---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Once the divinity we worshipped made…"
description: "\"Once the divinity we worshipped made itself visible and comprehensible, we crucified it.\" — George Bernard Shaw"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14e/george-bernard-shaw-68_crucified_once-the-divinity-we-worshipped-made-its_2367089.png"
---

#  Once the divinity we worshipped made itself visible and…

![“Once the divinity we worshipped made itself visible and comprehensible, we crucified it.” quote by George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14e/george-bernard-shaw-68_crucified_once-the-divinity-we-worshipped-made-its_2367089.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14e/george-bernard-shaw-68_crucified_once-the-divinity-we-worshipped-made-its_2367089.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14e/george-bernard-shaw-68_crucified_once-the-divinity-we-worshipped-made-its_2367089.png)

> “Once the divinity we worshipped made itself visible and comprehensible, we crucified it.”

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

When divine concepts become concrete, humanity reduces them to something controllable, often through violence.

**In simple terms:** Making the divine visible leads to its crucifixion.

Key Takeaway

Beware of reducing mystery to control.

Themes

faith iconoclasm power violence

Mood

provocative thought‑provoking

Type

literary critical

When to use this quote

- religious reform
- scientific discovery
- political ideology
- artistic expression

Key Concepts

theology philosophy psychology

Questions to Reflect On

- How does making the sacred visible affect belief?
- What are the risks of demystifying powerful ideas?

A Different Perspective

Some may argue that making ideas concrete can also empower.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Divinity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divinity/)

## Related quotes

> [You are my inspiration and my folly. You are my light across the sea, my million nameless joys, and my day's wage. You are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/you-are-my-inspiration-and-my-folly-you-are-my-light-across-the-sea/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [The medieval doctors of divinity who did not pretend to settle how many angels could dance on the point of a needle cut a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-medieval-doctors-of-divinity-who-did-not-pretend-to-settle-how/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [“Everything's fit to be worshipped.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/everything-s-fit-to-be-worshipped/)

[China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/)

> [Blair worshipped Thatcherism, could see little or no wrong in it, believed that that was what the country needed, thought that there was no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-jacques/blair-worshipped-thatcherism-could-see-little-or-no-wrong-in-it/)

[Martin Jacques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-jacques/)

> [“How good to have things like this, to be worshipped again, to pretend to have a mystery!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/how-good-to-have-things-like-this-to-be-worshipped-again-to-pretend/)

[F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/)

> [Avenge, O Lord, thy slaughtered saints, whose bones Lie scattered on the Alpine mountains cold; Ev'n them who kept thy truth so pure of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/avenge-o-lord-thy-slaughtered-saints-whose-bones-lie-scattered-on-the/)

[John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/)

> [If I want to dislike women, I should be allowed to. As it happens, I love them. Women to me are privately worshipped and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-horsley/if-i-want-to-dislike-women-i-should-be-allowed-to-as-it-happens-i/)

[Sebastian Horsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-horsley/)

> [The American model was celebrated by Thatcherites and New Labour alike, California worshipped as the model of the future, 'Anglo-Saxon' embalmed as the fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-jacques/the-american-model-was-celebrated-by-thatcherites-and-new-labour/)

[Martin Jacques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-jacques/)

> [Gold is worshipped in all climates, without a single temple, and by all classes, without a single hypocrite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/gold-is-worshipped-in-all-climates-without-a-single-temple-and-by-all/)

[Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/)

> [There was a time I worshipped at the altar of Rudy Martzke.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-johnson-jr/there-was-a-time-i-worshipped-at-the-altar-of-rudy-martzke/)

[Ernie Johnson Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-johnson-jr/)

> [“He embodied what he worshipped, the exquisite in the commonplace…salt for the spirit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-levine/he-embodied-what-he-worshipped-the-exquisite-in-the-commonplace-salt/)

[Philip Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-levine/)

> [I worshipped Ethel Merman and I worshipped Ethel Merman a lot. It's incredible - Ethel Merman was a conventional singer. Her naming her child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-ditto/i-worshipped-ethel-merman-and-i-worshipped-ethel-merman-a-lot-it-s/)

[Beth Ditto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-ditto/)

> [My dad was my best friend. I worshipped him. All of my success in life really comes from him. He believed that you get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-j-cannell/my-dad-was-my-best-friend-i-worshipped-him-all-of-my-success-in-life/)

[Stephen J. Cannell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-j-cannell/)

> [“Whoever invented soccer should be worshipped as a God”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymise/whoever-invented-soccer-should-be-worshipped-as-a-god/)

[anonymise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymise/)

> [We aren't made to be worshipped as humans. I think that is why we see so many great artists crumble, because as humans, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scooter-braun/we-aren-t-made-to-be-worshipped-as-humans-i-think-that-is-why-we-see/)

[Scooter Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scooter-braun/)

## More by George Bernard Shaw

> [I love little children too but I don't cut off their heads and stick them in vases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-love-little-children-too-but-i-don-t-cut-off-their-heads-and-stick/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [Blasphemy and sedition (meaning the truth about Church and State).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/blasphemy-and-sedition-meaning-the-truth-about-church-and-state/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [In the arts of life, man invents nothing; but in the arts of death he outdoes Nature herself, and produces by chemistry and machinery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-life-man-invents-nothing-but-in-the-arts-of-death-he/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [“My religious convictions and scientific views cannot at present be more specifically defined than as those of a believer in creative evolution. I desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/my-religious-convictions-and-scientific-views-cannot-at-present-be/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [What a man believes may be ascertained, not from his creed, but from the assumptions on which he habitually acts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/what-a-man-believes-may-be-ascertained-not-from-his-creed-but-from/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [You are my inspiration and my folly. You are my light across the sea, my million nameless joys, and my day's wage. You are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/you-are-my-inspiration-and-my-folly-you-are-my-light-across-the-sea/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [Men have to do some awfully mean things to keep up their respectability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/men-have-to-do-some-awfully-mean-things-to-keep-up-their/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [The schoolmaster is the person who takes the children off the parents' hands for a consideration. That is to say, he establishes a child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-schoolmaster-is-the-person-who-takes-the-children-off-the-parents/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [As long as I have a want, I have a reason for living. Satisfaction is death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/as-long-as-i-have-a-want-i-have-a-reason-for-living-satisfaction-is/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [The camera can represent flesh so superbly that, if I dared, I would never photograph a figure without asking that figure to take its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-camera-can-represent-flesh-so-superbly-that-if-i-dared-i-would/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [A man who is not a communist at the age of twenty is a fool. Any man who is still communist at the age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/a-man-who-is-not-a-communist-at-the-age-of-twenty-is-a-fool-any-man/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [But to admire a strong person and to live under that strong person’s thumb are two different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/but-to-admire-a-strong-person-and-to-live-under-that-strong-person-s/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [Socialism is the same as Communism, only better English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/socialism-is-the-same-as-communism-only-better-english/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [The person who is ignorant enough to believe that his nourishment depends on meat is in a horrible dilemma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-person-who-is-ignorant-enough-to-believe-that-his-nourishment/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [In the arts of peace Man is a bungler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-peace-man-is-a-bungler/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

[Explore all 1,640 George Bernard Shaw quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

## More Crucified quotes

> [“Adoration can be misleading. The same crowd who spread palm branches for Jesus to ride upon, was the same crowd who crucified Him three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-h-fowler/adoration-can-be-misleading-the-same-crowd-who-spread-palm-branches/)

[H.H. Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-h-fowler/)

> [Jesus Christ would have been considered just another long-haired hippie freak if he hadn't been crucified. The folks weren't impressed with healing the sick,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-turner/jesus-christ-would-have-been-considered-just-another-long-haired/)

[Ted Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-turner/)

> [“God has chosen to save the world through the cross, through the shameful and powerless death of the crucified Messiah. If that shocking event…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-hays/god-has-chosen-to-save-the-world-through-the-cross-through-the/)

Richard Hays

> [“The purpose of being “crucified with Christ” is so that Christ will live in us. The measure of our heart's purity is the degree…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-guyton/the-purpose-of-being-crucified-with-christ-is-so-that-christ-will/)

[Morgan Guyton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-guyton/)

> [“Here the crucified Christ was seen less as the sacrifice which God creates to reconcile the world to himself, and more as the exemplary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-rgen-moltmann/here-the-crucified-christ-was-seen-less-as-the-sacrifice-which-god/)

[Jurgen Moltmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-rgen-moltmann/)

> [“The Crucified is the One most traumatized. He has borne the World Trade Center. He has carried the Iraq war, the destruction in Syria,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-langberg/the-crucified-is-the-one-most-traumatized-he-has-borne-the-world/)

[Diane Langberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-langberg/)

> [“Finally she found what she was looking for. “See, child?” she said, holding out a framed illustration that looked as if it had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/finally-she-found-what-she-was-looking-for-see-child-she-said-holding/)

[Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/)

> [No doctrine is more excellent, or necessary to be preached and studied, than Jesus Christ, and him crucified.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flavel/no-doctrine-is-more-excellent-or-necessary-to-be-preached-and-studied/)

[John Flavel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flavel/)

> [“But the devil is a lie. Trying to make you think he's down with you and God wants you to die. But tell me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-wayne-mcvey/but-the-devil-is-a-lie-trying-to-make-you-think-he-s-down-with-you/)

Joseph Wayne McVey

> [“Christianity sedulously fosters, and in a sense permanently satisfies, man's craving for mental dissatisfaction by offering him the comfort of a crucified God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-polanyi/christianity-sedulously-fosters-and-in-a-sense-permanently-satisfies/)

[Michael Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-polanyi/)

> [“We are crucified to the world, and the world must be as crucified to us. It esteems us as fools, let us esteem it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-francis-de-sales-de-sales/we-are-crucified-to-the-world-and-the-world-must-be-as-crucified-to/)

Saint Francis De Sales De Sales

> [However much we suffer for the love of Jesus Crucified, it is but little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-joseph-labre/however-much-we-suffer-for-the-love-of-jesus-crucified-it-is-but/)

[Benedict Joseph Labre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-joseph-labre/)

> [Let us look upon a crucified Christ, the remedy of all our miseries. His cross hath procured a crown, his passion hath expiated our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-charnock/let-us-look-upon-a-crucified-christ-the-remedy-of-all-our-miseries/)

[Stephen Charnock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-charnock/)

> [“When they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him. – Luke 23:33”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-j-morgan/when-they-had-come-to-the-place-called-calvary-there-they-crucified/)

[Robert J. Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-j-morgan/)

> [“One must be crucified on one’s own private cross.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-woolf/one-must-be-crucified-on-one-s-own-private-cross/)

[Leonard Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-woolf/)

Browse all 161 Crucified quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Once the divinity we worshipped made itself visible and comprehensible, we crucified it.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "George Bernard Shaw"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/once-the-divinity-we-worshipped-made-itself-visible-and/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Crucified"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/once-the-divinity-we-worshipped-made-itself-visible-and/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14e/george-bernard-shaw-68_crucified_once-the-divinity-we-worshipped-made-its_2367089.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14e/george-bernard-shaw-68_crucified_once-the-divinity-we-worshipped-made-its_2367089.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/14e/george-bernard-shaw-68_crucified_once-the-divinity-we-worshipped-made-its_2367089.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Once the divinity we worshipped made itself visible and comprehensible, we crucified it.” — George Bernard Shaw",
                "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": "George Bernard Shaw",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Once the divinity we worshipped made...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/once-the-divinity-we-worshipped-made-itself-visible-and/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/once-the-divinity-we-worshipped-made-itself-visible-and/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
