--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: From all human oracles, however…" description: "\"From all human oracles, however self-confident, we turn at last to the inspired Word, where instead of ambiguous and untrustworthy utterances, we find ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a2/arthur-tappan-pierson-37882_ambiguous_from-all-human-oracles-however-self-conf_2234749.jpg" --- # From all human oracles, however self-confident, we turn at… ![“From all human oracles, however self-confident, we turn at last to the inspired Word, where instead of ambiguous and untrustworthy utterances, we find teachings distinct and definite, authoritative and infallible.” quote by Arthur Tappan Pierson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a2/arthur-tappan-pierson-37882_ambiguous_from-all-human-oracles-however-self-conf_2234749.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a2/arthur-tappan-pierson-37882_ambiguous_from-all-human-oracles-however-self-conf_2234749.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a2/arthur-tappan-pierson-37882_ambiguous_from-all-human-oracles-however-self-conf_2234749.jpg) > “From all human oracles, however self-confident, we turn at last to the inspired Word, where instead of ambiguous and untrustworthy utterances, we find teachings distinct and definite, authoritative and infallible.” [Arthur Tappan Pierson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-tappan-pierson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human oracles are unreliable; true guidance comes from the inspired, definitive Word, which is authoritative and infallible. **In simple terms:** Divine Word is the ultimate reliable source. Key Takeaway Seek truth in the inspired Word, not human opinions. Themes faith authority truth spirituality knowledge Mood contemplative reverent Type theological philosophical When to use this quote - personal study - sermons - teaching sessions Key Concepts inspiration divine authority epistemology Questions to Reflect On - How do you discern divine guidance from personal bias? - What role does reason play in faith? A Different Perspective Human insight can still be valuable when balanced with faith. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bible/) [Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian/) [Confident](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confident/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Oracles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oracles/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self confident](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-confident/) [Teaching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teaching/) ## Related quotes > [“The Spirit inspired the Word and therefore He goes where the Word goes. The more of God's Word you know and love, the more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/the-spirit-inspired-the-word-and-therefore-he-goes-where-the-word/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [“The Bible is the inspired word of God from Genesis to Revelation.   2.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-w-clark/the-bible-is-the-inspired-word-of-god-from-genesis-to-revelation-2/) Harold W. Clark > [Creativity healed me. I don't know that I could think of any word that I get more inspired by than the word healing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sark/creativity-healed-me-i-don-t-know-that-i-could-think-of-any-word-that/) [Sark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sark/) > [“places and wide valleys to a heavenly destination. Until then, abiding in Christ (John 15:4, kjv) is the key to staying deliberately connected with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/places-and-wide-valleys-to-a-heavenly-destination-until-then-abiding/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [“Now I see the Bible as it was written: the inspired word of God, but also a historical document preserving the ancient hegemony of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-parker/now-i-see-the-bible-as-it-was-written-the-inspired-word-of-god-but/) [Willie Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-parker/) > [“Please don't entertain for a moment the utterly mistaken idea that there is no drudgery in writing. There is a great deal of drudgery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ngaio-marsh/please-don-t-entertain-for-a-moment-the-utterly-mistaken-idea-that/) [Ngaio Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ngaio-marsh/) > [“Of course Kim had buggered off as unpredictably as he'd appeared, because he was an untrustworthy shit and a lord. There had never been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-j-charles/of-course-kim-had-buggered-off-as-unpredictably-as-he-d-appeared/) [K.J. Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-j-charles/) > [There are lots of those who speak but few who do. However, no one should distort the word of God by his own negligence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximus-the-confessor/there-are-lots-of-those-who-speak-but-few-who-do-however-no-one/) [Maximus the Confessor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximus-the-confessor/) > [There is no knowing beyond that membrane, the meniscus of death. What can be seen from here is distorted, refracted. All we can know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/there-is-no-knowing-beyond-that-membrane-the-meniscus-of-death-what/) [China Mieville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [In case you guys didn't catch last week's episode, I'm out of the flock," I informed them. "Angel has no allegiance to me. She's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-patterson/in-case-you-guys-didn-t-catch-last-week-s-episode-i-m-out-of-the/) [James Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-patterson/) > [Evidence from torture may be considered completely untrustworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/evidence-from-torture-may-be-considered-completely-untrustworthy/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [It's hard to change information in books, but if we have everything online, then a somewhat untrustworthy group of people controlling the thing -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-kay/it-s-hard-to-change-information-in-books-but-if-we-have-everything/) [Alan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-kay/) > [ The clergy \[in the 14th century\] on the whole were probably no more lecherous or greedy or untrustworthy than other men, but because they… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/the-clergy-in-the-14th-century-on-the-whole-were-probably-no-more/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [If miracles be incredible, Christianity is false. If Christ wrought no miracles, then the Gospels are untrustworthy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-farrar/if-miracles-be-incredible-christianity-is-false-if-christ-wrought-no/) [Frederic Farrar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-farrar/) > [ Margot \[Hentoff\] dislikes Bill Clinton because he's totally untrustworthy, and you really ought to have some faith in whoever's going to be your president. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-hentoff/margot-hentoff-dislikes-bill-clinton-because-he-s-totally/) [Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-hentoff/) ## More by Arthur Tappan Pierson > [We may compare the Bible to the Old Testament Tabernacle in the wilderness with its three courts. The outer court is the letter of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-tappan-pierson/we-may-compare-the-bible-to-the-old-testament-tabernacle-in-the/) [Arthur Tappan Pierson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-tappan-pierson/) > [The Word of God represents all the possibilities of God as at the disposal of true prayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-tappan-pierson/the-word-of-god-represents-all-the-possibilities-of-god-as-at-the/) [Arthur Tappan Pierson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-tappan-pierson/) > [Jesus stands absolutely alone in history; in teaching, in example, in character, an exception, a marvel, and He is Himself the evidence of Christianity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-tappan-pierson/jesus-stands-absolutely-alone-in-history-in-teaching-in-example-in/) [Arthur Tappan Pierson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-tappan-pierson/) > [A marble cutter, with chisel and hammer, was changing a stone into a statue. A preacher looking on said: "I wish I could deal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-tappan-pierson/a-marble-cutter-with-chisel-and-hammer-was-changing-a-stone-into-a/) [Arthur Tappan Pierson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-tappan-pierson/) > [Let the Spirit be lacking, and there may be wisdom of words, but not the wisdom of God; the powers of oratory, but not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-tappan-pierson/let-the-spirit-be-lacking-and-there-may-be-wisdom-of-words-but-not/) [Arthur Tappan Pierson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-tappan-pierson/) > [Every step in the progress of missions is directly traceable to prayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-tappan-pierson/every-step-in-the-progress-of-missions-is-directly-traceable-to-prayer/) [Arthur Tappan Pierson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-tappan-pierson/) > [Closet communion needs time for the revelation of God's presence. It is vain to say, "I have too much work to do to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-tappan-pierson/closet-communion-needs-time-for-the-revelation-of-god-s-presence-it/) [Arthur Tappan Pierson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-tappan-pierson/) > [The supreme test of service is this: For whom am I doing this? Much that we call service to Christ is not such at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-tappan-pierson/the-supreme-test-of-service-is-this-for-whom-am-i-doing-this-much/) [Arthur Tappan Pierson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-tappan-pierson/) > [God has no greater controversy with His people today than this, that with boundless promises to believing prayer, there are so few who actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-tappan-pierson/god-has-no-greater-controversy-with-his-people-today-than-this-that/) [Arthur Tappan Pierson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-tappan-pierson/) > [There has never been a spiritual awakening in any country or locality that did not begin in united prayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-tappan-pierson/there-has-never-been-a-spiritual-awakening-in-any-country-or-locality/) [Arthur Tappan Pierson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-tappan-pierson/) > [Partial examination will result in partial views of truth, which are necessarily imperfect; only careful comparisons will show the complete mind of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-tappan-pierson/partial-examination-will-result-in-partial-views-of-truth-which-are/) [Arthur Tappan Pierson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-tappan-pierson/) [Explore all 12 Arthur Tappan Pierson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-tappan-pierson/) ## More Ambiguous quotes > [Virtually every major technological advance in the history of the human species- back to the invention of stone tools and the domestication of fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/virtually-every-major-technological-advance-in-the-history-of-the/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [Happiness can be bought with a bottle of wine and has become ambiguous through overuse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/happiness-can-be-bought-with-a-bottle-of-wine-and-has-become/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Somehow, in the novel format, I don't really like to do upfront, ideological discussion. 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Except that something unusual happens-usually .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/redundancy-is-ambiguous-because-it-seems-like-a-waste-if-nothing/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“In general we are reminded that the word heimlich is not unambiguous, but belongs to two sets of ideas, which, without being contradictory, are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/in-general-we-are-reminded-that-the-word-heimlich-is-not-unambiguous/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [I want each poem to be ambiguous enough that its meaning can shift, depending on the reader's own frame of reference, and depending on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-arthur/i-want-each-poem-to-be-ambiguous-enough-that-its-meaning-can-shift/) [James Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-arthur/) > [Photography appears to be an easy activity; in fact it is a varied and ambiguous process in which the only common denominator among its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-cartier-bresson/photography-appears-to-be-an-easy-activity-in-fact-it-is-a-varied-and/) [Henri Cartier-Bresson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-cartier-bresson/) > [My drawings inspire, and are not to be defined. They place us, as does music, in the ambiguous realm of the undetermined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/odilon-redon/my-drawings-inspire-and-are-not-to-be-defined-they-place-us-as-does/) [Odilon Redon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/odilon-redon/) > [Words are such gross machinery, so primitive and ambiguous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/words-are-such-gross-machinery-so-primitive-and-ambiguous/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [Wave particle duality is a core feature of our world. Or rather, we should say, it is a core feature of our mathematical descriptions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-wertheim/wave-particle-duality-is-a-core-feature-of-our-world-or-rather-we/) [Margaret Wertheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-wertheim/) > [Humor is really one of the hardest things to define, very hard. And it's very ambiguous. You have it or you don't. You can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinrich-b-ll/humor-is-really-one-of-the-hardest-things-to-define-very-hard-and-it/) [Heinrich Böll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinrich-b-ll/) > [I was perceiving myself as good as a man or equal to a man and as powerful and I wanted to look ambiguous because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lennox/i-was-perceiving-myself-as-good-as-a-man-or-equal-to-a-man-and-as/) [Annie Lennox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lennox/) > [I was always, like, ambiguous. Is that how you say it? When I was turning 16 I talked to my mom about transitioning and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adore-delano/i-was-always-like-ambiguous-is-that-how-you-say-it-when-i-was-turning/) [Adore Delano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adore-delano/) > [I am Indian-American, but I often play ethnically ambiguous roles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiya-sircar/i-am-indian-american-but-i-often-play-ethnically-ambiguous-roles/) [Tiya Sircar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiya-sircar/) > [Humor is really one of the hardest things to define, very hard. And it's very ambiguous. You have it, or you don't. You can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinrich-b-ll/humor-is-really-one-of-the-hardest-things-to-define-very-hard-and-it-2/) [Heinrich Boll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinrich-b-ll/) Browse all 271 Ambiguous quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "From all human oracles, however self-confident, we turn at last to the inspired Word, where instead of ambiguous and untrustworthy utterances, we find teachings distinct and definite, authoritative and infallible.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Arthur Tappan Pierson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-tappan-pierson/from-all-human-oracles-however-self-confident-we-turn-at-last-to-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ambiguous" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-tappan-pierson/from-all-human-oracles-however-self-confident-we-turn-at-last-to-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a2/arthur-tappan-pierson-37882_ambiguous_from-all-human-oracles-however-self-conf_2234749.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a2/arthur-tappan-pierson-37882_ambiguous_from-all-human-oracles-however-self-conf_2234749.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a2/arthur-tappan-pierson-37882_ambiguous_from-all-human-oracles-however-self-conf_2234749.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“From all human oracles, however self-confident, we turn at last to the inspired Word, where instead of…” — Arthur Tappan Pierson", "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": "Arthur Tappan Pierson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-tappan-pierson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "From all human oracles, however self-confident,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-tappan-pierson/from-all-human-oracles-however-self-confident-we-turn-at-last-to-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-tappan-pierson/from-all-human-oracles-however-self-confident-we-turn-at-last-to-the/#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 } } ] } ```