--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In another sense he is “being itself,” in…" description: "\"“In another sense he is “being itself,” in that he is the inexhaustible source of all reality, the absolute upon which the contingent is always utterly..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28f/david-bentley-hart-4691_simplicity_in-another-sense-he-is-being-itself-in-t_2025995.png" --- # In another sense he is “being itself,” in that he is the… ![“In another sense he is “being itself,” in that he is the inexhaustible source of all reality, the absolute upon which the contingent is always utterly dependent, the unity and simplicity that underlies and sustains the diversity of finite and composite things.” quote by David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28f/david-bentley-hart-4691_simplicity_in-another-sense-he-is-being-itself-in-t_2025995.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28f/david-bentley-hart-4691_simplicity_in-another-sense-he-is-being-itself-in-t_2025995.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28f/david-bentley-hart-4691_simplicity_in-another-sense-he-is-being-itself-in-t_2025995.png) > ““In another sense he is “being itself,” in that he is the inexhaustible source of all reality, the absolute upon which the contingent is always utterly dependent, the unity and simplicity that underlies and sustains the diversity of finite and composite things.”” [David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote describes the divine as the ultimate, unchanging source that sustains all contingent existence. **In simple terms:** God is the endless source of all reality. Key Takeaway Recognize the foundational unity behind diversity. Themes theology metaphysics divine existence dependence Mood awe contemplative Type philosophical theological When to use this quote - philosophical contemplation - spiritual meditation - academic lecture Key Concepts absolute inexhaustible source unity simplicity Questions to Reflect On - How does this view affect your sense of purpose? - What implications does it have for understanding change? A Different Perspective It may overlook empirical perspectives on reality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absolute Contingent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolute-contingent-3694966/) [Contingent Utterly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contingent-utterly-3694969/) [Dependent Unity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dependent-unity-3694967/) [Reality Absolute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality-absolute-295367/) [Sense Inexhaustible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sense-inexhaustible-3694968/) [Simplicity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simplicity/) ## Related quotes > [“Beyond the spacetime continuum is the metaphysical Reality of the Absolute (the Being and Nonbeing).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/beyond-the-spacetime-continuum-is-the-metaphysical-reality-of-the/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [Too often, we take our construct of reality as an absolute, and what I'm trying to point out for most people is it's important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/apollo-robbins/too-often-we-take-our-construct-of-reality-as-an-absolute-and-what-i/) [Apollo Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/apollo-robbins/) > [“Children, brought up naturally and in freedom, not only have imagination, but live in a world of imagination more real to them than our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-hawthorne/children-brought-up-naturally-and-in-freedom-not-only-have/) [Julian Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-hawthorne/) > [Did it ever occur to you, that there is no conflict of interests among men, neither in business nor in trade nor in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/did-it-ever-occur-to-you-that-there-is-no-conflict-of-interests-among-2/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“In the relative, one is the self and in reality, One is the absolute Self! 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I'd come to think of God in terms like Divine Reality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/in-recent-years-my-understanding-of-god-had-evolved-into-increasingly/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [A garden has a curious innocent way of consuming cash while all the time you are under the illusion that you are spending nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-meynell/a-garden-has-a-curious-innocent-way-of-consuming-cash-while-all-the/) [Esther Meynell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-meynell/) > [The minimum that most minimalists want leaves in place just the institutions who protect their interests. That's libertarians for you - anarchists who want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-stanley-robinson/the-minimum-that-most-minimalists-want-leaves-in-place-just-the/) [Kim Stanley Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-stanley-robinson/) > [This duo inside of me causes the perfect opportunity to live and learn twice as fast as those who choose to accept simplicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/this-duo-inside-of-me-causes-the-perfect-opportunity-to-live-and/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) ## More by David Bentley Hart > [“What makes today’s popular atheism so depressing is neither its conceptual boorishness nor its self-righteousness but simply its cultural inevitability. It is the final,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/what-makes-today-s-popular-atheism-so-depressing-is-neither-its/) [David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/) > [“The claim that there cannot be an infinite regress of contingent ontological causes raises a truly difficult challenge to pure materialism; but to imagine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/the-claim-that-there-cannot-be-an-infinite-regress-of-contingent/) [David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/) > [“The very notion of nature as a closed system entirely sufficient to itself is plainly one that cannot be verified, deductively or empirically, from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/the-very-notion-of-nature-as-a-closed-system-entirely-sufficient-to/) [David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/) > [“naturalism, alone among all considered philosophical attempts to describe the shape of reality, is radically insufficient in its explanatory range.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/naturalism-alone-among-all-considered-philosophical-attempts-to/) [David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/) > [Christianity has from its beginning portrayed itself as a gospel of peace, a way of reconciliation (with God, with other creatures), and a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/christianity-has-from-its-beginning-portrayed-itself-as-a-gospel-of/) [David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/) > [“clarity is a precious thing, to the degree it can be achieved, if only because it can spare us the effort of needless boring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/clarity-is-a-precious-thing-to-the-degree-it-can-be-achieved-if-only/) [David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/) > [Empiricism in the sciences is a method; naturalism in philosophy is a metaphysics; and the latter neither follows from nor underlies the former.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/empiricism-in-the-sciences-is-a-method-naturalism-in-philosophy-is-a/) [David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/) > [“We trust, that is to say, that there is no substantial criterion by which to judge our choices that stands higher than the unquestioned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/we-trust-that-is-to-say-that-there-is-no-substantial-criterion-by/) [David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/) > [For, after all, if it is from Christ that we are to learn how God relates himself to sin, suffering, evil, and death, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/for-after-all-if-it-is-from-christ-that-we-are-to-learn-how-god/) [David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/) > [“All things are subject to time, moreover: they possess no complete identity in themselves, but are always in the process of becoming something else,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/all-things-are-subject-to-time-moreover-they-possess-no-complete/) [David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/) > [true philosophical atheism must be regarded as a superstition, often nurtured by an infantile wish to live in a world proportionate to one's own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/true-philosophical-atheism-must-be-regarded-as-a-superstition-often/) [David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/) > [“It goes without saying that one generally should not try to dissolve disparate creeds into one another, much less into some vague, syncretistic, doctrinally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/it-goes-without-saying-that-one-generally-should-not-try-to-dissolve/) [David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/) > [God's pleasure--the beauty creation possesses in his regard--underlies the distinct being of creation, and so beauty is the first and truest word concerning all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/god-s-pleasure-the-beauty-creation-possesses-in-his-regard-underlies/) [David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/) > [“The general argument from the contingent to the absolute, or from the conditioned to the unconditioned, is a powerful and cogent one. No attempt,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/the-general-argument-from-the-contingent-to-the-absolute-or-from-the/) [David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/) > [“Simply said, one is contingent through and through, partaking of being rather than generating it out of some source within oneself; and the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/simply-said-one-is-contingent-through-and-through-partaking-of-being/) [David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/) [Explore all 107 David Bentley Hart quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/) ## More Simplicity quotes > [This duo inside of me causes the perfect opportunity to live and learn twice as fast as those who choose to accept simplicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/this-duo-inside-of-me-causes-the-perfect-opportunity-to-live-and/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [The minimum that most minimalists want leaves in place just the institutions who protect their interests. That's libertarians for you - anarchists who want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-stanley-robinson/the-minimum-that-most-minimalists-want-leaves-in-place-just-the/) [Kim Stanley Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-stanley-robinson/) > [A garden has a curious innocent way of consuming cash while all the time you are under the illusion that you are spending nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-meynell/a-garden-has-a-curious-innocent-way-of-consuming-cash-while-all-the/) [Esther Meynell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-meynell/) > [“The past and the future are what's complicated. It's the present that's simple. And the simplicity is the sensation of it being just her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/the-past-and-the-future-are-what-s-complicated-it-s-the-present-that/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [Alec Wilkinson is a spare, clear, and lucid writer who works in stylistic simplicity with material that is not simple at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/alec-wilkinson-is-a-spare-clear-and-lucid-writer-who-works-in/) [Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/) > [“I delight to come to my bearings,—not walk in procession with pomp and parade, in a conspicuous place, but to walk even with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-delight-to-come-to-my-bearings-not-walk-in-procession-with-pomp-and/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Never anything can be amiss, when simpleness and duty tender it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/never-anything-can-be-amiss-when-simpleness-and-duty-tender-it/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [David Shrigley is somewhere between stand-up comedy and cave paintings. He does these brilliant esoteric, simple drawings - you might even say bad drawings.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-reid/david-shrigley-is-somewhere-between-stand-up-comedy-and-cave/) [Noah Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-reid/) > [Developing fewer features allows you to conserve development resources and spend more time refining those features that users really need. Fewer features mean fewer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jakob-nielsen/developing-fewer-features-allows-you-to-conserve-development/) [Jakob Nielsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jakob-nielsen/) > [By sowing frugality we reap liberty, a golden harvest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agesilaus-ii/by-sowing-frugality-we-reap-liberty-a-golden-harvest/) [Agesilaus II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agesilaus-ii/) > [Writing that flirts with incoherence can just as readily flounder as writing characterized by simplicity and composure. 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You’ll find a wealth of depth and beauty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-charlene/take-the-time-to-observe-the-simple-and-ponder-upon-the-seemingly/) [Melanie Charlene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-charlene/) > [The good word of the Lord with which we must nourish is the simple doctrine of the gospel. We need not fear either simplicity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/the-good-word-of-the-lord-with-which-we-must-nourish-is-the-simple/) [Henry B. Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/) [Browse all 2,643 Simplicity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simplicity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In another sense he is “being itself,” in that he is the inexhaustible source of all reality, the absolute upon which the contingent is always utterly dependent, the unity and simplicity that underlies and sustains the diversity of finite and composite things.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Bentley Hart" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/in-another-sense-he-is-being-itself-in-that-he-is-the-inexhaustible/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Simplicity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/in-another-sense-he-is-being-itself-in-that-he-is-the-inexhaustible/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28f/david-bentley-hart-4691_simplicity_in-another-sense-he-is-being-itself-in-t_2025995.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28f/david-bentley-hart-4691_simplicity_in-another-sense-he-is-being-itself-in-t_2025995.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/28f/david-bentley-hart-4691_simplicity_in-another-sense-he-is-being-itself-in-t_2025995.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In another sense he is “being itself,” in that he is the inexhaustible source of all reality, the absolute…” — David Bentley Hart", "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": "David Bentley Hart", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“In another sense he is “being...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/in-another-sense-he-is-being-itself-in-that-he-is-the-inexhaustible/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bentley-hart/in-another-sense-he-is-being-itself-in-that-he-is-the-inexhaustible/#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 } } ] } ```