--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: no one can be an atheist who does not…" description: "\"“no one can be an atheist who does not know all things. Only God is an atheist. The devil is the greatest believer and he has his reasons.”\" — Flannery..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3f/flannery-o-connor-639_atheist_no-one-can-be-an-atheist-who-does-not-kn_1098223.png" --- # no one can be an atheist who does not know all things… ![“no one can be an atheist who does not know all things. Only God is an atheist. The devil is the greatest believer and he has his reasons.” quote by Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3f/flannery-o-connor-639_atheist_no-one-can-be-an-atheist-who-does-not-kn_1098223.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3f/flannery-o-connor-639_atheist_no-one-can-be-an-atheist-who-does-not-kn_1098223.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3f/flannery-o-connor-639_atheist_no-one-can-be-an-atheist-who-does-not-kn_1098223.png) > ““no one can be an atheist who does not know all things. Only God is an atheist. The devil is the greatest believer and he has his reasons.”” [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) ## 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 true atheism requires complete knowledge, implying that only a divine being could be wholly unknowable, while the devil, despite his evil, is a fervent believer with rationales for his actions. **In simple terms:** Knowing everything is needed to be an atheist; only God fits that description. Key Takeaway Recognize the limits of knowledge and the role of belief. Themes faith knowledge belief theology Mood contemplative critical thoughtful Type philosophical theological provocative When to use this quote - personal doubt - religious debate - ethical decision making - philosophical discussion Key Concepts epistemology theodicy existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to truly "know all things"? - Can belief exist without evidence? A Different Perspective The claim oversimplifies complex belief systems and ignores agnosticism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atheist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheist/) ## Related quotes > [“No one can be an atheist who does not know all things. Only God is an atheist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/no-one-can-be-an-atheist-who-does-not-know-all-things-only-god-is-an-2/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [The existence of a single atheist does not disprove the existence of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-f-devault/the-existence-of-a-single-atheist-does-not-disprove-the-existence-of/) William F. DeVault > [An atheist, like a Christian, holds that we can know whether or not there is a God. The Christian holds that we can know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/an-atheist-like-a-christian-holds-that-we-can-know-whether-or-not/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [It is philosophically impossible to be an atheist, since to be an atheist you must have infinite knowledge in order to know absolutely that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-carlson/it-is-philosophically-impossible-to-be-an-atheist-since-to-be-an/) [Ron Carlson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-carlson/) > [I do not believe in God and I am not an atheist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/i-do-not-believe-in-god-and-i-am-not-an-atheist/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“Real atheist is not the one that does not believe in an imaginary big monkey, but the one that gives the imagination more importance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/real-atheist-is-not-the-one-that-does-not-believe-in-an-imaginary-big/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [Practical atheism is when you act the same way as an atheist does even when you believe in God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/practical-atheism-is-when-you-act-the-same-way-as-an-atheist-does/) [Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/) > [If I convert it's because it's better that a believer dies than that an atheist does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/if-i-convert-it-s-because-it-s-better-that-a-believer-dies-than-that/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [What is an atheist, but one who does not, or will not, see in the universe a ruling principle of love; and what a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/what-is-an-atheist-but-one-who-does-not-or-will-not-see-in-the/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [“Richard Dawkins may have phrased it most pungently when he argued that everybody is an atheist in saying that there is a god—from Ra…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/richard-dawkins-may-have-phrased-it-most-pungently-when-he-argued/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [A wise man once told me- he’s a muslim by the way- that he has more in common with a jew than he does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/a-wise-man-once-told-me-he-s-a-muslim-by-the-way-that-he-has-more-in/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [Everybody is an atheist in saying that there is a god - from Ra to Shiva - in which he does not believe. All…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/everybody-is-an-atheist-in-saying-that-there-is-a-god-from-ra-to/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“He was an embittered atheist (the sort of atheist who does not so much disbelieve in God as personally dislike Him), and took a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/he-was-an-embittered-atheist-the-sort-of-atheist-who-does-not-so-much/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [If there is a god, the only genuine friend he has is an atheist. He does not blame him for anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chapman-cohen/if-there-is-a-god-the-only-genuine-friend-he-has-is-an-atheist-he/) [Chapman Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chapman-cohen/) > [I profess no belief in God, which by definition is true, especially if we take the accepted definition of God. But to be an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/i-profess-no-belief-in-god-which-by-definition-is-true-especially-if/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) ## More by Flannery O'Connor > [“Wait here, wait here!" he cried and jumped up and began to run for help toward a cluster of lights he saw in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/wait-here-wait-here-he-cried-and-jumped-up-and-began-to-run-for-help/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [... the man in the violent situation reveals those qualities least dispensable in his personality, those qualities which are all he will have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/the-man-in-the-violent-situation-reveals-those-qualities-least/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“I don’t know how to cure the source-itis except to tell you that I can discover a good many possible sources myself for Wise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/i-don-t-know-how-to-cure-the-source-itis-except-to-tell-you-that-i/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“For the fiction writer himself the whole story is the meaning, because it is an experience, not an abstraction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/for-the-fiction-writer-himself-the-whole-story-is-the-meaning-because/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [Everything that gave her pleasure was small and depressed him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/everything-that-gave-her-pleasure-was-small-and-depressed-him/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [To the hard of hearing you shout, and for the almost blind you draw large and startling figures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/to-the-hard-of-hearing-you-shout-and-for-the-almost-blind-you-draw/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“He felt his hunger no longer as a pain but as a tide. 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She thought the word Jesus should be kept inside the church building like other words inside the bedroom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/mrs-may-winced-she-thought-the-word-jesus-should-be-kept-inside-the/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [I feel that discussing story-writing in terms of plot, character, and theme is like trying to describe the expression on a face by saying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/i-feel-that-discussing-story-writing-in-terms-of-plot-character-and/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [She had observed that the more education they got, the less they could do. 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He smiled, with his hands folded, saw his daughter's in-laws approaching near.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhavik-sarkhedi/the-atheist-joined-his-hands-it-wasn-t-against-the-gods-he-smiled/) [Bhavik Sarkhedi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhavik-sarkhedi/) > [I am surprised that anyone can profess to be an atheist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-comfort/i-am-surprised-that-anyone-can-profess-to-be-an-atheist/) [Ray Comfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-comfort/) > [“I have found it an amusing strategy, when asked whether I am an atheist, to point out that the questioner is also an atheist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-have-found-it-an-amusing-strategy-when-asked-whether-i-am-an/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [An Atheist wandering down a road where he meets up a four road junction , he asks a passer by hey !, where does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-rambharack/an-atheist-wandering-down-a-road-where-he-meets-up-a-four-road/) [Glen Rambharack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-rambharack/) > [Good churches are not built by bad men; at least, there must be probity and enthusiasm somewhere in the society. 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