--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Only a very bad theologian would confuse…" description: "\"Only a very bad theologian would confuse the certainty that follows revelation with the truths that are revealed. They are entirely different things.\" ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f7/denis-diderot-1536_certainty_only-a-very-bad-theologian-would-confuse_1624996.jpg" --- # Only a very bad theologian would confuse the certainty… ![“Only a very bad theologian would confuse the certainty that follows revelation with the truths that are revealed. They are entirely different things.” quote by Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f7/denis-diderot-1536_certainty_only-a-very-bad-theologian-would-confuse_1624996.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f7/denis-diderot-1536_certainty_only-a-very-bad-theologian-would-confuse_1624996.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f7/denis-diderot-1536_certainty_only-a-very-bad-theologian-would-confuse_1624996.jpg) > “Only a very bad theologian would confuse the certainty that follows revelation with the truths that are revealed. They are entirely different things.” [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Revelation and its interpretation are distinct; certainty after insight is not the same as the revealed truth. **In simple terms:** Revelation ≠ certainty. Key Takeaway Separate insight from belief. Themes philosophy theology knowledge truth interpretation Mood analytical skeptical Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - religious discourse - academic debate - personal belief systems Key Concepts epistemology dogma critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate between insight and belief? - What safeguards prevent misinterpretation? A Different Perspective Confusing certainty with truth can lead to dogmatism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad Theologian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-theologian-323601/) [Certainty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certainty/) [Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/) [Different things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-things/) [Revelation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revelation/) [Revelation Truths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revelation-truths-323602/) [Theologian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theologian/) [Theologian Confuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theologian-confuse-323600/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [A good joke is the closest thing we have to divine revelation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/a-good-joke-is-the-closest-thing-we-have-to-divine-revelation/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [Wandering in a vast forest at night, I have only a faint light to guide me. A stranger appears and says to me: 'My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/wandering-in-a-vast-forest-at-night-i-have-only-a-faint-light-to/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [I have only a small flickering light to guide me in the darkness of a thick forest. Up comes a theologian and blows it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/i-have-only-a-small-flickering-light-to-guide-me-in-the-darkness-of-a/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [Every rebellion against suffering is fed by the subversive power of remembered suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-baptist-metz/every-rebellion-against-suffering-is-fed-by-the-subversive-power-of/) [Johann Baptist Metz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-baptist-metz/) > [The white tails of rabbits, according to some theologians, have a purpose, namely to make it easier for sportsmen to shoot them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/the-white-tails-of-rabbits-according-to-some-theologians-have-a/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Being a systematic theologian allows me to indulge all my interests - in literature, film, art, music - by relating them all to God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-vanhoozer/being-a-systematic-theologian-allows-me-to-indulge-all-my-interests/) [Kevin Vanhoozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-vanhoozer/) > [Grace abounds in contemporary movies, books, novels, films and music. If God is not in the whirlwind, He may be in a Woody Allen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brennan-manning/grace-abounds-in-contemporary-movies-books-novels-films-and-music-if/) [Brennan Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brennan-manning/) > [Like the early Christians, we must move into a sometime hostile world armed with the revolutionary gospel of Jesus Christ. With this powerful gospel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/like-the-early-christians-we-must-move-into-a-sometime-hostile-world/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [In the past some of the most influential Jewish, Christian and Muslim theologians, such as Maimonides, Aquinas and Ibn Sina, made it clear that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/in-the-past-some-of-the-most-influential-jewish-christian-and-muslim/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [I don't see Jesus as rescuing the fallen; I see Jesus as expanding the potential of life. The primary reason the old idea of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/i-don-t-see-jesus-as-rescuing-the-fallen-i-see-jesus-as-expanding-the/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [Perhapsthemost sublimeinsights oftheJewishprophets and the Christian gospel is the knowledge that since perfection is love, the apprehension of perfection is at once the means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/perhapsthemost-sublimeinsights-ofthejewishprophets-and-the-christian/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [Humor is the opposite of all self-admiration and self-praise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-barth/humor-is-the-opposite-of-all-self-admiration-and-self-praise/) [Karl Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-barth/) > [The Bible is shallow enough for a new believer to wade in, but deep enough for a theologian to drown in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-j-lawson/the-bible-is-shallow-enough-for-a-new-believer-to-wade-in-but-deep/) [Steven J Lawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-j-lawson/) > [In the end theologians are jealous of science, for they are aware that it has greater authority than do their own ways of finding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-a-coyne/in-the-end-theologians-are-jealous-of-science-for-they-are-aware-that/) [Jerry A. Coyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-a-coyne/) > [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/) ## More by Denis Diderot > [But if you will recall the history of our civil troubles, you will see half the nation bathe itself, out of piety, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/but-if-you-will-recall-the-history-of-our-civil-troubles-you-will-see/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [One declaims endlessly against the passions; one imputes all of man's suffering to them. One forgets that they are also the source of all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/one-declaims-endlessly-against-the-passions-one-imputes-all-of-man-s/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [Time, matter, space - all, it may be, are no more than a point.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/time-matter-space-all-it-may-be-are-no-more-than-a-point/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [We are far more liable to catch the vices than the virtues of our associates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/we-are-far-more-liable-to-catch-the-vices-than-the-virtues-of-our/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [One composition is meagre, though it has many figures; another is rich, though it has few.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/one-composition-is-meagre-though-it-has-many-figures-another-is-rich/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [I have only a small flickering light to guide me in the darkness of a thick forest. Up comes a theologian and blows it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/i-have-only-a-small-flickering-light-to-guide-me-in-the-darkness-of-a/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [The world is the house of the strong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/the-world-is-the-house-of-the-strong/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [“One swallows the lie that flatters, but sips the bitter truth drop by drop.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/one-swallows-the-lie-that-flatters-but-sips-the-bitter-truth-drop-by/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [There is less harm to be suffered in being mad among madmen than in being sane all by oneself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/there-is-less-harm-to-be-suffered-in-being-mad-among-madmen-than-in/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [Integrity is the evidence of all civil virtues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/integrity-is-the-evidence-of-all-civil-virtues/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [Watch out for the fellow who talks about putting things in order! Putting things in order always means getting other people under your control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/watch-out-for-the-fellow-who-talks-about-putting-things-in-order/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [“Nie wiem, co to zasady, chyba że tak nazywamy prawidła, które przypisuje się innym, a nie sobie. Myślę tak, a nie umiałbym się powstrzymać…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/nie-wiem-co-to-zasady-chyba-e-tak-nazywamy-prawid-a-kt-re-przypisuje/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [There is no good father who would want to resemble our Heavenly Father.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/there-is-no-good-father-who-would-want-to-resemble-our-heavenly-father/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [Isn't it better to have men being ungrateful than to miss a chance to do good?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/isn-t-it-better-to-have-men-being-ungrateful-than-to-miss-a-chance-to/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [A nation which thinks that it is belief in God and not good law which makes people honest does not seem to me very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/a-nation-which-thinks-that-it-is-belief-in-god-and-not-good-law-which/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) [Explore all 210 Denis Diderot quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) ## More Certainty quotes > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) > [Sometimes we have the absolute certainty there's something inside us that's so hideous and monstrous that if we ever search it out we won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-selby-jr/sometimes-we-have-the-absolute-certainty-there-s-something-inside-us/) [Hubert Selby, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-selby-jr/) > [The past and the future become unimportant. There is only that moment, and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-past-and-the-future-become-unimportant-there-is-only-that-moment/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [In the mental disturbance and effort of writing, what sustains you is the certainty that on every page there is something left unsaid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesare-pavese/in-the-mental-disturbance-and-effort-of-writing-what-sustains-you-is/) [Cesare Pavese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesare-pavese/) > [Of course I doubt. I do not practice a certainty. I practice a faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/of-course-i-doubt-i-do-not-practice-a-certainty-i-practice-a-faith/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [The world is a wonderfully weird place, consensual reality is significantly flawed, no institution can be trusted, certainty is a mirage, security a delusion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-world-is-a-wonderfully-weird-place-consensual-reality-is/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [As a businessman, I know that businesses need certainty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-foster/as-a-businessman-i-know-that-businesses-need-certainty/) [Bill Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-foster/) > [It is suggested that in domestic violence at least the presence or absence of a firearm, or of any other type of weapon, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-greenwood/it-is-suggested-that-in-domestic-violence-at-least-the-presence-or/) [Colin Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-greenwood/) > [Every single person who is a member of our party deserves to have certainty. They deserve to know that my attention and focus is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annamie-paul/every-single-person-who-is-a-member-of-our-party-deserves-to-have/) [Annamie Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annamie-paul/) > [The significance and volume of repairs that are needed across the country demand that we give state and local governments the long-term certainty they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-graves/the-significance-and-volume-of-repairs-that-are-needed-across-the/) [Sam Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-graves/) > [“Death is the one great certainty in life. That’s what my dad used to say. Nothing else is certain. Not love. Not happiness. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mila-gray/death-is-the-one-great-certainty-in-life-that-s-what-my-dad-used-to/) [Mila Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mila-gray/) > [ \[I\]f in other sciences we should arrive at certainty without doubt and truth without error, it behooves us to place the foundations of knowledge… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bacon/i-f-in-other-sciences-we-should-arrive-at-certainty-without-doubt-and/) [Roger Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bacon/) > [Do not lose hope; St. Joseph also experienced moments of difficulty, but he never lost faith and was able to overcome them, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/do-not-lose-hope-st-joseph-also-experienced-moments-of-difficulty-but/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [As the future is never known with certainty, the evaluation of the prospective benefits requires the formation of expectations. 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