--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Authority ... cannot be a darksome power…" description: "\"“Authority ... cannot be a darksome power that compels us to subject ourselves without reason.”\" — G C Berkouwer" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a01/g-c-berkouwer-9618_authority_authority-cannot-be-a-darksome-power-tha_2908460.jpg" --- # Authority ... cannot be a darksome power that compels us… ![“Authority ... cannot be a darksome power that compels us to subject ourselves without reason.” quote by G C Berkouwer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a01/g-c-berkouwer-9618_authority_authority-cannot-be-a-darksome-power-tha_2908460.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a01/g-c-berkouwer-9618_authority_authority-cannot-be-a-darksome-power-tha_2908460.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a01/g-c-berkouwer-9618_authority_authority-cannot-be-a-darksome-power-tha_2908460.jpg) > ““Authority ... cannot be a darksome power that compels us to subject ourselves without reason.”” [G C Berkouwer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-c-berkouwer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Authority should not be a coercive force that demands obedience without rational justification. **In simple terms:** Authority must be rational. Key Takeaway Question and evaluate authority critically. Themes authority reason ethics Mood critical thoughtful Type philosophical political When to use this quote - workplace leadership - government policy - education - null Key Concepts political theory philosophy psychology null Questions to Reflect On - When is authority justified? - How do you resist unjust demands? A Different Perspective Power dynamics can be subtle. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authority/) [Authority Darksome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authority-darksome-4174387/) [Compels Subject](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compels-subject-4174390/) [Darksome Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darksome-power-4174389/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Power Compels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power-compels-4174388/) [Without reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/without-reason/) ## Related quotes > [Sometimes loving someone does not require a sense of knowing...Often times it's when you love someone without reason or explanation that it withstands the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mimi-mata-aspiring-writer/sometimes-loving-someone-does-not-require-a-sense-of-knowing-often/) [Mimi Mata (Aspiring Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mimi-mata-aspiring-writer/) > [Now it is characteristic of play that one plays without reason and there must be no reason for it. 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Strive to enter by the narrow door…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-c-berkouwer/lord-will-those-who-are-saved-be-few-jesus-answer-seems-so/) [G C Berkouwer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-c-berkouwer/) > [“The history of salvation does away with any personal glory ... in Christ, we have the exclusion of all human merit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-c-berkouwer/the-history-of-salvation-does-away-with-any-personal-glory-in-christ/) [G C Berkouwer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-c-berkouwer/) > [“The restoration of the image of God ... the new nature, created after the likeness of God in righteousness and holiness ... the new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-c-berkouwer/the-restoration-of-the-image-of-god-the-new-nature-created-after-the/) [G C Berkouwer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-c-berkouwer/) > [“On the route of faith and action, along with hope, we see that the gospel we believe is far removed from the picture of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-c-berkouwer/on-the-route-of-faith-and-action-along-with-hope-we-see-that-the/) [G C Berkouwer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-c-berkouwer/) > [“Genuine sanctification has a ‘continued orientation toward justification.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-c-berkouwer/genuine-sanctification-has-a-continued-orientation-toward/) [G C Berkouwer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-c-berkouwer/) > [“Men have tried to construct abstract and causal answers to this question of sin's origin and ... have violated the very limits of objectivity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-c-berkouwer/men-have-tried-to-construct-abstract-and-causal-answers-to-this/) [G C Berkouwer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-c-berkouwer/) > [“The true nature of good works cannot be understood apart from Christ who is our ‘sanctification’ (1 Corinthians 1:30).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-c-berkouwer/the-true-nature-of-good-works-cannot-be-understood-apart-from-christ/) [G C Berkouwer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-c-berkouwer/) > [“In the Gospels, being a sinner means being lost ... 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We quickly move over to simplistic either-or’s … in which the fulness of truth is torn apart.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-c-berkouwer/dilemmas-always-are-a-source-of-polarization-we-quickly-move-over-to/) [G C Berkouwer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-c-berkouwer/) > [“The church's ... certainty is bound to certain norms and ... a feeling of subjective certainty does not guarantee irrefutable certainty ... it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-c-berkouwer/the-church-s-certainty-is-bound-to-certain-norms-and-a-feeling-of/) [G C Berkouwer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-c-berkouwer/) > [“God ... is hidden from corrupt eyes, from the proud and disdainful, but revealed to those who in confession of sin and receptive faith…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-c-berkouwer/god-is-hidden-from-corrupt-eyes-from-the-proud-and-disdainful-but/) [G C Berkouwer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-c-berkouwer/) > [“I am of the opinion that … one can judge soundly of the scriptural doctrine of election only when one rejects this symmetry (i.e.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-c-berkouwer/i-am-of-the-opinion-that-one-can-judge-soundly-of-the-scriptural/) [G C Berkouwer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-c-berkouwer/) > [“The hesitations and doubts that are present at many points in modern theology do not in themselves indicate a deep and final uncertainty ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-c-berkouwer/the-hesitations-and-doubts-that-are-present-at-many-points-in-modern/) [G C Berkouwer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-c-berkouwer/) > [“It is the marvel of the work of the Holy Spirit that those who really respond to the proclamation of reconciliation claim no merit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-c-berkouwer/it-is-the-marvel-of-the-work-of-the-holy-spirit-that-those-who-really/) [G C Berkouwer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-c-berkouwer/) [Explore all 71 G C Berkouwer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-c-berkouwer/) ## More Authority quotes > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. This is insane. Who has the authority to say someone is better?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-believe-in-competitions-between-artists-this-is-insane-who/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [Islam never differentiates between men and women as regards political rights and puts them on an equal footing. 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