--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Religion idolizes concepts and avoids…" description: "\"Religion idolizes concepts and avoids personal experience.\" — Bill Johnson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dee/bill-johnson-1147_concepts_religion-idolizes-concepts-and-avoids-pe_2892974.png" --- # Religion idolizes concepts and avoids personal experience. ![“Religion idolizes concepts and avoids personal experience.” quote by Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dee/bill-johnson-1147_concepts_religion-idolizes-concepts-and-avoids-pe_2892974.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dee/bill-johnson-1147_concepts_religion-idolizes-concepts-and-avoids-pe_2892974.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dee/bill-johnson-1147_concepts_religion-idolizes-concepts-and-avoids-pe_2892974.png) > “Religion idolizes concepts and avoids personal experience.” [Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Religion focuses on abstract ideas, neglecting personal spiritual experience. **In simple terms:** Religion can be abstract. Key Takeaway Seek personal experience. Themes faith spirituality experience dogma Mood reflective hopeful Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - personal prayer - spiritual retreats - community worship Key Concepts phenomenology of religion psychology of belief Questions to Reflect On - How to balance doctrine and experience? - What role does community play? A Different Perspective Abstract doctrine can guide practice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Avoids Personal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/avoids-personal-4073487/) [Concepts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concepts/) [Concepts Avoids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concepts-avoids-4073486/) [Human experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-experience/) [Idolizes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idolizes-4073489/) [Idolizes Concepts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idolizes-concepts-4073488/) [Personal experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-experience/) [Personal experiences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-experiences/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religion Idolizes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion-idolizes-4073485/) ## Related quotes > [Anyone who idolizes you is going to hate you when he discovers that you are fallible. He never forgives. He has deceived himself, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/anyone-who-idolizes-you-is-going-to-hate-you-when-he-discovers-that/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [Light is my inspiration. My photographic images search for dimensions that words cannot touch- the result of intense responses to personal experiences. I do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bernhard/light-is-my-inspiration-my-photographic-images-search-for-dimensions/) [Ruth Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bernhard/) > [In my photographic work I'm generally attracted to places that contain memories, history, atmospheres and stories. I'm interested in the places where people have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kenna/in-my-photographic-work-i-m-generally-attracted-to-places-that/) [Michael Kenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kenna/) > [Each person comes to have this musical experience, this moment with us, where they get to sink into our world for a little while.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-welch/each-person-comes-to-have-this-musical-experience-this-moment-with-us/) [Gillian Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-welch/) > [I do write a lot from personal experience, but I also embellish a bit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-lambert/i-do-write-a-lot-from-personal-experience-but-i-also-embellish-a-bit/) [Miranda Lambert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-lambert/) > [The artist may rightly venture the opinion that he does not convey ideas, does not preach, nor that he intents to convert people by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoni-tapies/the-artist-may-rightly-venture-the-opinion-that-he-does-not-convey/) [Antoni Tapies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoni-tapies/) > [All arguments are meaningless until we gain personal experience. 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What horrors of damp huts, where human beings languish, may not become picturesque through aerial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/perspective-as-its-inventor-remarked-is-a-beautiful-thing-what/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [If you could distill this down to a single principle its that the best marketers in the world know MARKETS first and foremost, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perry-marshall/if-you-could-distill-this-down-to-a-single-principle-its-that-the/) [Perry Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perry-marshall/) > [For us to know that the Book of Mormon is true, we must read it and make the choice found in Moroni: pray to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/for-us-to-know-that-the-book-of-mormon-is-true-we-must-read-it-and/) [Henry B. Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/) ## More by Bill Johnson > [Christianity was never meant to be defined by its disciplines, but by its passions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/christianity-was-never-meant-to-be-defined-by-its-disciplines-but-by/) [Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/) > [I could not limit my values and pursuits to what makes others comfortable. Being possessed by a promise I live without options. I will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/i-could-not-limit-my-values-and-pursuits-to-what-makes-others/) [Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/) > [The biggest enemy to prayer is praying for something you already have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/the-biggest-enemy-to-prayer-is-praying-for-something-you-already-have/) [Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/) > [“Working from His presence is better than working for His presence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/working-from-his-presence-is-better-than-working-for-his-presence/) [Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/) > [Faith must rise beyond the recognised norm into a lifestyle that accurately represents the victorious Son of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/faith-must-rise-beyond-the-recognised-norm-into-a-lifestyle-that/) [Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/) > [It is unnatural for a Christian not to have an appetite for the impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/it-is-unnatural-for-a-christian-not-to-have-an-appetite-for-the/) [Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/) > [A heart of faith is anchored in the unseen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/a-heart-of-faith-is-anchored-in-the-unseen/) [Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/) > [“I can’t afford to live in reaction to darkness. 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We are relevant when we are what they long to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/we-are-not-relevant-when-we-mirror-secular-culture-we-are-relevant/) [Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/) > [God is better than you think. So lets change the way we think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/god-is-better-than-you-think-so-lets-change-the-way-we-think/) [Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/) > [“Remaining poor in spirit, combined with a first love passion for Jesus are the keys God created to anchor us to the center of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/remaining-poor-in-spirit-combined-with-a-first-love-passion-for-jesus/) [Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/) > [Anything you think you know about about God, that you can't find in the person of Jesus, you have reason to question.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/anything-you-think-you-know-about-about-god-that-you-can-t-find-in/) [Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/) > [Perfectionism is the counterfeit of excellence. Excellence is Kingdom, while perfectionism is religion. 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To me, the party hasn't begun…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mercer/i-do-like-talking-with-friends-about-big-concepts-you-know-the-stuff/) [James Mercer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mercer/) > [You imagine that I look back on my life's work with calm satisfaction. But from nearby it looks quite different. There is not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/you-imagine-that-i-look-back-on-my-life-s-work-with-calm-satisfaction/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [For a physicist mathematics is not just a tool by means of which phenomena can be calculated, it is the main source of concepts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/for-a-physicist-mathematics-is-not-just-a-tool-by-means-of-which/) [Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/) > [One of the most powerful concepts, one which is a sure cure for lack of confidence, is the thought that God is with you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/one-of-the-most-powerful-concepts-one-which-is-a-sure-cure-for-lack/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [All significant concepts of the modern theory of the state are secularized theological concepts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-schmitt/all-significant-concepts-of-the-modern-theory-of-the-state-are/) [Carl Schmitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-schmitt/) > [If you are trying to live a life in accordance with the Bible, the concept and call to justice are inescapable. 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