--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You don't understand that one can be an…" description: "\"“You don't understand that one can be an atheist, one can not know whether God exists or why, and at the same time know that man does not live in natur..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51f/boris-pasternak-1944_atheist_you-don-t-understand-that-one-can-be-an_1526240.png" --- # You don't understand that one can be an atheist, one can… ![“You don't understand that one can be an atheist, one can not know whether God exists or why, and at the same time know that man does not live in nature but in history, and that in present-day understanding it was founded by Christ, that its foundation is the Gospel. And what is history? It is the…” quote by Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51f/boris-pasternak-1944_atheist_you-don-t-understand-that-one-can-be-an_1526240.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51f/boris-pasternak-1944_atheist_you-don-t-understand-that-one-can-be-an_1526240.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51f/boris-pasternak-1944_atheist_you-don-t-understand-that-one-can-be-an_1526240.png) > ““You don't understand that one can be an atheist, one can not know whether God exists or why, and at the same time know that man does not live in nature but in history, and that in present-day understanding it was founded by Christ, that its foundation is the Gospel. And what is history? It is the setting in motion of centuries of work at the gradual unriddling of death and its eventual overcoming. Hence the discovery of mathematical infinity and electromagnetic waves, hence the writing of symphonies. It is impossible to move on in that direction without a certain uplift. These discoveries call for spiritual equipment. The grounds for it are contained in the Gospel. They are these. First, love of one's neighbor, that highest form of living energy, overflowing man's heart and demanding to be let out and spent, and then the main component parts of modern man, without which he is unthinkable-- namely, the idea of the free person and the idea of life as sacrifice.”” [Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He links scientific and artistic breakthroughs to spiritual foundations, emphasizing love, freedom, and sacrifice as essential human drives. **In simple terms:** Science and art need spiritual values like love and freedom. Key Takeaway Cultivate love, freedom, and sacrifice. Themes spirituality science art humanism Mood contemplative poetic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal relationships - creative work - social activism - education Key Concepts philosophy ethics history Questions to Reflect On - How do love and freedom shape your work? - Can art thrive without spiritual motivation? A Different Perspective Relying solely on religious doctrine may exclude secular perspectives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atheist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheist/) [Electromagnetic waves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/electromagnetic-waves/) [First love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-love/) [God exists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-exists/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Modern man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-man/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) ## Related quotes > [“Now what is history? It is the centuries of systematic explorations of the riddle of death, with a view to overcoming death. That's why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/now-what-is-history-it-is-the-centuries-of-systematic-explorations-of/) [Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) > [What is history? Its beginning is that of the centuries of systematic work devoted to the solution of the enigma of death, so that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/what-is-history-its-beginning-is-that-of-the-centuries-of-systematic/) [Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) > [It's important to understand that an atheist is someone who believes the scientific impossibility that nothing created everything. Some fundamental atheists will deny this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-comfort/it-s-important-to-understand-that-an-atheist-is-someone-who-believes/) [Ray Comfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-comfort/) > [“I don’t understand how, up to now, an atheist could know there is no God and not kill himself at once. To recognize that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/i-don-t-understand-how-up-to-now-an-atheist-could-know-there-is-no/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“You've finally understood! Kirillov cried out rapturously. So it can be understood, if even someone like you understands! You understand now that the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/you-ve-finally-understood-kirillov-cried-out-rapturously-so-it-can-be/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [It's hard to say, 'I don't believe in God.' I would love to know if God exists. But it's a very difficult thing for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rafael-nadal/it-s-hard-to-say-i-don-t-believe-in-god-i-would-love-to-know-if-god/) [Rafael Nadal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rafael-nadal/) > [I don't know what God is, or what God had in mind when the universe was set in motion. In fact, I don't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-know-what-god-is-or-what-god-had-in-mind-when-the-universe/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you didn't know God exists, you didn't know much about life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-quperlier/if-you-didn-t-know-god-exists-you-didn-t-know-much-about-life/) [Simon Quperlier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-quperlier/) > [“Deep within our souls we know that God exists and that He has given His law to us. We seek to suppress this knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/deep-within-our-souls-we-know-that-god-exists-and-that-he-has-given/) [R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/) > [I know that God exists. I know that I have never invented anything. I have been a medium by which these things were given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philo/i-know-that-god-exists-i-know-that-i-have-never-invented-anything-i/) [Philo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philo/) > [“And then the two basic ideals of modern man- without them he is unthinkable- the idea of free personality and the idea of life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/and-then-the-two-basic-ideals-of-modern-man-without-them-he-is/) [Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) > [What you don't understand is that it is possible to be an atheist, it is possible not to know if God exists or why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/what-you-don-t-understand-is-that-it-is-possible-to-be-an-atheist-it/) [Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) > [Others are engaging even in an eco- type of terrorism whereby they can alter the climate, set off earthquakes, volcanoes remotely through the use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cohen/others-are-engaging-even-in-an-eco-type-of-terrorism-whereby-they-can/) [William Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cohen/) > [For under certain conditions the chemical atoms emit light waves of a specific length or oscillation frequency - their familiar characteristic spectra - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johannes-stark/for-under-certain-conditions-the-chemical-atoms-emit-light-waves-of-a/) [Johannes Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johannes-stark/) > [It required unusual inquisitiveness to pursue the development of scientific curiosities such as charged pith balls, the voltaic cell, and the electrostatic machine. Without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-seitz/it-required-unusual-inquisitiveness-to-pursue-the-development-of/) [Frederick Seitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-seitz/) ## More by Boris Pasternak > [“Happy are the downtrodden.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/happy-are-the-downtrodden/) [Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) > [“The saddest thing of all was that their party represented a deviation from the conditions of the time. It was impossible to imagine that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/the-saddest-thing-of-all-was-that-their-party-represented-a-deviation/) [Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) > [No deep and strong feeling, such as we may come across here and there in the world, is unmixed with compassion. The more we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/no-deep-and-strong-feeling-such-as-we-may-come-across-here-and-there/) [Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) > [She was here on earth to make sense of its wild enchantments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/she-was-here-on-earth-to-make-sense-of-its-wild-enchantments/) [Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) > [Art has two constant, two unending concerns: It always meditates on death and thus always creates life. All great, genuine art resembles and continues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/art-has-two-constant-two-unending-concerns-it-always-meditates-on/) [Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) > [I think that if the beast who sleeps in man could be held down by threats of any kind, whether of jail or retribution,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/i-think-that-if-the-beast-who-sleeps-in-man-could-be-held-down-by/) [Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) > [And so it turned out that only a life similar to the life of those around us, merging with it without a ripple, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/and-so-it-turned-out-that-only-a-life-similar-to-the-life-of-those/) [Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) > [I come here to speak poetry. It will always be in the grass. It will also be necessary to bend down to hear it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/i-come-here-to-speak-poetry-it-will-always-be-in-the-grass-it-will/) [Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) > [“I'll stay with you a little, my unforgettable delight, for as long as my arms and my hands and my lips remember you. I'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/i-ll-stay-with-you-a-little-my-unforgettable-delight-for-as-long-as/) [Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) > [If it's so painful to love and absorb electricity, how much more painful it is to be a woman, to be the electricity, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/if-it-s-so-painful-to-love-and-absorb-electricity-how-much-more/) [Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) > [I don't like purely philosophical works. I think a little philosophy should be added to life and art by way of seasoning, but to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/i-don-t-like-purely-philosophical-works-i-think-a-little-philosophy/) [Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) > [“But sometimes, to enable her to bear her life, she needed the accompaniment of an inward music and she could not always compose it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/but-sometimes-to-enable-her-to-bear-her-life-she-needed-the/) [Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) > [“We’ve been lucky. The autumn happened to be dry and warm. We managed to dig the potatoes before the rain and cold set in.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/we-ve-been-lucky-the-autumn-happened-to-be-dry-and-warm-we-managed-to/) [Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) > [Departure beyond the borders of my country is for me equivalent to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/departure-beyond-the-borders-of-my-country-is-for-me-equivalent-to/) [Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) > [“As he scribbled his odds and ends, he made a note reaffirming his belief that art always serves beauty, and beauty is delight in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-pasternak/as-he-scribbled-his-odds-and-ends-he-made-a-note-reaffirming-his/) [Boris Pasternak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) [Explore all 189 Boris Pasternak quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-pasternak/) ## More Atheist quotes > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [That the world is in a bad shape is undeniable, but there is not the faintest reason in history to suppose that Christianity offers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/that-the-world-is-in-a-bad-shape-is-undeniable-but-there-is-not-the/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [“I felt like praying or something, when I was in bed, but I couldn't do it. I can't always pray when I feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/i-felt-like-praying-or-something-when-i-was-in-bed-but-i-couldn-t-do/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [Atheist’s denial of God’s existence needs just as much substantiation as does the theist’s claim; the atheist must give plausible reasons for rejecting God’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-copan/atheist-s-denial-of-god-s-existence-needs-just-as-much-substantiation/) [Paul Copan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-copan/) > [“The atheist joined his hands. It wasn't against the Gods. He smiled, with his hands folded, saw his daughter's in-laws approaching near.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhavik-sarkhedi/the-atheist-joined-his-hands-it-wasn-t-against-the-gods-he-smiled/) [Bhavik Sarkhedi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhavik-sarkhedi/) > [I am surprised that anyone can profess to be an atheist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-comfort/i-am-surprised-that-anyone-can-profess-to-be-an-atheist/) [Ray Comfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-comfort/) > [“I have found it an amusing strategy, when asked whether I am an atheist, to point out that the questioner is also an atheist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-have-found-it-an-amusing-strategy-when-asked-whether-i-am-an/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [An Atheist wandering down a road where he meets up a four road junction , he asks a passer by hey !, where does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-rambharack/an-atheist-wandering-down-a-road-where-he-meets-up-a-four-road/) [Glen Rambharack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-rambharack/) > [Good churches are not built by bad men; at least, there must be probity and enthusiasm somewhere in the society. These minsters were neither…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/good-churches-are-not-built-by-bad-men-at-least-there-must-be-probity/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [An ineffably holy God, who has the utmost abhorrence of sin, was never invented by any of Adam's descendents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-w-pink/an-ineffably-holy-god-who-has-the-utmost-abhorrence-of-sin-was-never/) [Arthur W. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-w-pink/) > [If all the Atheists & Agnostics left America, they'd lose 93% of The National Academy of Sciences & less than 1% of the prison population.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-gervais/if-all-the-atheists-agnostics-left-america-they-d-lose-93-of-the/) [Ricky Gervais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-gervais/) > [I am an atheist. I don't think there's anything divine. Beautiful, impressive, awe-inspiring - sure, but not divine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nomy-arpaly/i-am-an-atheist-i-don-t-think-there-s-anything-divine-beautiful/) [Nomy Arpaly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nomy-arpaly/) > [I am like all other atheists only in that I do not believe there are any gods. Beyond that, I may differ dramatically in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-carrier/i-am-like-all-other-atheists-only-in-that-i-do-not-believe-there-are/) [Richard Carrier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-carrier/) [Browse all 2,434 Atheist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“You don't understand that one can be an atheist, one can not know whether God exists or why, and at the same time know that man does not live in nature but in history, and that in present-day understanding it was founded by Christ, that its foundation is the Gospel. And what is history? It is the setting in motion of centuries of work at the gradual unriddling of death and its eventual overcoming. Hence the discovery of mathematical infinity and electromagnetic waves, hence the writing of symphonies. It is impossible to move on in that direction without a certain uplift. These discoveries call for spiritual equipment. The grounds for it are contained in the Gospel. They are these. 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