--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One can't found a novel theology on…" description: "\"One can't found a novel theology on Nothing, and nothing is so secure a foundation as a contradiction. Look at the great successes of the past--they sa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0af/gene-wolfe-2530_authority_one-can-t-found-a-novel-theology-on-noth_1041375.jpg" --- # One can't found a novel theology on Nothing, and nothing… ![“One can't found a novel theology on Nothing, and nothing is so secure a foundation as a contradiction. Look at the great successes of the past--they say their deities are the masters of all the universes, and yet that they require grandmothers to defend them, as if they were children frightened by…” quote by Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0af/gene-wolfe-2530_authority_one-can-t-found-a-novel-theology-on-noth_1041375.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0af/gene-wolfe-2530_authority_one-can-t-found-a-novel-theology-on-noth_1041375.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0af/gene-wolfe-2530_authority_one-can-t-found-a-novel-theology-on-noth_1041375.jpg) > “One can't found a novel theology on Nothing, and nothing is so secure a foundation as a contradiction. Look at the great successes of the past--they say their deities are the masters of all the universes, and yet that they require grandmothers to defend them, as if they were children frightened by poultry. Or that the authority that punishes no one while there exists a chance for reformation will punish everyone when there is no possibility anyone will become the better for it.” [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) ## 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 argues that contradictions can serve as a more stable foundation for belief systems than the notion of absolute nothingness, highlighting the absurdities in traditional theological claims. **In simple terms:** Contradictions may be a stronger base for belief than nothingness. Key Takeaway Question assumptions about the foundations of belief. Themes philosophy theology logic skepticism Mood thoughtful critical Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - debates on religion - academic discussions - personal reflection Key Concepts contradiction foundation belief systems Questions to Reflect On - What makes a contradiction a stable foundation? - How do we reconcile contradictions in belief? A Different Perspective The argument may overlook the value of coherent, non-contradictory frameworks. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authority/) [Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chance/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Contradiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradiction/) [Deities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deities/) [Found](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/found/) [Foundation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foundation/) [Foundation Contradiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foundation-contradiction-2435565/) [Frightened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frightened/) [Grandmother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grandmother/) [Great success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-success/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Masters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/masters/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Novel Theology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel-theology-2435564/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Possibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possibility/) [Poultry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poultry/) [Reformation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reformation/) [Secure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secure/) [Theology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theology/) [Theology Secure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theology-secure-2435566/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) ## Related quotes > [It is a great delusion to suppose that flesh-meat of any kind is essential to health. 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I grew up a tomboy and \[was\] into sports, so staying active is something that I enjoy. I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tricia-helfer/i-have-always-been-physically-active-i-grew-up-a-tomboy-and-was-into/) [Tricia Helfer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tricia-helfer/) > [Let me say it openly: we are surrounded by an enterprise of degradation, cruelty, and killing which rivals anything the Third Reich was capable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-me-say-it-openly-we-are-surrounded-by-an-enterprise-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Twenty years ago, the vast majority of persons, as we then wrote, had never tasted a really new-laid egg, and did not know what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-wright/twenty-years-ago-the-vast-majority-of-persons-as-we-then-wrote-had/) [Lewis Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-wright/) > [I don't want food that comes from animals that are caged up and fed antibiotics. I am really suspicious of that kind of production…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-waters/i-don-t-want-food-that-comes-from-animals-that-are-caged-up-and-fed/) [Alice Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-waters/) > [Architectural kitsch is most common in the commercial pop vernacular - typified by the Big Duck of 1931 in Flanders, New York, a Long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-filler/architectural-kitsch-is-most-common-in-the-commercial-pop-vernacular/) [Martin Filler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-filler/) > [Notes for a ballet, The Spell: ... Suddenly Sigmund hears the flutter of wings, and a group of wild swans flies across the moon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/notes-for-a-ballet-the-spell-suddenly-sigmund-hears-the-flutter-of/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [A bird in the hand may be worth two in the bush, but remember also that a bird in the hand is a positive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-ade/a-bird-in-the-hand-may-be-worth-two-in-the-bush-but-remember-also/) [George Ade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-ade/) > [When you grow up close to poultry and fields and gardens and open-air markets, you can't help but develop an instinct for quality food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-ducasse/when-you-grow-up-close-to-poultry-and-fields-and-gardens-and-open-air/) [Alain Ducasse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-ducasse/) > [“Food animals also get antibiotics for “growth promotion,” a metabolically mysterious process that has made possible the entire high-volume, low-margin business of industrial-scale farming.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryn-mckenna/food-animals-also-get-antibiotics-for-growth-promotion-a/) [Maryn McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryn-mckenna/) ## More by Gene Wolfe > [Some writers say they cannot write in front of a window; many say they cannot function without almost perfect quiet. 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I doubt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/ambiguity-is-necessary-in-some-of-my-stories-not-in-all-in-those-it/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“There are beings—and artifacts—against which we batter our intelligence raw, and in the end make peace with reality only by saying, “It was an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/there-are-beings-and-artifacts-against-which-we-batter-our/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [Science has so accustomed us to devising and accepting theories to account for the facts we observe, however fantastic, that our minds must begin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/science-has-so-accustomed-us-to-devising-and-accepting-theories-to/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“The experienced feel love or desire, or both. The inexperienced are sick with a thousand feelings, most of them unformed: fearful that they may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/the-experienced-feel-love-or-desire-or-both-the-inexperienced-are/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“For those who have never attended a science fiction convention, masquerades are features of most of the larger ones. Awards are presented for best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/for-those-who-have-never-attended-a-science-fiction-convention/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“He had a wild yellow beard and long, tangled hair that stood out from his head in a way that made it seem too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/he-had-a-wild-yellow-beard-and-long-tangled-hair-that-stood-out-from/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [ ...in some situations winning consist\[s\] of disentangling oneself. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/in-some-situations-winning-consist-s-of-disentangling-oneself/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“For after all, if the lives of most men are examined in detail, it will be found that they have been experts of immense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/for-after-all-if-the-lives-of-most-men-are-examined-in-detail-it-will/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [You never learn how to write a novel. You just learn how to write the novel that you're writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/you-never-learn-how-to-write-a-novel-you-just-learn-how-to-write-the/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [There is no magic. There is only knowledge, more or less hidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/there-is-no-magic-there-is-only-knowledge-more-or-less-hidden/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“...the progress of science depends much less upon either theoretical considerations or systematic investigation than is commonly believed, but rather on the transmittal of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/the-progress-of-science-depends-much-less-upon-either-theoretical/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“Whatever we may say, all of us suffer from disturbed sleep at times. 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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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