--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We do not simply decide to believe…" description: "\"“We do not simply decide to believe, having been convinced by factual evidence. We first grasp the truth, being enabled by the Holy Spirit, and then th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45d/arthur-c-custance-220900_believe_we-do-not-simply-decide-to-believe-havin_2677164.jpg" --- # We do not simply decide to believe, having been convinced… ![“We do not simply decide to believe, having been convinced by factual evidence. We first grasp the truth, being enabled by the Holy Spirit, and then the external evidence for the truth suddenly takes on new significance. Thus we ‘understand’ by faith. Anselm said, ‘I believe in order that I may…” quote by Arthur C. Custance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45d/arthur-c-custance-220900_believe_we-do-not-simply-decide-to-believe-havin_2677164.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45d/arthur-c-custance-220900_believe_we-do-not-simply-decide-to-believe-havin_2677164.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45d/arthur-c-custance-220900_believe_we-do-not-simply-decide-to-believe-havin_2677164.jpg) > ““We do not simply decide to believe, having been convinced by factual evidence. We first grasp the truth, being enabled by the Holy Spirit, and then the external evidence for the truth suddenly takes on new significance. Thus we ‘understand’ by faith. Anselm said, ‘I believe in order that I may understand’ whereas Abelard said, ‘I seek to understand in order that I may believe.”” Arthur C. Custance ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Faith precedes understanding; the Holy Spirit enables grasping truth, which then gives meaning to evidence. **In simple terms:** Faith opens the mind to truth, which then validates evidence. Key Takeaway Cultivate faith to deepen comprehension. Themes faith theology epistemology spiritual insight Mood reverent thoughtful Type theological philosophical When to use this quote - religious study - personal devotion - interfaith dialogue Key Concepts faith‑reason relationship holistic understanding spiritual discernment Questions to Reflect On - How does faith interact with scientific evidence? - What role does the Holy Spirit play in personal belief? A Different Perspective Reliance on faith may conflict with empirical standards. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Holy spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holy-spirit/) [Seek To Understand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seek-to-understand/) ## Related quotes > [Reason is a tool to help us better understand and defend our faith; as Anselm put it, ours is a faith that seeks understanding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lane-craig/reason-is-a-tool-to-help-us-better-understand-and-defend-our-faith-as/) [William Lane Craig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lane-craig/) > [At no point, at a very important point: that of having convinced the Indians that they can do things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/at-no-point-at-a-very-important-point-that-of-having-convinced-the/) [Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/) > [Science is not there for you to cherry pick ... You can decide whether or not to believe in it but that doesn’t change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/science-is-not-there-for-you-to-cherry-pick-you-can-decide-whether-or/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [You can get over a broken past if you decide to believe that there's nothing in your past that can keep you from having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/you-can-get-over-a-broken-past-if-you-decide-to-believe-that-there-s/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [“No one can make you jealous, until you decide to believe it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-basit-rana-mbr/no-one-can-make-you-jealous-until-you-decide-to-believe-it/) [Muhammad Basit Rana -MBR](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-basit-rana-mbr/) > [Decide to believe in God, who created you. Decide to believe in yourself, that you truly can reach goals—your goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-d-pinegar/decide-to-believe-in-god-who-created-you-decide-to-believe-in/) [Rex D. Pinegar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-d-pinegar/) > [“When you decide to do something you believe to be right, don’t let others stop you, even if a majority of people disapprove of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-chakrapani/when-you-decide-to-do-something-you-believe-to-be-right-don-t-let/) Chuck Chakrapani > [It's hard to do that, to decide to believe one thing over another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-rifka-brunt/it-s-hard-to-do-that-to-decide-to-believe-one-thing-over-another/) [Carol Rifka Brunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-rifka-brunt/) > [“...sooner or later you have to decide what you believe." It was a thing I'd always known but until recently had forgotten: that faith…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-haigh/sooner-or-later-you-have-to-decide-what-you-believe-it-was-a-thing-i/) [Jennifer Haigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-haigh/) > [It is up to you to decide who to believe: the same people as usual or those who endanger their lives to save the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rafael-correa/it-is-up-to-you-to-decide-who-to-believe-the-same-people-as-usual-or/) [Rafael Correa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rafael-correa/) > [“Do we not see the influence we have when we say we believe in one thing, but our children see us living something else?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-pearce/do-we-not-see-the-influence-we-have-when-we-say-we-believe-in-one/) [Dan Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-pearce/) > [You've got to give people a fair chance of saying what they believe, and then you've got to decide, "Do you believe 'em?"](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bloomberg/you-ve-got-to-give-people-a-fair-chance-of-saying-what-they-believe/) [Michael Bloomberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bloomberg/) > [I don't believe in God because certain reasons and arguments weigh more heavily in my mind than others, not because I have willfully decided…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-baggini/i-don-t-believe-in-god-because-certain-reasons-and-arguments-weigh/) [Julian Baggini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-baggini/) > [When people say they love you, you just have to decide to believe them, because you'll never know for sure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-wittlinger/when-people-say-they-love-you-you-just-have-to-decide-to-believe-them/) [Ellen Wittlinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-wittlinger/) > [“You know what I know, Mally. Now you must decide what to believe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-l-legette-2/you-know-what-i-know-mally-now-you-must-decide-what-to-believe/) [M.L LeGette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-l-legette-2/) ## More Believe quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Resist discouragement by speaking His Word over your future. Keep standing. Keep hoping; keep believing because He is working behind the scenes. He's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/resist-discouragement-by-speaking-his-word-over-your-future-keep/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [There is no such word as item girl in the dictionary. People have created this word and I don't believe that I am an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shefali-zariwala/there-is-no-such-word-as-item-girl-in-the-dictionary-people-have/) [Shefali Zariwala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shefali-zariwala/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I don't really like too much credit. I know nobody's going to believe this, but I'd rather be able to score goals and nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-wright-phillips/i-don-t-really-like-too-much-credit-i-know-nobody-s-going-to-believe/) [Bradley Wright-Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradley-wright-phillips/) > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [Bush reiterated his stand to conservatives opposing his decision on stem cell research. He said today he believes life begins at conception and ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/bush-reiterated-his-stand-to-conservatives-opposing-his-decision-on/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-human-mind-to-believe-what-it/) [Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/) > [To believe in love, to be ready to give up anything for it, to be willing to risk your life for it, is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/to-believe-in-love-to-be-ready-to-give-up-anything-for-it-to-be/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [That's why I don't generally talk about endorsements because I don't believe we have to tell people who to vote for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-iii/that-s-why-i-don-t-generally-talk-about-endorsements-because-i-don-t/) [Martin Luther King III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-iii/) > [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [We instantly believe everything we think. Isn't that insane? It's good for us to explore the depravity of our minds, so we know we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krishna-das/we-instantly-believe-everything-we-think-isn-t-that-insane-it-s-good/) [Krishna Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krishna-das/) Browse all 47,704 Believe quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We do not simply decide to believe, having been convinced by factual evidence. We first grasp the truth, being enabled by the Holy Spirit, and then the external evidence for the truth suddenly takes on new significance. Thus we ‘understand’ by faith. Anselm said, ‘I believe in order that I may understand’ whereas Abelard said, ‘I seek to understand in order that I may believe.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Arthur C. 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