--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What is absolutely certain is that the…" description: "\"“What is absolutely certain is that the naturalist view of things is, as I have said, just a picture of the world, not a truth about the world that we ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c95/david-bentley-hart-4691_faith_what-is-absolutely-certain-is-that-the-n_1066413.png" --- # What is absolutely certain is that the naturalist view of… ![“What is absolutely certain is that the naturalist view of things is, as I have said, just a picture of the world, not a truth about the world that we can know, nor even a conviction that rests upon a secure rational foundation.” quote by David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c95/david-bentley-hart-4691_faith_what-is-absolutely-certain-is-that-the-n_1066413.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c95/david-bentley-hart-4691_faith_what-is-absolutely-certain-is-that-the-n_1066413.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c95/david-bentley-hart-4691_faith_what-is-absolutely-certain-is-that-the-n_1066413.png) > ““What is absolutely certain is that the naturalist view of things is, as I have said, just a picture of the world, not a truth about the world that we can know, nor even a conviction that rests upon a secure rational foundation.”” [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. Our scientific descriptions are models, not ultimate truths; they are provisional representations that guide understanding but lack absolute certainty. **In simple terms:** Science offers models, not absolute truth. Key Takeaway Treat scientific views as provisional guides. Themes philosophy science epistemology humility knowledge Mood thoughtful analytical cautious Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - academic research - policy making - education - public discourse - personal belief formation Key Concepts Model-dependent realism fallibilism critical inquiry Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate between model and truth? - What role does humility play in scientific progress? A Different Perspective Relying solely on models can lead to overconfidence in uncertain domains. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Naturalist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/naturalist/) ## Related quotes > [Not to be absolutely certain is, I think, one of the essential things in rationality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/not-to-be-absolutely-certain-is-i-think-one-of-the-essential-things/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Vialli's absolutely certain that he knows one way or the other whether he'll score or not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-pearce/vialli-s-absolutely-certain-that-he-knows-one-way-or-the-other/) Jonathan Pearce > [The ultimate fact of the universe is love; and its sway is all-comprehensive, and absolutely certain of final victory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-c-lockwood/the-ultimate-fact-of-the-universe-is-love-and-its-sway-is-all/) [Frank C. Lockwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-c-lockwood/) > [To be absolutely certain about something, one must know everything or nothing about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-absolutely-certain-about-something-one-must-know-everything-or/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No animal should ever jump up on the dining-room furniture unless absolutely certain that he can hold his own in the conversation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/no-animal-should-ever-jump-up-on-the-dining-room-furniture-unless/) [Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/) > [We can be absolutely certain only about things we do not understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/we-can-be-absolutely-certain-only-about-things-we-do-not-understand/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Nothing helps you sleep at night so much as being absolutely certain that you're right, and everyone else is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/nothing-helps-you-sleep-at-night-so-much-as-being-absolutely-certain/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [“There are things we know for certain." "Oh? Name one." "The sun's going to come up tomorrow morning." "Why?" "It always has." "Does that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eddings/there-are-things-we-know-for-certain-oh-name-one-the-sun-s-going-to/) [David Eddings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eddings/) > [“Anytime somebody is absolutely certain about something, they are almost always absolutely wrong”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-lindsay/anytime-somebody-is-absolutely-certain-about-something-they-are/) [Jeff Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-lindsay/) > [I'm absolutely certain that audiences want to see older women on their TVs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-lancashire/i-m-absolutely-certain-that-audiences-want-to-see-older-women-on/) [Sarah Lancashire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-lancashire/) > [I wish to God I knew as much about writing as I did when I was 19. I was absolutely certain about most things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-wish-to-god-i-knew-as-much-about-writing-as-i-did-when-i-was-19-i/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [As a parent, the only thing I am absolutely certain of is my own fallibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/as-a-parent-the-only-thing-i-am-absolutely-certain-of-is-my-own/) [Ayelet Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-waldman/) > [Faith doesn't mean you don't have to do the work; it just means you're absolutely certain the work will pay off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/faith-doesn-t-mean-you-don-t-have-to-do-the-work-it-just-means-you-re/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [There is no more common error than to assume that, because prolonged and accurate mathematical calculations have been made, the application of the result…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/there-is-no-more-common-error-than-to-assume-that-because-prolonged/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [You can never be absolutely certain that anything doesn't exist. But you can show that it's unlikely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/you-can-never-be-absolutely-certain-that-anything-doesn-t-exist-but/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) ## 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 Faith quotes > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [Eternal Trinity... mystery deep as the sea, You could give me no greater gift than the gift of Yourself. For You are a fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/eternal-trinity-mystery-deep-as-the-sea-you-could-give-me-no-greater/) [St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/) > [Keep the faith, and keep going strong!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doreen-virtue/keep-the-faith-and-keep-going-strong/) [Doreen Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doreen-virtue/) > [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [Faith gives you a certain structure and meaning to your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riffat-hassan/faith-gives-you-a-certain-structure-and-meaning-to-your-life/) Riffat Hassan > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [“No man is prejudiced in favour of a thing, knowing it to be wrong. He is attached to it on the belief of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/no-man-is-prejudiced-in-favour-of-a-thing-knowing-it-to-be-wrong-he/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [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/) > [Holiness sincerity, and faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/holiness-sincerity-and-faith/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [“The only limitations for your life are the limiting beliefs in your mind. —Matt Morris”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-morris-1/the-only-limitations-for-your-life-are-the-limiting-beliefs-in-your/) Matt Morris (1 > [“Just because your faith is shaken doesn’t mean the faith is shaken. The eternal truths of the Kingdom aren’t altered or affected by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-arthur/just-because-your-faith-is-shaken-doesn-t-mean-the-faith-is-shaken/) [Sarah Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-arthur/) > [Grit, determination, the right amount of crazy, self belief - everything it takes to be a champion. I have that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dustin-poirier/grit-determination-the-right-amount-of-crazy-self-belief-everything/) [Dustin Poirier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dustin-poirier/) > [We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. 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