--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The atheist relies not on an experience…" description: "\"“The atheist relies not on an experience but on an idea, or pseudo idea, of God: if God existed, He would have such and such characteristics; but if he..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78f/gabriel-marcel-23278_atheist_the-atheist-relies-not-on-an-experience_200455.png" --- # The atheist relies not on an experience but on an idea, or… ![“The atheist relies not on an experience but on an idea, or pseudo idea, of God: if God existed, He would have such and such characteristics; but if he had such characteristics, He could not allow etc...His judgment of incompability, in fact, is based on a judgment of implications.” quote by Gabriel Marcel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78f/gabriel-marcel-23278_atheist_the-atheist-relies-not-on-an-experience_200455.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78f/gabriel-marcel-23278_atheist_the-atheist-relies-not-on-an-experience_200455.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78f/gabriel-marcel-23278_atheist_the-atheist-relies-not-on-an-experience_200455.png) > ““The atheist relies not on an experience but on an idea, or pseudo idea, of God: if God existed, He would have such and such characteristics; but if he had such characteristics, He could not allow etc...His judgment of incompability, in fact, is based on a judgment of implications.”” [Gabriel Marcel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-marcel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He critiques atheism for relying on abstract ideas of God rather than experience. **In simple terms:** Atheism rests on imagined concepts, not lived experience. Key Takeaway Question assumptions behind belief systems. Themes philosophy theology existentialism Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - academic debate - personal reflection - interfaith dialogue Key Concepts belief conceptualization logic Questions to Reflect On - What role does experience play in shaping belief? - Can ideas fully replace lived encounters? A Different Perspective Abstract reasoning may not capture lived reality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atheist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheist/) ## Related quotes > [“Beauty is an influence based off of judgment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alyssa-keller/beauty-is-an-influence-based-off-of-judgment/) Alyssa Keller > [I am an atheist. I don't think there's anything divine. Beautiful, impressive, awe-inspiring - sure, but not divine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nomy-arpaly/i-am-an-atheist-i-don-t-think-there-s-anything-divine-beautiful/) [Nomy Arpaly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nomy-arpaly/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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 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/) > [“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/) > [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/) > [“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/) > [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/) > [“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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) ## More by Gabriel Marcel > [A mystery is a problem that encroaches upon itself because the questioner becomes the object of the question. Getting to Mars is a problem.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-marcel/a-mystery-is-a-problem-that-encroaches-upon-itself-because-the/) [Gabriel Marcel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-marcel/) > [It is right that we be concerned with the scientific probity of metaphysics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-marcel/it-is-right-that-we-be-concerned-with-the-scientific-probity-of/) [Gabriel Marcel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-marcel/) > [But however measurable, there is much more life in music than mathematics or logic ever dreamed of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-marcel/but-however-measurable-there-is-much-more-life-in-music-than/) [Gabriel Marcel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-marcel/) > [But a science is exact to the extent that its method measures up to and is adequate to its object.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-marcel/but-a-science-is-exact-to-the-extent-that-its-method-measures-up-to/) [Gabriel Marcel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-marcel/) > [... freedom is a conquest, always partial, always precarious, always challenged. ... the freest person is the one with the most hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-marcel/freedom-is-a-conquest-always-partial-always-precarious-always/) [Gabriel Marcel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-marcel/) > [The dynamic element in my philosophy, taken as a whole, can be seen as an obstinate and untiring battle against the spirit of abstraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-marcel/the-dynamic-element-in-my-philosophy-taken-as-a-whole-can-be-seen-as/) [Gabriel Marcel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-marcel/) > [You know you have loved someone when you have glimpsed in them that which is too beautiful to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-marcel/you-know-you-have-loved-someone-when-you-have-glimpsed-in-them-that/) [Gabriel Marcel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-marcel/) > [On a grassroots level we say that man can touch more than he can grasp.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-marcel/on-a-grassroots-level-we-say-that-man-can-touch-more-than-he-can-grasp/) [Gabriel Marcel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-marcel/) > [I not only have a body; I am this body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-marcel/i-not-only-have-a-body-i-am-this-body/) [Gabriel Marcel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-marcel/) > [The wise man knows how to run his life so that contemplation is possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-marcel/the-wise-man-knows-how-to-run-his-life-so-that-contemplation-is/) [Gabriel Marcel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-marcel/) > [Hope consists in asserting that there is at the heart of being, beyond all data, beyond all inventories and all calculations, a mysterious principle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-marcel/hope-consists-in-asserting-that-there-is-at-the-heart-of-being-beyond/) [Gabriel Marcel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-marcel/) > [Being and having in our society teaches us how to take possession of things, when it should rather initiate us in the art of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-marcel/being-and-having-in-our-society-teaches-us-how-to-take-possession-of/) [Gabriel Marcel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-marcel/) > [An individual is not distinct from his place. He is his place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-marcel/an-individual-is-not-distinct-from-his-place-he-is-his-place/) [Gabriel Marcel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-marcel/) > [I almost think that hope is for the soul what breathing is for the living organism. Where hope is lacking the soul dries up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-marcel/i-almost-think-that-hope-is-for-the-soul-what-breathing-is-for-the/) [Gabriel Marcel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-marcel/) > [Music at times is more like perfume than mathematics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-marcel/music-at-times-is-more-like-perfume-than-mathematics/) [Gabriel Marcel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-marcel/) [Explore all 24 Gabriel Marcel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-marcel/) ## 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. Beautiful, impressive, awe-inspiring - sure, but not divine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nomy-arpaly/i-am-an-atheist-i-don-t-think-there-s-anything-divine-beautiful/) [Nomy Arpaly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nomy-arpaly/) > [I am like all other atheists only in that I do not believe there are any gods. 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": "“The atheist relies not on an experience but on an idea, or pseudo idea, of God: if God existed, He would have such and such characteristics; but if he had such characteristics, He could not allow etc...His judgment of incompability, in fact, is based on a judgment of implications.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gabriel Marcel" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-marcel/the-atheist-relies-not-on-an-experience-but-on-an-idea-or-pseudo-idea/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Atheist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-marcel/the-atheist-relies-not-on-an-experience-but-on-an-idea-or-pseudo-idea/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78f/gabriel-marcel-23278_atheist_the-atheist-relies-not-on-an-experience_200455.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78f/gabriel-marcel-23278_atheist_the-atheist-relies-not-on-an-experience_200455.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78f/gabriel-marcel-23278_atheist_the-atheist-relies-not-on-an-experience_200455.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The atheist relies not on an experience but on an idea, or pseudo idea, of God: if God existed, He would…” — Gabriel Marcel", "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": "Gabriel Marcel", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-marcel/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The atheist relies not on an...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-marcel/the-atheist-relies-not-on-an-experience-but-on-an-idea-or-pseudo-idea/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-marcel/the-atheist-relies-not-on-an-experience-but-on-an-idea-or-pseudo-idea/#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 } } ] } ```