot sees is the finger'.” [Anthony de Mello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-de-mello/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding that God is ultimately unknowable frees us from false certainty and opens true humility. **In simple terms:** God is unknowable; accept uncertainty. Key Takeaway Embrace mystery, let go of certainty. Themes spirituality humility knowledge faith Mood contemplative humble Type philosophical spiritual When to use this quote - personal meditation - interfaith dialogue - theological study - philosophical inquiry Key Concepts mysticism epistemology theology Questions to Reflect On - How does certainty hinder spiritual growth? - What practices help you sit with uncertainty? A Different Perspective Human concepts may limit perception of the divine. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Barriers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/barriers/) [Concepts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concepts/) [Divine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divine/) [East](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/east/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Finals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finals/) [Fingers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fingers/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [God Concept](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-concept-606024/) [God Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-think/) [God Unknowable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-unknowable-1443225/) [Highest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/highest/) [Idiot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idiot/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Know God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-god/) [Knowing god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowing-god/) [Knowledge God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge-god/) [Knowledge of god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge-of-god/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Missing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/missing/) [Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moon/) [Pointing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pointing/) [Pointing fingers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pointing-fingers/) [Revelations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revelations/) [Sage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sage/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Vision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vision/) [Wonderful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonderful/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [You think you know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/you-think-you-know/) ## Related quotes > [“We are ultimately unknowable to ourselves and others. Our past and future are mostly unknowable. God is unknowable. For the present the universe -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-krasny/we-are-ultimately-unknowable-to-ourselves-and-others-our-past-and/) [Michael Krasny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-krasny/) > [God is therefore unknowable. This is the fundamental premise of the Bible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/god-is-therefore-unknowable-this-is-the-fundamental-premise-of-the/) [Leo Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/) > [When the atheist is told that God is unknowable, he may interpret this claim in one of two ways. He may suppose, first, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-h-smith/when-the-atheist-is-told-that-god-is-unknowable-he-may-interpret-this/) [George H. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-h-smith/) > [I believe that God—if he exists at all—is what we want him to be. The true God is unknowable, and so we dress him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-thomas-ford/i-believe-that-god-if-he-exists-at-all-is-what-we-want-him-to-be-the/) [Michael Thomas Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-thomas-ford/) > [“There are two irreconcilable ideas of God. There′s the Unknowable Creative Principle---one believes in That. And there′s the Sum of altruism in man---naturally one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-galsworthy/there-are-two-irreconcilable-ideas-of-god-there-s-the-unknowable/) [John Galsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-galsworthy/) > [To say that we cannot know anything about God is to say something about God; it is to say that if there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-budziszewski/to-say-that-we-cannot-know-anything-about-god-is-to-say-something/) [J. Budziszewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-budziszewski/) > [“It's a bit like staring into another dimension, one that has a different set of mathematical and physical laws. For me, it also serves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-jarzab/it-s-a-bit-like-staring-into-another-dimension-one-that-has-a/) [Anna Jarzab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-jarzab/) > [Religion is the finger pointing to God. People are too busy licking the finger to notice where it's pointing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-de-mello/religion-is-the-finger-pointing-to-god-people-are-too-busy-licking/) [Anthony de Mello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-de-mello/) > [A religious belief is not a statement about Reality, but a hint, a clue about something that is a mystery, beyond the grasp of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-de-mello/a-religious-belief-is-not-a-statement-about-reality-but-a-hint-a-clue/) [Anthony de Mello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-de-mello/) > [This is what is ultimate in our human knowledge of God, to know that we do not know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-de-mello/this-is-what-is-ultimate-in-our-human-knowledge-of-god-to-know-that/) [Anthony de Mello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-de-mello/) > [Another Christian concept, no less crazy, has passed even more deeply into the tissue of modernity: the concept of the 'equality of souls before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/another-christian-concept-no-less-crazy-has-passed-even-more-deeply/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“God, or to put it better, our idea of God, is a concept before anything else. The way God had been (mainly) understood throughout…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/god-or-to-put-it-better-our-idea-of-god-is-a-concept-before-anything/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [“In order to find what the concept of God is pointing to, you must let go of your image of God and every concept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/in-order-to-find-what-the-concept-of-god-is-pointing-to-you-must-let/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) > [I will say that the God concept is at the heart of 2001 but not any traditional, anthromorphic image of God. I don't believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-kubrick/i-will-say-that-the-god-concept-is-at-the-heart-of-2001-but-not-any/) [Stanley Kubrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-kubrick/) > [“They are all blinded and stunned by him,he's a God for them -- greater than a God,because people who believe in God have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatoli-rybakov/they-are-all-blinded-and-stunned-by-him-he-s-a-god-for-them-greater/) [Anatoli Rybakov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatoli-rybakov/) ## More by Anthony de Mello > [The poor think they will be happy when they become rich. The rich think they will be happy when they are rid of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-de-mello/the-poor-think-they-will-be-happy-when-they-become-rich-the-rich/) [Anthony de Mello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-de-mello/) > [You only change what you understand. What you do not understand and are not aware of, you repress. You dont change. But when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-de-mello/you-only-change-what-you-understand-what-you-do-not-understand-and/) [Anthony de Mello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-de-mello/) > [A zealous disciple expressed a desire to teach others the Truth and asked the Master what he thought about this. The Master said, "Wait."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-de-mello/a-zealous-disciple-expressed-a-desire-to-teach-others-the-truth-and/) [Anthony de Mello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-de-mello/) > [As the Arabs say, "The nature of rain is the same, but it makes thorns grow in the marshes and flowers in the gardens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-de-mello/as-the-arabs-say-the-nature-of-rain-is-the-same-but-it-makes-thorns/) [Anthony de Mello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-de-mello/) > [Sinners often speak the truth. And saints have led people astray. Examine what is said, not the one who says it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-de-mello/sinners-often-speak-the-truth-and-saints-have-led-people-astray/) [Anthony de Mello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-de-mello/) > [Isn't there such a thing as social liberation?" "Of course there is," said the Master. "How would you describe it?" "Liberation from the need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-de-mello/isn-t-there-such-a-thing-as-social-liberation-of-course-there-is-said/) [Anthony de Mello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-de-mello/) > [The important thing is not to know who "I" is or what "I" is. You'll never succeed. There are no words for it. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-de-mello/the-important-thing-is-not-to-know-who-i-is-or-what-i-is-you-ll-never/) [Anthony de Mello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-de-mello/) > [And increasingly - you know this and so do I we're losing the youth everywhere. They hate us; they are not interested in having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-de-mello/and-increasingly-you-know-this-and-so-do-i-we-re-losing-the-youth/) [Anthony de Mello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-de-mello/) > [Spirituality practiced in the state of activity is incomparably superior to that practiced in a state of withdrawel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-de-mello/spirituality-practiced-in-the-state-of-activity-is-incomparably/) [Anthony de Mello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-de-mello/) > [You know, all mystics - Catholic, Christian, non-Christian, no matter what their theology, no matter what their religion - are unanimous on one thing:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-de-mello/you-know-all-mystics-catholic-christian-non-christian-no-matter-what/) [Anthony de Mello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-de-mello/) > [There were rules in the monastery, but the Master always warned against the tyranny of the law. 'Obedience keeps the rules,' he would say.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-de-mello/there-were-rules-in-the-monastery-but-the-master-always-warned/) [Anthony de Mello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-de-mello/) > [A disciple, in his reverence for the Master, looked upon him as God incarnate. "Tell me, O Master," he said, "why you have come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-de-mello/a-disciple-in-his-reverence-for-the-master-looked-upon-him-as-god/) [Anthony de Mello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-de-mello/) > [“And how about you? Do you want to understand and play the game of life or fool around with miracles?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-de-mello/and-how-about-you-do-you-want-to-understand-and-play-the-game-of-life/) [Anthony de Mello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-de-mello/) > [You don't have to add anything in order to be happy; you've got to drop something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-de-mello/you-don-t-have-to-add-anything-in-order-to-be-happy-you-ve-got-to/) [Anthony de Mello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-de-mello/) > [Rare indeed, is the relationship in which the other is not cultivated for what one can get for oneself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-de-mello/rare-indeed-is-the-relationship-in-which-the-other-is-not-cultivated/) [Anthony de Mello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-de-mello/) [Explore all 253 Anthony de Mello quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-de-mello/) ## More Barriers quotes > [Your aunt and uncle will be proud, though, won't they?" said Hermione as they got off the train and joined the crowd thronging toward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/your-aunt-and-uncle-will-be-proud-though-won-t-they-said-hermione-as/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The gear you can't afford is not the barrier keeping you from success. Gear has very little to do with photography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chase-jarvis/the-gear-you-can-t-afford-is-not-the-barrier-keeping-you-from-success/) [Chase Jarvis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chase-jarvis/) > [All of the barriers to innovation in the energy sector are arguments for a big commitment to public investment. Only the public sector can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nordhaus/all-of-the-barriers-to-innovation-in-the-energy-sector-are-arguments/) [Ted Nordhaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nordhaus/) > [The "health, education, and welfare" section of government is another boondoggle. First we manufacture indigent and superfluous people by legal monopolies in land, money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurance-labadie/the-health-education-and-welfare-section-of-government-is-another/) [Laurance Labadie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurance-labadie/) > [Security is a component of everyday life that one spending time in Washington, D.C., gets accustomed to. Metal detectors, police vehicle barriers and heavily-armed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-crapo/security-is-a-component-of-everyday-life-that-one-spending-time-in/) [Mike Crapo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-crapo/) > [The biggest obstacles to our progress exist within our own lives in the form of cowardice and the tendency to give up. Breaking through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senora-roy/the-biggest-obstacles-to-our-progress-exist-within-our-own-lives-in/) [Senora Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senora-roy/) > [I feel that there are a few things in the world without cultural barriers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-chan/i-feel-that-there-are-a-few-things-in-the-world-without-cultural/) [Jackie Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-chan/) > [English literature is a glorious inheritance which is open to all - there are no barriers, no coupons, and no restrictions. In the English…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/english-literature-is-a-glorious-inheritance-which-is-open-to-all/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Friendship embraces innumerable ends; turn where you will it is ever at your side; no barrier shuts it out; it is never untimely and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/friendship-embraces-innumerable-ends-turn-where-you-will-it-is-ever/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [I've cosponsored legislation to establish a lend-lease program to simplify bureaucratic barriers and allow a speedier transfer of U.S. military equipment to Ukraine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-waltz/i-ve-cosponsored-legislation-to-establish-a-lend-lease-program-to/) [Michael Waltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-waltz/) > [Don't be afraid of what you want. This is your time. The barriers are down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-freeman/don-t-be-afraid-of-what-you-want-this-is-your-time-the-barriers-are/) [Morgan Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-freeman/) > [Fear is the single biggest barrier to creativity. Unless we're brave enough to risk looking foolish, we'll inevitably find ourselves sticking to the status…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-linkner/fear-is-the-single-biggest-barrier-to-creativity-unless-we-re-brave/) [Josh Linkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-linkner/) > [He looked at my lips. I suddenly found myself wanting to lick his. 'Yes,' he replied, his eyes going molten. My breath caught in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-macalister/he-looked-at-my-lips-i-suddenly-found-myself-wanting-to-lick-his-yes/) [Katie MacAlister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-macalister/) > [What do you have to surrender? A drop has to dissolve into the ocean to become the ocean. And a drop cannot be greater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/what-do-you-have-to-surrender-a-drop-has-to-dissolve-into-the-ocean/) [Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/) > [“One way to generate a precise customer value proposition is to think about the four most common barriers keeping people from getting particular jobs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-w-johnson/one-way-to-generate-a-precise-customer-value-proposition-is-to-think/) [Mark W. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-w-johnson/) [Browse all 1,191 Barriers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/barriers/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Wouldn't it be wonderful if we had a world where everybody said, 'We don't know?' The fact is that you're surrounded -God and you don't see God, because you KNOW ABOUT God. The final barrier to the vision of God is your God concept. You miss God because you think you know. The highest knowledge of God is to know God as unknowable. All revelations, however divine, are never any more than a finger pointing at the moon. 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