--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Whatever the theologians might say about…" description: "\"Whatever the theologians might say about heaven being in a state of union with God, I knew it consisted of an infinite library; and eternity was simply..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/785/dervla-murphy-20135_eternity_whatever-the-theologians-might-say-about_2690908.png" --- # Whatever the theologians might say about heaven being in a… ![“Whatever the theologians might say about heaven being in a state of union with God, I knew it consisted of an infinite library; and eternity was simply what enabled one to read uninterruptedly for ever.” quote by Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/785/dervla-murphy-20135_eternity_whatever-the-theologians-might-say-about_2690908.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/785/dervla-murphy-20135_eternity_whatever-the-theologians-might-say-about_2690908.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/785/dervla-murphy-20135_eternity_whatever-the-theologians-might-say-about_2690908.png) > “Whatever the theologians might say about heaven being in a state of union with God, I knew it consisted of an infinite library; and eternity was simply what enabled one to read uninterruptedly for ever.” [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Heaven is imagined as an infinite library, where eternity allows endless reading. **In simple terms:** Heaven = endless library, eternal reading. Key Takeaway Value lifelong learning. Themes imagination eternity knowledge spirituality Mood wonderful contemplative Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - spiritual contemplation - education Key Concepts metaphysical literature philosophical theology Questions to Reflect On - What does “eternal reading” symbolize? - How does this vision shape your purpose? A Different Perspective Infinite reading is metaphorical, not literal. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternity/) [Eternity Simply](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternity-simply-2657821/) [God Knew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-knew/) [Heaven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven/) [Infinite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infinite/) [Infinite Library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infinite-library-656338/) [Library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library/) [Library Eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library-eternity-2657820/) [Might](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) [Theologian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theologian/) [Unions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unions/) ## Related quotes > [No one understands eternity. One simply recognizes its existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-yourcenar/no-one-understands-eternity-one-simply-recognizes-its-existence/) [Marguerite Yourcenar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-yourcenar/) > [The infinite library of the Universe is in your mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/the-infinite-library-of-the-universe-is-in-your-mind/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [“Every soul is a story shelved away in an infinite library in the sky.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-amanda-hooper/every-soul-is-a-story-shelved-away-in-an-infinite-library-in-the-sky/) [Karen Amanda Hooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-amanda-hooper/) > [All knowledge that the world has ever received comes from the mind; the infinite library of the universe is in our own mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/all-knowledge-that-the-world-has-ever-received-comes-from-the-mind/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [God decreed to save and damn certain particular persons. This decree has its foundation in the foreknowledge of God, by which he knew from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacobus-arminius/god-decreed-to-save-and-damn-certain-particular-persons-this-decree/) [Jacobus Arminius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacobus-arminius/) > [“I would never have chosen that life for myself, I know. But God knew what he was doing. And everything I went through turned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lacey-sturm/i-would-never-have-chosen-that-life-for-myself-i-know-but-god-knew/) [Lacey Sturm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lacey-sturm/) > [Do you think God knew what he was doing when he created woman?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/do-you-think-god-knew-what-he-was-doing-when-he-created-woman/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [And they will return one day knowing the miracle of the heavens and of all the world. God knew what he was doing when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/and-they-will-return-one-day-knowing-the-miracle-of-the-heavens-and/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“God knew she would ask nothing better than to be his wife, but she had sense enough to know that nothing but unhappiness could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgette-heyer/god-knew-she-would-ask-nothing-better-than-to-be-his-wife-but-she-had/) [Georgette Heyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgette-heyer/) > [The thing I loved about her was that I never felt like she was selling anything. She would talk to God as if she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/the-thing-i-loved-about-her-was-that-i-never-felt-like-she-was/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [“If the devil did not see Mary, it was because her humility shielded her from his eyes. He knew the Woman’s place in creation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-kennelly/if-the-devil-did-not-see-mary-it-was-because-her-humility-shielded/) [Brian Kennelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-kennelly/) > [I knew a mathematician who said 'I do not know as much as God. But I know as much as God knew at my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-shulman/i-knew-a-mathematician-who-said-i-do-not-know-as-much-as-god-but-i/) [Milton Shulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-shulman/) > [“Joseph’s trials were unjust, inexplicable and heartrending. Yet Joseph knew God, and he knew that God had a plan.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-howard-joslin/joseph-s-trials-were-unjust-inexplicable-and-heartrending-yet-joseph/) [K. Howard Joslin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-howard-joslin/) > [“God made the ability to feel pain. He didn’t have to, you know. He made the ability to feel pain and He also made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-henderson/god-made-the-ability-to-feel-pain-he-didn-t-have-to-you-know-he-made/) [Dee Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-henderson/) > [“What if I believed that God Himself was the One who decreed I would be a quiet person? What if I believed that God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-rajnus/what-if-i-believed-that-god-himself-was-the-one-who-decreed-i-would/) [Julie Rajnus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-rajnus/) ## More by Dervla Murphy > [“Even a brief glimpse of what we were is valuable to help understand what we are”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/even-a-brief-glimpse-of-what-we-were-is-valuable-to-help-understand/) [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) > [one feels guilty on behalf of Western civilisation. What damage are we doing, blindly and swiftly, to those races who are being taught that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/one-feels-guilty-on-behalf-of-western-civilisation-what-damage-are-we/) [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) > [The Irish have a flair for wringing from death the last drop of emotion and they do not quite understand those who react otherwise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/the-irish-have-a-flair-for-wringing-from-death-the-last-drop-of/) [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) > [On my tenth birthday a bicycle and an atlas coincided as presents and a few days later I decided to cycle to India.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/on-my-tenth-birthday-a-bicycle-and-an-atlas-coincided-as-presents-and/) [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) > [Undoubtedly the Afghans must be, by our standards, the best-looking people in the world. They have everything; height, proportions, carriage, features and complexion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/undoubtedly-the-afghans-must-be-by-our-standards-the-best-looking/) [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) > [“I thank God for my sanguine temperament, which refuses to allow me to believe in disaster until it is finally manifest”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/i-thank-god-for-my-sanguine-temperament-which-refuses-to-allow-me-to/) [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) > [ \[On Addis Ababa:\] Among the city's handicaps are an immaturity for which no one can be blamed, as it was founded only eighty years… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/on-addis-ababa-among-the-city-s-handicaps-are-an-immaturity-for-which/) [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) > [Buying a bicycle is a momentous event, akin to marriage: you are acquiring a partner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/buying-a-bicycle-is-a-momentous-event-akin-to-marriage-you-are/) [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) > [one of the advantages of cycling is that it automatically prevents a journey from becoming an Expedition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/one-of-the-advantages-of-cycling-is-that-it-automatically-prevents-a/) [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) > [hatred, however apparently justifiable, excusable or inevitable, always damages the hater.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/hatred-however-apparently-justifiable-excusable-or-inevitable-always/) [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) > [On my tenth birthday a bicycle and an atlas coincided as gifts, and a few days later I decided to cycle to India...However, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/on-my-tenth-birthday-a-bicycle-and-an-atlas-coincided-as-gifts-and-a/) [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) > [Is this something else our age does - on the one hand make communication easier than ever before, while on the other hand widening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/is-this-something-else-our-age-does-on-the-one-hand-make/) [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) > [apartheid still hangs in the air like a poisonous cloud left over from chemical warfare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/apartheid-still-hangs-in-the-air-like-a-poisonous-cloud-left-over/) [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) > [the sudden violent dispossession accompanying a refugee flight is much more than the loss of a permanent home and a traditional occupation, or than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/the-sudden-violent-dispossession-accompanying-a-refugee-flight-is/) [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) > [... strong bonds are forged in high emotional temperatures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/strong-bonds-are-forged-in-high-emotional-temperatures/) [Dervla Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) [Explore all 31 Dervla Murphy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/) ## More Eternity quotes > [“I believe in forever, and that’s what you and I are. We define eternity. This may sound cheesy, but you make me go there.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-mchugh/i-believe-in-forever-and-that-s-what-you-and-i-are-we-define-eternity/) [Gail McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-mchugh/) > [“Please not yet. Those are the three eternal words. Please not yet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-macdonald/please-not-yet-those-are-the-three-eternal-words-please-not-yet/) [John D. MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-macdonald/) > [Peace is the first thing the angels sang. Peace is the mark of the children of God. Peace is the nurse of love. Peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-i/peace-is-the-first-thing-the-angels-sang-peace-is-the-mark-of-the/) [Pope Leo I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-i/) > [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. And there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/there-are-two-kinds-of-beauty-there-is-a-beauty-which-god-gives-at/) [Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/) > [If I have a system it is limited to a recognition of what Kierkegaard called 'the infinite qualitative distinction' between time and eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-barth/if-i-have-a-system-it-is-limited-to-a-recognition-of-what-kierkegaard/) [Karl Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-barth/) > [Only alone can you go into eternity. Only alone can you feel the transcendental light. It is not a shared experience because if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/only-alone-can-you-go-into-eternity-only-alone-can-you-feel-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [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/) > [I think we all have a core that's ecstatic, that knows and that looks up in wonder. We all know that there are marvelous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coleman-barks/i-think-we-all-have-a-core-that-s-ecstatic-that-knows-and-that-looks/) [Coleman Barks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coleman-barks/) > [One of our great allies at present is the Church itself. Do not misunderstand me. I do not mean the Church as we see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/one-of-our-great-allies-at-present-is-the-church-itself-do-not/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Heaven? Floating about with everyone you ever knew for eternity? Me family does me 'ed in after one day at xmas, I'd rather be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-pilkington/heaven-floating-about-with-everyone-you-ever-knew-for-eternity-me/) [Karl Pilkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-pilkington/) > [What does the future, that half of time, matter to the man who is infatuated with eternity?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/what-does-the-future-that-half-of-time-matter-to-the-man-who-is/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [You and I are both life. There's just the experience of every moment. We like to call them moments. There isn't really such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/you-and-i-are-both-life-there-s-just-the-experience-of-every-moment/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [You've decided to love me for eternity, I'm still deciding who I want to be today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/you-ve-decided-to-love-me-for-eternity-i-m-still-deciding-who-i-want/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [You may have some friends that come and go, but having a friend like God will last forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alyssa-tillmon/you-may-have-some-friends-that-come-and-go-but-having-a-friend-like/) [Alyssa Tillmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alyssa-tillmon/) > [There, in the center of that silence was not eternity but the death of time and a loneliness so profound the word itself had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-in-the-center-of-that-silence-was-not-eternity-but-the-death-of/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) [Browse all 3,482 Eternity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Whatever the theologians might say about heaven being in a state of union with God, I knew it consisted of an infinite library; and eternity was simply what enabled one to read uninterruptedly for ever.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dervla Murphy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/whatever-the-theologians-might-say-about-heaven-being-in-a-state-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Eternity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/whatever-the-theologians-might-say-about-heaven-being-in-a-state-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/785/dervla-murphy-20135_eternity_whatever-the-theologians-might-say-about_2690908.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/785/dervla-murphy-20135_eternity_whatever-the-theologians-might-say-about_2690908.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/785/dervla-murphy-20135_eternity_whatever-the-theologians-might-say-about_2690908.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Whatever the theologians might say about heaven being in a state of union with God, I knew it consisted of…” — Dervla Murphy", "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": "Dervla Murphy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dervla-murphy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Whatever the theologians might say about...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/whatever-the-theologians-might-say-about-heaven-being-in-a-state-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dervla-murphy/whatever-the-theologians-might-say-about-heaven-being-in-a-state-of/#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 } } ] } ```