--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We do not want churches. They will teach…" description: "\"We do not want churches. They will teach us to quarrel about God.\" — Chief Joseph" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01e/chief-joseph-4820_church_we-do-not-want-churches-they-will-teach_2200990.png" --- # We do not want churches. They will teach us to quarrel… ![“We do not want churches. They will teach us to quarrel about God.” quote by Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01e/chief-joseph-4820_church_we-do-not-want-churches-they-will-teach_2200990.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01e/chief-joseph-4820_church_we-do-not-want-churches-they-will-teach_2200990.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01e/chief-joseph-4820_church_we-do-not-want-churches-they-will-teach_2200990.png) > “We do not want churches. They will teach us to quarrel about God.” [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He warns that churches can become sources of division by focusing on doctrinal conflict over unity. **In simple terms:** Churches may cause religious quarrels. Key Takeaway Seek unity over division in faith communities. Themes faith division community leadership conflict Mood thoughtful hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - church leadership - interfaith dialogue - community building - conflict resolution - religious education Key Concepts theology social cohesion religious authority Questions to Reflect On - What role should religion play in uniting people? - How can faith groups avoid divisive teachings? A Different Perspective Religious institutions can also foster peace. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/) [Churches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/churches/) [Churches Teach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/churches-teach-4501478/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [Great spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-spirit/) [Indian wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indian-wisdom/) [Native america](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/native-america/) [Native american wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/native-american-wisdom/) [Native wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/native-wisdom/) [Quarrel God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quarrel-god-4355023/) [Quarrels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quarrels/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Teach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teach/) [Teach Quarrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teach-quarrel-4834217/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Want Churches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-churches-3796816/) ## Related quotes > [We do not want churches because they will teach us to quarrel about God. We do not want to learn that. We may quarrel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/we-do-not-want-churches-because-they-will-teach-us-to-quarrel-about/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [We live, we die, and like the grass and trees, renew ourselves from the soft earth of the grave. Stones crumble and decay, faiths…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/we-live-we-die-and-like-the-grass-and-trees-renew-ourselves-from-the/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [Suppose a white man should come to me and say, "Joseph, I like your horses. I want to buy them." I say to him,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/suppose-a-white-man-should-come-to-me-and-say-joseph-i-like-your/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [If the white man wants to live in peace with the Indian, he can live in peace…Treat all men alike. Give them all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/if-the-white-man-wants-to-live-in-peace-with-the-indian-he-can-live-2/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [If the white man wants to live in peace with the Indianwe can live in peace. There need be no trouble. Treat all men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/if-the-white-man-wants-to-live-in-peace-with-the-indianwe-can-live-in/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the winter time.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crowfoot/what-is-life-it-is-the-flash-of-a-firefly-in-the-night-it-is-the-2/) [Crowfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crowfoot/) > [Treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children. We do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crazy-horse/treat-the-earth-well-it-was-not-given-to-you-by-your-parents-it-was/) [Crazy Horse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crazy-horse/) > [ \[last words\] What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crowfoot/last-words-what-is-life-it-is-the-flash-of-a-firefly-in-the-night/) [Crowfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crowfoot/) > [The old people came literally to love the soil and they sat or reclined on the ground with a feeling of being close to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luther-standing-bear/the-old-people-came-literally-to-love-the-soil-and-they-sat-or/) [Luther Standing Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luther-standing-bear/) > [Knowledge was inherent in all things. The world was a library.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luther-standing-bear/knowledge-was-inherent-in-all-things-the-world-was-a-library/) [Luther Standing Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luther-standing-bear/) > [The beauty of the trees, the softness of the air, the fragrance of the grass, they speak to me. The summit of the mountain,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-dan-george/the-beauty-of-the-trees-the-softness-of-the-air-the-fragrance-of-the/) [Chief Dan George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-dan-george/) > [Help me always to speak the truth quietly, to listen with an open mind when others speak, and to remember the peace that may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-muller/help-me-always-to-speak-the-truth-quietly-to-listen-with-an-open-mind/) [Robert Muller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-muller/) > [So long as mists envelop you, be still. Be still until the sunlight pours through and dispels the mists - as it surely will.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-white-eagle/so-long-as-mists-envelop-you-be-still-be-still-until-the-sunlight/) [Chief White Eagle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-white-eagle/) > [Grown men may learn from very little children, for the hearts of little children are pure, and, therefore, the Great Spirit may show to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/black-elk/grown-men-may-learn-from-very-little-children-for-the-hearts-of/) [Black Elk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/black-elk/) > [Everything an Indian does is in a circle, and that is because the power of the world always works in circles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/black-elk/everything-an-indian-does-is-in-a-circle-and-that-is-because-the/) [Black Elk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/black-elk/) ## More by Chief Joseph > [We did not know there were other people besides the Indian until about one hundred winters ago, when some men with white faces came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/we-did-not-know-there-were-other-people-besides-the-indian-until/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [I would give up everything rather than have the blood of white men upon the hands of my people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/i-would-give-up-everything-rather-than-have-the-blood-of-white-men/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [I am tired of talk that comes to nothing It makes my heart sick when I remember all the good words and all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/i-am-tired-of-talk-that-comes-to-nothing-it-makes-my-heart-sick-when/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [Let me be a free man - free to travel, free to stop, free to work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/let-me-be-a-free-man-free-to-travel-free-to-stop-free-to-work/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [I have asked some of the great white chiefs where they get their authority to say to the Indian that he shall stay in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/i-have-asked-some-of-the-great-white-chiefs-where-they-get-their/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [Good words will not give my people good health and stop them from dying. Good words will not get my people a home where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/good-words-will-not-give-my-people-good-health-and-stop-them-from/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [It does not take many words to speak the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/it-does-not-take-many-words-to-speak-the-truth/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [“I will fight no more forever”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/i-will-fight-no-more-forever/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [I do not believe that the Great Spirit Chief gave one kind of men the right to tell another kind of men what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/i-do-not-believe-that-the-great-spirit-chief-gave-one-kind-of-men-the/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [We ask to be recognized as men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/we-ask-to-be-recognized-as-men/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [We soon found that the white men were growing rich very fast, and were greedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/we-soon-found-that-the-white-men-were-growing-rich-very-fast-and-were/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [I have heard talk and talk, but nothing is done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/i-have-heard-talk-and-talk-but-nothing-is-done/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [Look twice at a two-faced man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/look-twice-at-a-two-faced-man/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [I believe much trouble and blood would be saved if we opened our hearts more. I will tell you in my way how the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/i-believe-much-trouble-and-blood-would-be-saved-if-we-opened-our/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [For a short time we lived quietly. But this could not last. White men had found gold in the mountains around the land of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/for-a-short-time-we-lived-quietly-but-this-could-not-last-white-men/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) [Explore all 106 Chief Joseph quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) ## More Church quotes > [While the 1963 Birmingham church bombing is the most historic, there also was a series of church burnings in the 1990s. Recognition of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthea-butler/while-the-1963-birmingham-church-bombing-is-the-most-historic-there/) [Anthea Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthea-butler/) > [If I had my brothers I think with just a little bit of the correct marketing, I'd like to be almost exclusively in small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-bozzio/if-i-had-my-brothers-i-think-with-just-a-little-bit-of-the-correct/) [Terry Bozzio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-bozzio/) > [Turn over the pages of history and read the damning record of the church's opposition to every advance in every field of science. . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/turn-over-the-pages-of-history-and-read-the-damning-record-of-the/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) > [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/) > [Jeff Chu's pilgrimage across America to discover his own place as a gay man in the Christian church as well as attitudes about being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-freitas/jeff-chu-s-pilgrimage-across-america-to-discover-his-own-place-as-a/) [Donna Freitas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-freitas/) > [God is not calling us to go to church; he is calling us to be his church, the hope of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-groeschel/god-is-not-calling-us-to-go-to-church-he-is-calling-us-to-be-his/) [Craig Groeschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-groeschel/) > [The emerging church movement has come to believe that the ultimate context of the spiritual aspirations of a follower of Jesus Christ is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samir-selmanovic/the-emerging-church-movement-has-come-to-believe-that-the-ultimate/) [Samir Selmanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samir-selmanovic/) > [ T\]he church is not a place. It's not a building. It's not a preaching point. It's not a spiritual service provider. It's a people… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/t-he-church-is-not-a-place-it-s-not-a-building-it-s-not-a-preaching/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [There could be no more powerful argument against mixing religion and government than the success of independent African American churches in placing racial segregation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/there-could-be-no-more-powerful-argument-against-mixing-religion-and/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [Worship is not about personality, temperament, personal limitations, church background, or comfort. It is about God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wimber/worship-is-not-about-personality-temperament-personal-limitations/) [John Wimber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wimber/) > [A beggarly people, A church and no steeple.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-macaulay/a-beggarly-people-a-church-and-no-steeple/) [Thomas B. Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-macaulay/) > [Pound St. Paul's Church into atoms, and consider any single atom; it is to be sure, good for nothing; but put all these atoms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/pound-st-paul-s-church-into-atoms-and-consider-any-single-atom-it-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The religion of art, like the religion of politics, was born from the ruins of Christianity. Art inherited from the old religion the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/the-religion-of-art-like-the-religion-of-politics-was-born-from-the/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [The minute you walk outside of your church on Sunday you're in mission territory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-barron/the-minute-you-walk-outside-of-your-church-on-sunday-you-re-in/) [Robert Barron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-barron/) > [I'm not ashamed of the things I believe and why I believe them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-huckabee/i-m-not-ashamed-of-the-things-i-believe-and-why-i-believe-them/) [Mike Huckabee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-huckabee/) [Browse all 9,430 Church quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We do not want churches. 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