--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For it was only via the idea of God that…" description: "\"“For it was only via the idea of God that we were able to develop all our ideas about a unified self, reason, a unified law-governed cosmos, sovereignt..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17e/don-cupitt-31574_grateful-to-god_for-it-was-only-via-the-idea-of-god-that_1244161.jpg" --- # For it was only via the idea of God that we were able to… ![“For it was only via the idea of God that we were able to develop all our ideas about a unified self, reason, a unified law-governed cosmos, sovereignty, property, supervision (Providence) and management, long-term purposes and action to attain them and so on. God taught us everything, so that we…” quote by Don Cupitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17e/don-cupitt-31574_grateful-to-god_for-it-was-only-via-the-idea-of-god-that_1244161.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17e/don-cupitt-31574_grateful-to-god_for-it-was-only-via-the-idea-of-god-that_1244161.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17e/don-cupitt-31574_grateful-to-god_for-it-was-only-via-the-idea-of-god-that_1244161.jpg) > ““For it was only via the idea of God that we were able to develop all our ideas about a unified self, reason, a unified law-governed cosmos, sovereignty, property, supervision (Providence) and management, long-term purposes and action to attain them and so on. God taught us everything, so that we are eternally grateful to God even as we now leave him behind.”” [Don Cupitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cupitt/) ## 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 suggests that humanity's concepts of self, law, and purpose originated from the idea of God, which shaped our moral and societal structures. **In simple terms:** God idea shaped our ideas and values. Key Takeaway Recognize how beliefs shape societies. Themes philosophy theology human nature Mood reflective analytical Type theoretical explanatory When to use this quote - legal systems - education - personal identity - political theory Key Concepts concept of God social constructs secularism Questions to Reflect On - How do beliefs influence laws? - Can societies thrive without a divine framework? A Different Perspective Secular perspectives may dispute divine origin. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attain God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attain-god-2348288/) [Grateful to god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grateful-to-god/) [Idea God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idea-god-316423/) [Ideas Unified](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas-unified-3895754/) [Taught Eternally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taught-eternally-3895755/) [Unified Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unified-self-3895753/) ## Related quotes > [The task of science, therefore, is not to attack the objects of faith, but to establish the limits beyond which knowledge cannot go and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-virchow/the-task-of-science-therefore-is-not-to-attack-the-objects-of-faith/) [Rudolf Virchow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-virchow/) > [“There are two paths to attain God: one is direct worship and the other is indirect worship. In the path of indirect worship, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/there-are-two-paths-to-attain-god-one-is-direct-worship-and-the-other/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [“The Supreme cult does not bear any relationship with the ordinary course of life. The physical body, after attainment of the Supreme Cult will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jibankrishna/the-supreme-cult-does-not-bear-any-relationship-with-the-ordinary/) [Jibankrishna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jibankrishna/) > [Those who wish to attain God and progress in religious devotion, should particularly guard themselves against the snares of lust and wealth. Otherwise they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramakrishna/those-who-wish-to-attain-god-and-progress-in-religious-devotion/) [Ramakrishna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramakrishna/) > [Whatever thought grips the mind at the time of death is the one which will propel it and decide for it the nature of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-mitchell/whatever-thought-grips-the-mind-at-the-time-of-death-is-the-one-which/) [Stephen Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-mitchell/) > [“It is not solely or chiefly in virtue of the divine image that man effectively resembles God, but in virtue of his consciousness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etienne-gilson/it-is-not-solely-or-chiefly-in-virtue-of-the-divine-image-that-man/) [Étienne Gilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etienne-gilson/) > [Religious ideas such as the idea of God have functioned as regulative ideals for us to aspire after: we too could become unified and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cupitt/religious-ideas-such-as-the-idea-of-god-have-functioned-as-regulative/) [Don Cupitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cupitt/) > [The truth is that you cannot attain God if you have even a trace of desire. Subtle is the way of dharma. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramakrishna/the-truth-is-that-you-cannot-attain-god-if-you-have-even-a-trace-of/) [Ramakrishna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramakrishna/) > [Your sole purpose in life is to attain God-realization. All else is useless and worthless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sivananda/your-sole-purpose-in-life-is-to-attain-god-realization-all-else-is/) [Sivananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sivananda/) > [“One has to 'do' for worldly happiness, for material happiness. However, one does not have to 'do' anything for liberation (moksha) or to attain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/one-has-to-do-for-worldly-happiness-for-material-happiness-however/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [When we were children we were grateful to those who filled our stockings at Christmas time. Why are we not grateful to God for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-we-were-children-we-were-grateful-to-those-who-filled-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Since childhood, I have wanted to become Miss Universe India, and I did. I am so grateful to God for that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/urvashi-rautela/since-childhood-i-have-wanted-to-become-miss-universe-india-and-i-did/) [Urvashi Rautela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/urvashi-rautela/) > [“Every action is a losing, a letting go, a passing away from oneself of some bit of one’s own reality into the existence of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-mcgill/every-action-is-a-losing-a-letting-go-a-passing-away-from-oneself-of/) [Arthur C. McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-mcgill/) > [I felt blessed and very grateful to God that I didn't have to struggle and things were easy for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neelam-kothari/i-felt-blessed-and-very-grateful-to-god-that-i-didn-t-have-to/) [Neelam Kothari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neelam-kothari/) > [I'm really grateful to God for whatever I have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-massey/i-m-really-grateful-to-god-for-whatever-i-have/) [Vikrant Massey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-massey/) ## More by Don Cupitt > [To love is to be vulnerable: if God loves, then God is mortal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cupitt/to-love-is-to-be-vulnerable-if-god-loves-then-god-is-mortal/) [Don Cupitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cupitt/) > [“The reason why Jesus got into such severe trouble was that he tried to bring into the present a construction of the world, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cupitt/the-reason-why-jesus-got-into-such-severe-trouble-was-that-he-tried/) [Don Cupitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cupitt/) > [To say that God is love is in effect to say simply that love is God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cupitt/to-say-that-god-is-love-is-in-effect-to-say-simply-that-love-is-god/) [Don Cupitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cupitt/) > [The Servant who really studies his Master gradually becomes like his master; gradually learns that he himself is the one who in the end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cupitt/the-servant-who-really-studies-his-master-gradually-becomes-like-his/) [Don Cupitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cupitt/) > [All life is dying life – including the life of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cupitt/all-life-is-dying-life-including-the-life-of-god/) [Don Cupitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cupitt/) > [A God out there and values out there, if they existed, would be utterly useless and unintelligible to us. There is nothing to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cupitt/a-god-out-there-and-values-out-there-if-they-existed-would-be-utterly/) [Don Cupitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cupitt/) > [I am suggesting that we can and do regain eternity when we are so immersed in life, in moral action, or in aesthetic contemplation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cupitt/i-am-suggesting-that-we-can-and-do-regain-eternity-when-we-are-so/) [Don Cupitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cupitt/) > [Capital T truth is dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cupitt/capital-t-truth-is-dead/) [Don Cupitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cupitt/) > [Religious ideas such as the idea of God have functioned as regulative ideals for us to aspire after: we too could become unified and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cupitt/religious-ideas-such-as-the-idea-of-god-have-functioned-as-regulative/) [Don Cupitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cupitt/) > [We should be empty of clutching, empty of self, empty of all the old ideas of substance. We should be ‘lost in the objectivity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cupitt/we-should-be-empty-of-clutching-empty-of-self-empty-of-all-the-old/) [Don Cupitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cupitt/) > [“Those who first acquired language and tried to think the human situation were utterly overwhelmed. They could cope only by imagining that there were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cupitt/those-who-first-acquired-language-and-tried-to-think-the-human/) [Don Cupitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cupitt/) > [Remember that the past fifty years has been the age of the Big Bang cosmology. We have learnt to see all reality as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cupitt/remember-that-the-past-fifty-years-has-been-the-age-of-the-big-bang/) [Don Cupitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cupitt/) > [A belief is made religious, not so much by its content, as rather by the way it is held.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cupitt/a-belief-is-made-religious-not-so-much-by-its-content-as-rather-by/) [Don Cupitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cupitt/) > [Christmas is the Disneyfication of Christianity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cupitt/christmas-is-the-disneyfication-of-christianity/) [Don Cupitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cupitt/) > [“Nothing out there tells us how we must live: we and we alone can now with confidence knowingly trust our own hearts, and admit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cupitt/nothing-out-there-tells-us-how-we-must-live-we-and-we-alone-can-now/) [Don Cupitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cupitt/) [Explore all 16 Don Cupitt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cupitt/) ## More Grateful to god quotes > [I'm really grateful to God for whatever I have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-massey/i-m-really-grateful-to-god-for-whatever-i-have/) [Vikrant Massey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-massey/) > [I felt blessed and very grateful to God that I didn't have to struggle and things were easy for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neelam-kothari/i-felt-blessed-and-very-grateful-to-god-that-i-didn-t-have-to/) [Neelam Kothari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neelam-kothari/) > [“Every action is a losing, a letting go, a passing away from oneself of some bit of one’s own reality into the existence of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-mcgill/every-action-is-a-losing-a-letting-go-a-passing-away-from-oneself-of/) [Arthur C. McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-mcgill/) > [Since childhood, I have wanted to become Miss Universe India, and I did. I am so grateful to God for that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/urvashi-rautela/since-childhood-i-have-wanted-to-become-miss-universe-india-and-i-did/) [Urvashi Rautela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/urvashi-rautela/) > [When we were children we were grateful to those who filled our stockings at Christmas time. Why are we not grateful to God for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-we-were-children-we-were-grateful-to-those-who-filled-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm so grateful to God for allowing my dreams to come true. It was worth going through a few tough times, as I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ainsley-earhardt/i-m-so-grateful-to-god-for-allowing-my-dreams-to-come-true-it-was/) [Ainsley Earhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ainsley-earhardt/) > [I am grateful to God for that because people can still identify me with something in Germany.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-jay-okocha/i-am-grateful-to-god-for-that-because-people-can-still-identify-me/) [Jay-Jay Okocha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-jay-okocha/) > [“Grief is a stern teacher, but I am confident I could not have learned some lessons in any other way. For that, I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-beckstrand/grief-is-a-stern-teacher-but-i-am-confident-i-could-not-have-learned/) [Jennifer Beckstrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-beckstrand/) > [I always wanted two children and I am grateful to God that he fulfilled my wish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rituparna-sengupta/i-always-wanted-two-children-and-i-am-grateful-to-god-that-he/) [Rituparna Sengupta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rituparna-sengupta/) > [I'm grateful to God that I'm able to praise his glory through my music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adnan-sami/i-m-grateful-to-god-that-i-m-able-to-praise-his-glory-through-my-music/) [Adnan Sami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adnan-sami/) > [I've been working really hard and I'm really grateful to God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelechi-iheanacho/i-ve-been-working-really-hard-and-i-m-really-grateful-to-god/) [Kelechi Iheanacho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelechi-iheanacho/) > [I'm grateful to God that, through the Negro church, the dimension of nonviolence entered our struggle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/i-m-grateful-to-god-that-through-the-negro-church-the-dimension-of/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Am grateful to God for his everything after being a believer since 19. He teaches me, groom me, corrects me, guide me, send angels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/am-grateful-to-god-for-his-everything-after-being-a-believer-since-19/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I walk in a space of gratitude. I'm so grateful to God for blessing me with an amazing family and the opportunity to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jurnee-smollett-bell/i-walk-in-a-space-of-gratitude-i-m-so-grateful-to-god-for-blessing-me/) [Jurnee Smollett-Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jurnee-smollett-bell/) > [I am so grateful to God for giving me the gift of 48 years with my daughter. And I accept that He knew when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cissy-houston/i-am-so-grateful-to-god-for-giving-me-the-gift-of-48-years-with-my/) [Cissy Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cissy-houston/) [Browse all 42 Grateful to god quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grateful-to-god/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“For it was only via the idea of God that we were able to develop all our ideas about a unified self, reason, a unified law-governed cosmos, sovereignty, property, supervision (Providence) and management, long-term purposes and action to attain them and so on. 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