--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is nothing more profane than the…" description: "\"There is nothing more profane than the image of an atheist with tears in his eyes conducting the glory and passion of Handel's Messiah.\" — Frank Schaeffer" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5e/frank-schaeffer-8107_atheist_there-is-nothing-more-profane-than-the-i_1937360.png" --- # There is nothing more profane than the image of an atheist… ![“There is nothing more profane than the image of an atheist with tears in his eyes conducting the glory and passion of Handel's Messiah.” quote by Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5e/frank-schaeffer-8107_atheist_there-is-nothing-more-profane-than-the-i_1937360.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5e/frank-schaeffer-8107_atheist_there-is-nothing-more-profane-than-the-i_1937360.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5e/frank-schaeffer-8107_atheist_there-is-nothing-more-profane-than-the-i_1937360.png) > “There is nothing more profane than the image of an atheist with tears in his eyes conducting the glory and passion of Handel's Messiah.” [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) ## 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 mocks the incongruity of an atheist emotionally moved by a religious work, highlighting perceived hypocrisy. **In simple terms:** An atheist showing emotion over a Christian piece seems contradictory. Key Takeaway Question the authenticity of emotional displays. Themes religion hypocrisy art emotion Mood ironic critical thoughtful Type satirical philosophical When to use this quote - public debates - art criticism - personal reflection Key Concepts secularism cognitive dissonance cultural appropriation Questions to Reflect On - Do emotions betray belief? - Can art transcend belief systems? A Different Perspective The quote may overgeneralize atheists' emotional capacity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atheist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheist/) [Glory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/glory/) [Handel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/handel/) [Messiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/messiah/) [Passion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passion/) [Tears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tears/) ## Related quotes > [In a thousand voices singing the Hallelujah Chorus in Handel's "Messiah," it is possible to distinguish the leading voices, but the differences of training…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-addams/in-a-thousand-voices-singing-the-hallelujah-chorus-in-handel-s/) [Jane Addams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-addams/) > [Music has always been a part of my spiritual seeking, from the moment that Handel's 'Messiah' gave me the experience when I was so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-ogilvie/music-has-always-been-a-part-of-my-spiritual-seeking-from-the-moment/) [George Ogilvie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-ogilvie/) > [The first choral music I remember hearing was Handel's 'Messiah' when the Mormon Tabernacle Choir broadcast it over the radio.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/the-first-choral-music-i-remember-hearing-was-handel-s-messiah-when/) [Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/) > [Christmas brings us great music: Everything from Handel's 'Messiah' to 'White Christmas,' to 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-colmes/christmas-brings-us-great-music-everything-from-handel-s-messiah-to/) [Alan Colmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-colmes/) > [“Handel's yearning for independence from the traditional chains of patronage and his persistence in monitoring his productions resulted with unique developments concerning Baroque 'opera…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-a-bucchianeri/handel-s-yearning-for-independence-from-the-traditional-chains-of/) [E.A. Bucchianeri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-a-bucchianeri/) > [I would still love to do more Handel. I think Handel was a fantastic composer. I did lots of Vivaldi, but it's also important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecilia-bartoli/i-would-still-love-to-do-more-handel-i-think-handel-was-a-fantastic/) [Cecilia Bartoli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecilia-bartoli/) > [Handel, to him I bow the knee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-van-beethoven/handel-to-him-i-bow-the-knee/) [Ludwig van Beethoven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-van-beethoven/) > [Every Englishman believes that Handel now occupies an important position in heaven. If so, le bon Dieu must feel toward him very much as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-englishman-believes-that-handel-now-occupies-an-important/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Raphael paints wisdom, Handel sings it, Phidias carves it, Shakespeare writes it, Wren builds it, Columbus sails it, Luther preaches it, Washington arms it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/raphael-paints-wisdom-handel-sings-it-phidias-carves-it-shakespeare/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Take a Nicodemus and put a Joseph Smith's spirit in him, and what do you have? Take a Da Vinci or a Michelangelo or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brigham-young/take-a-nicodemus-and-put-a-joseph-smith-s-spirit-in-him-and-what-do/) [Brigham Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brigham-young/) > [The only work that can be compared to Chopin's Etudes, innovatively, where every note is essential and one becomes completely exposed, is the Brahms-Paganini…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-grante/the-only-work-that-can-be-compared-to-chopin-s-etudes-innovatively/) [Carlo Grante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-grante/) > [“Does not… the ear of Handel predict the witchcraft of harmonic sound?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/does-not-the-ear-of-handel-predict-the-witchcraft-of-harmonic-sound/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Karen Handel has run a 100 percent negative campaign.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-deal/karen-handel-has-run-a-100-percent-negative-campaign/) [Nathan Deal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-deal/) > [I listen to Handel's vocal music, almost exclusively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-leon/i-listen-to-handel-s-vocal-music-almost-exclusively/) [Donna Leon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-leon/) > [It was from Handel that I learned that style consists in force of assertion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/it-was-from-handel-that-i-learned-that-style-consists-in-force-of/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## More by Frank Schaeffer > [We don't just change our minds, we change the way we see things. That's one reason I'm a better grandfather than I was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/we-don-t-just-change-our-minds-we-change-the-way-we-see-things-that-s/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) > [“The last thing I crave is to be exposed to the sort of grandstanding preachers that so many evangelical churches seem to breed with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/the-last-thing-i-crave-is-to-be-exposed-to-the-sort-of-grandstanding/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) > [The secular humanist, although he would never dream of committing the social faux pas of calling a black man a negro, feels perfectly free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/the-secular-humanist-although-he-would-never-dream-of-committing-the/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) > [Donald Trump is not a very bright or nice man. Bad combination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/donald-trump-is-not-a-very-bright-or-nice-man-bad-combination/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) > [“I don’t view you as a market segment. I view you as my partner, an individual reader, a friend as complex and maybe even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/i-don-t-view-you-as-a-market-segment-i-view-you-as-my-partner-an/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) > [“We are part of nature yet we have decided to be nicer than nature.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/we-are-part-of-nature-yet-we-have-decided-to-be-nicer-than-nature/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) > [“Some people who helped lead that movement—including me—were very much like Hunka Munka and Tom Thumb. We lived lives informed by beliefs that were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/some-people-who-helped-lead-that-movement-including-me-were-very-much/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) > [I think that unlike W Bush who was an actual evangelical and sincerely so (my family knew the Bush family), of course Trump will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/i-think-that-unlike-w-bush-who-was-an-actual-evangelical-and/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) > [“who is actually delusional? Who is actually following Jesus: fundamentalist Christians rejecting gay men and lesbians’ right to marry, or atheist humanists treating men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/who-is-actually-delusional-who-is-actually-following-jesus/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) > [“Labels don’t mean anything. Who cares about labels when someone is slapping you in the face? Who cares about labels when someone is saving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/labels-don-t-mean-anything-who-cares-about-labels-when-someone-is/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) > [We are not evolved but evolving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/we-are-not-evolved-but-evolving/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) > [“Luckily for the people she helped, my mother was gloriously inconsistent. She lived according to the more enlightened parts of the Bible and ignored…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/luckily-for-the-people-she-helped-my-mother-was-gloriously/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) > [“education and money. I go to church with the kids for the same reason Genie and I play our grandchildren classical music and litter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/education-and-money-i-go-to-church-with-the-kids-for-the-same-reason/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) > [“If we wait for correct ideas to save us—theological or otherwise—we’ll never be saved, even from ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/if-we-wait-for-correct-ideas-to-save-us-theological-or-otherwise-we/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) > [Of course as soon as I say something or write it that sounds like I believe it, and really I'm never entirely sure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/of-course-as-soon-as-i-say-something-or-write-it-that-sounds-like-i/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) [Explore all 84 Frank Schaeffer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) ## More Atheist quotes > [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/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [That the world is in a bad shape is undeniable, but there is not the faintest reason in history to suppose that Christianity offers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/that-the-world-is-in-a-bad-shape-is-undeniable-but-there-is-not-the/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [“I felt like praying or something, when I was in bed, but I couldn't do it. I can't always pray when I feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/i-felt-like-praying-or-something-when-i-was-in-bed-but-i-couldn-t-do/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [Atheist’s denial of God’s existence needs just as much substantiation as does the theist’s claim; the atheist must give plausible reasons for rejecting God’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-copan/atheist-s-denial-of-god-s-existence-needs-just-as-much-substantiation/) [Paul Copan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-copan/) > [“The atheist joined his hands. It wasn't against the Gods. 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. These minsters were neither…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/good-churches-are-not-built-by-bad-men-at-least-there-must-be-probity/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [An ineffably holy God, who has the utmost abhorrence of sin, was never invented by any of Adam's descendents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-w-pink/an-ineffably-holy-god-who-has-the-utmost-abhorrence-of-sin-was-never/) [Arthur W. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-w-pink/) > [If all the Atheists & Agnostics left America, they'd lose 93% of The National Academy of Sciences & less than 1% of the prison population.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-gervais/if-all-the-atheists-agnostics-left-america-they-d-lose-93-of-the/) [Ricky Gervais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-gervais/) > [I am an atheist. I don't think there's anything divine. 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Beyond that, I may differ dramatically in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-carrier/i-am-like-all-other-atheists-only-in-that-i-do-not-believe-there-are/) [Richard Carrier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-carrier/) [Browse all 2,434 Atheist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is nothing more profane than the image of an atheist with tears in his eyes conducting the glory and passion of Handel's Messiah.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Frank Schaeffer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/there-is-nothing-more-profane-than-the-image-of-an-atheist-with-tears/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Atheist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/there-is-nothing-more-profane-than-the-image-of-an-atheist-with-tears/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5e/frank-schaeffer-8107_atheist_there-is-nothing-more-profane-than-the-i_1937360.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5e/frank-schaeffer-8107_atheist_there-is-nothing-more-profane-than-the-i_1937360.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5e/frank-schaeffer-8107_atheist_there-is-nothing-more-profane-than-the-i_1937360.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is nothing more profane than the image of an atheist with tears in his eyes conducting the glory and…” — Frank Schaeffer", "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": "Frank Schaeffer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There is nothing more profane than...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/there-is-nothing-more-profane-than-the-image-of-an-atheist-with-tears/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/there-is-nothing-more-profane-than-the-image-of-an-atheist-with-tears/#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 } } ] } ```