--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The opinions held by most people about…" description: "\"“The opinions held by most people about the gods are not true conceptions of them but fallacious notions, according to which awful penalties are meted ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d3/epicurus-1642_fallacious_the-opinions-held-by-most-people-about-t_38916.jpg" --- # The opinions held by most people about the gods are not… ![“The opinions held by most people about the gods are not true conceptions of them but fallacious notions, according to which awful penalties are meted out to the evil and the greatest of blessings to the good.” quote by Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d3/epicurus-1642_fallacious_the-opinions-held-by-most-people-about-t_38916.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d3/epicurus-1642_fallacious_the-opinions-held-by-most-people-about-t_38916.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d3/epicurus-1642_fallacious_the-opinions-held-by-most-people-about-t_38916.jpg) > ““The opinions held by most people about the gods are not true conceptions of them but fallacious notions, according to which awful penalties are meted out to the evil and the greatest of blessings to the good.”” [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People’s common ideas about divine reward and punishment are mistaken, projecting human moral judgments onto gods rather than reflecting their true nature. **In simple terms:** Divine justice is a human projection. Key Takeaway Gods are not moral arbiters. Themes theology ethics philosophy of religion human nature misconception moral psychology Mood thoughtful critical inquisitive Type philosophical critical theological When to use this quote - theological debate - personal belief formation - ethical reasoning - cultural mythmaking Key Concepts divine nature human projection moral judgment Practical Applications - critique of religious dogma - framework for secular ethics Questions to Reflect On - How do our moral expectations shape our concept of the divine? - What evidence challenges the notion of divine retribution? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conceptions Fallacious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conceptions-fallacious-449846/) [Fallacious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fallacious/) [Fallacious Notions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fallacious-notions-449847/) [Opinions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinions/) [People Gods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-gods-449848/) ## Related quotes > [In my years, I have seen that people must be their own gods and make their own good fortune. The bad will come or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-my-years-i-have-seen-that-people-must-be-their-own-gods-and-make/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Were there a people of gods, their government would be democratic. So perfect a government is not for men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-rousseau/were-there-a-people-of-gods-their-government-would-be-democratic-so/) [Jean-Baptiste Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-rousseau/) > [It was in a mist the Tuatha de Danaan, the people of the gods of Dana, or as some called them, the Men of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-gregory/it-was-in-a-mist-the-tuatha-de-danaan-the-people-of-the-gods-of-dana/) [Lady Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-gregory/) > [Tragic heroes always moan when the gods take an interest in them, but it's the people the gods ignore who get the really tough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/tragic-heroes-always-moan-when-the-gods-take-an-interest-in-them-but/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“People create their own gods so that they could compete with other people's gods. It is not the humanity that fights but human gods.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aporva-kala/people-create-their-own-gods-so-that-they-could-compete-with-other/) [Aporva Kala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aporva-kala/) > [If only we were wiser or better people, perhaps the gods would explain to us the mad, unbearable things they do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/if-only-we-were-wiser-or-better-people-perhaps-the-gods-would-explain/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [I hate to tell this to people but most gods were invented by someone. I'm sorry. It's just that I'm in the present, whereas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grayson-perry/i-hate-to-tell-this-to-people-but-most-gods-were-invented-by-someone/) [Grayson Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grayson-perry/) > [Gods dont kill people. People with Gods kill people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-viaene/gods-dont-kill-people-people-with-gods-kill-people/) [David Viaene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-viaene/) > [“whether or not people get the gods that they deserve, they tend to get the gods (and demons) that their animals deserve—”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-doniger/whether-or-not-people-get-the-gods-that-they-deserve-they-tend-to-get/) [Wendy Doniger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-doniger/) > [Most people's Gods are self-reflective. God just has to be like you. You get concerned, so you assume God must get concerned. You get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/most-people-s-gods-are-self-reflective-god-just-has-to-be-like-you/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Every people have gods to suit their circumstances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/every-people-have-gods-to-suit-their-circumstances/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [People are gods, God is in each of us, we are all gods as we want to be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miroslav-mircevski-spasov/people-are-gods-god-is-in-each-of-us-we-are-all-gods-as-we-want-to-be/) [Miroslav Mircevski Spasov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miroslav-mircevski-spasov/) > [Gods? Don't let that impress you. Anyone can be a god if they have enough worshippers. You don't even have to have powers anymore.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/gods-don-t-let-that-impress-you-anyone-can-be-a-god-if-they-have/) [Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/) > [People are Gods masterpieces, created for the purposes that God has already mapped out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lecrae/people-are-gods-masterpieces-created-for-the-purposes-that-god-has/) [LeCrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lecrae/) > [“ 'Are our gods better than Olaf's god?' Alfdis laughed. 'That's a silly question. Gods are gods. Our gods have been with us since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-erich/are-our-gods-better-than-olaf-s-god-alfdis-laughed-that-s-a-silly/) [James Erich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-erich/) ## More by Epicurus > [Most beautiful is the sight of those near and dear to us when our original kinship makes us of one mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/most-beautiful-is-the-sight-of-those-near-and-dear-to-us-when-our/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) > [Any man who does not think that what he has is more than ample, is an unhappy man, even if he is the master…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/any-man-who-does-not-think-that-what-he-has-is-more-than-ample-is-an/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) > [Death is nothing to us: for that which is dissolved is without sensation; and that which lacks sensation is nothing to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/death-is-nothing-to-us-for-that-which-is-dissolved-is-without/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) > [Neither one should hesitate about dedicating oneself to philosophy when young, nor should get tired of doing it when one's old, because no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/neither-one-should-hesitate-about-dedicating-oneself-to-philosophy/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) > [If thou wilt make a man happy, add not unto his riches but take away from his desires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/if-thou-wilt-make-a-man-happy-add-not-unto-his-riches-but-take-away/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) > [Being happy is knowing how to be content with little](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/being-happy-is-knowing-how-to-be-content-with-little/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) > [Injustice is not evil in itself, but only in the fear and apprehension that one will not escape those who have been set up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/injustice-is-not-evil-in-itself-but-only-in-the-fear-and-apprehension/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) > [Riches do not exhilarate us so much with their possession as they torment us with their loss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/riches-do-not-exhilarate-us-so-much-with-their-possession-as-they/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) > [I have never wished to cater to the crowd; for what I know they do not approve, and what they approve I do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/i-have-never-wished-to-cater-to-the-crowd-for-what-i-know-they-do-not/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) > [The pleasant life is not produced by continual drinking and dancing, nor sexual intercourse, nor rare dishes of sea food and other delicacies of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/the-pleasant-life-is-not-produced-by-continual-drinking-and-dancing/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) > [Be moderate in order to taste the joys of life in abundance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/be-moderate-in-order-to-taste-the-joys-of-life-in-abundance/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) > [If the gods have the will to remove evil and cannot, then they are not all-powerful. If they are neither able nor willing, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/if-the-gods-have-the-will-to-remove-evil-and-cannot-then-they-are-not/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) > [Of all things which wisdom provides to make life entirely happy, much the greatest is the possession of friendship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/of-all-things-which-wisdom-provides-to-make-life-entirely-happy-much/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) > [Death does not concern us, because as long as we exist, death is not here. And when it does come, we no longer exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/death-does-not-concern-us-because-as-long-as-we-exist-death-is-not/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) > [Death is nothing to us: for after our bodies have been dissolved by death they are without sensation, and that which lacks sensation is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/death-is-nothing-to-us-for-after-our-bodies-have-been-dissolved-by/) [Epicurus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) [Explore all 209 Epicurus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/) ## More Fallacious quotes > [Love can only consist in failure...on the fallacious assumption that it is a relationship. But it is not. It is a production of truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-badiou/love-can-only-consist-in-failure-on-the-fallacious-assumption-that-it/) [Alain Badiou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-badiou/) > [“A truly scientific philosophy will be more humble, more piecemeal, more arduous, offering less glitter of outward mirage to flatter fallacious hopes, but more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/a-truly-scientific-philosophy-will-be-more-humble-more-piecemeal-more/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [“Another fallacy comes creeping in whose errors you should be meticulous in trying to avoid. Don't think our eyes, our bright and shining eyes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/titus-lucretius-carus/another-fallacy-comes-creeping-in-whose-errors-you-should-be/) [Titus Lucretius Carus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/titus-lucretius-carus/) > [Nothing is more fallacious than wealth. To-day it is for thee; tomorrow it is against thee. It arms the eyes of the envious every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-john-chrysostom/nothing-is-more-fallacious-than-wealth-to-day-it-is-for-thee-tomorrow/) [Saint John Chrysostom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-john-chrysostom/) > [“Better or worse, we are living such a fallacious world, where people like to seek their own interests in in others' matters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-h-rakib/better-or-worse-we-are-living-such-a-fallacious-world-where-people/) [M.H. Rakib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-h-rakib/) > [ “Interestingly, the patients who presented to me self-diagnosed \[with Dissociative Identity Disorder\] had tried to tell previous therapists of their plight, but had been… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-p-kluft/interestingly-the-patients-who-presented-to-me-self-diagnosed-with/) [Richard P. Kluft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-p-kluft/) > [Don't tell me of facts, I never believe facts; you know Canning said nothing was so fallacious as facts, except figures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-smith/don-t-tell-me-of-facts-i-never-believe-facts-you-know-canning-said/) [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) > [Fallacious and misleading arguments are most easily detected if set out in correct syllogistic form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/fallacious-and-misleading-arguments-are-most-easily-detected-if-set/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [the truth is artistically fallacious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-kinnan-rawlings/the-truth-is-artistically-fallacious/) [Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-kinnan-rawlings/) > [The laws of probability, so true in general, so fallacious in particular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/the-laws-of-probability-so-true-in-general-so-fallacious-in-particular/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [Accept it, The more you assure yourself to believe the fallacious words, the more glum you grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/accept-it-the-more-you-assure-yourself-to-believe-the-fallacious/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The fictitious characters of movies undermine our personal relationships with others. we are constantly under pressure to fit into the mould created by fiction,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/awdhesh-singh/the-fictitious-characters-of-movies-undermine-our-personal/) [Awdhesh Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/awdhesh-singh/) > [“To be communal is to be something fallacious. It is to be something more or less than being, a subjugation or propagation of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dew-platt/to-be-communal-is-to-be-something-fallacious-it-is-to-be-something/) [Dew Platt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dew-platt/) > [“In a fallacious world where we live; it is much easy to create a God rather than pretending to find one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/in-a-fallacious-world-where-we-live-it-is-much-easy-to-create-a-god/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [All formal dogmatic religions are fallacious and must never be accepted by self-respecting persons as final.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hypatia-of-alexandria/all-formal-dogmatic-religions-are-fallacious-and-must-never-be/) [Hypatia of Alexandria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hypatia-of-alexandria/) [Browse all 23 Fallacious quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fallacious/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The opinions held by most people about the gods are not true conceptions of them but fallacious notions, according to which awful penalties are meted out to the evil and the greatest of blessings to the good.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Epicurus" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/the-opinions-held-by-most-people-about-the-gods-are-not-true/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fallacious" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/the-opinions-held-by-most-people-about-the-gods-are-not-true/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d3/epicurus-1642_fallacious_the-opinions-held-by-most-people-about-t_38916.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d3/epicurus-1642_fallacious_the-opinions-held-by-most-people-about-t_38916.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d3/epicurus-1642_fallacious_the-opinions-held-by-most-people-about-t_38916.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The opinions held by most people about the gods are not true conceptions of them but fallacious notions…” — Epicurus", "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": "Epicurus", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epicurus/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The opinions held by most people...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/the-opinions-held-by-most-people-about-the-gods-are-not-true/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epicurus/the-opinions-held-by-most-people-about-the-gods-are-not-true/#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 } } ] } ```