--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The negative way [of describing God] is a…" description: "\"The negative way [of describing God] is a cardboard prop of Christianity to conceal its unknowable God. When this prop collapses, theistic agnosticism ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86f/george-h-smith-20207_agnosticism_the-negative-way-of-describing-god-is-a_433133.jpg" --- # The negative way \[of describing God\] is a cardboard prop… ![“The negative way [of describing God] is a cardboard prop of Christianity to conceal its unknowable God. When this prop collapses, theistic agnosticism emerges, complete with its package of contradictions and non-sensical utterances.” quote by George H. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86f/george-h-smith-20207_agnosticism_the-negative-way-of-describing-god-is-a_433133.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86f/george-h-smith-20207_agnosticism_the-negative-way-of-describing-god-is-a_433133.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86f/george-h-smith-20207_agnosticism_the-negative-way-of-describing-god-is-a_433133.jpg) > “The negative way \[of describing God\] is a cardboard prop of Christianity to conceal its unknowable God. When this prop collapses, theistic agnosticism emerges, complete with its package of contradictions and non-sensical utterances.” [George H. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-h-smith/) ## 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 conceptualizing God as a tangible prop hides the unknowable nature of divinity, leading to agnosticism when the metaphor collapses. **In simple terms:** Labeling God as a simple object hides deeper mysteries, revealing uncertainty when the label fails. Key Takeaway Recognize the limits of language about the divine. Themes theology philosophy skepticism religion Mood thoughtful analytical skeptical Type philosophical critical theoretical When to use this quote - religious discussion - academic debate - personal belief - spiritual exploration Key Concepts metaphor epistemology faith agnosticism Questions to Reflect On - Do you rely on concrete images for abstract concepts? - How does uncertainty affect your belief? A Different Perspective The metaphor may oversimplify complex experiences of faith. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Agnosticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agnosticism/) [Agnosticism Emerges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agnosticism-emerges-3813318/) [Atheist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheist/) [Christianity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity/) [Collapse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collapse/) [Contradiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradiction/) [Describing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/describing/) [Describing God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/describing-god-857138/) [Negative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/negative/) [Negative Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/negative-way-852876/) [Packages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/packages/) [Props](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/props/) [Theistic Agnosticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theistic-agnosticism-3813317/) [Utterance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/utterance/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [The Bible itself does not seem too bothered by the idea that talking of God suffering might in any way diminish God, or detract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-j-h-wright/the-bible-itself-does-not-seem-too-bothered-by-the-idea-that-talking/) [Christopher J. H. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-j-h-wright/) > [If I had to choose between the two ways of approaching the deity, I should prefer the existential relational way, to the abstract philosophical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-cross/if-i-had-to-choose-between-the-two-ways-of-approaching-the-deity-i/) [Frank Moore Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-cross/) > [Let me say that I would never talk about anyone's child in a negative way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-zolciak-biermann/let-me-say-that-i-would-never-talk-about-anyone-s-child-in-a-negative/) [Kim Zolciak-Biermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-zolciak-biermann/) > [Tough one. Balance, alyaws balance. If it's too negative either way, it can make you start nitpicking at the positive one, and then guess…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olga/tough-one-balance-alyaws-balance-if-it-s-too-negative-either-way-it/) [Olga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olga/) > [If someone feels negative about the way society or culture seems to be going, what it probably suggests is that it's just moving away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/if-someone-feels-negative-about-the-way-society-or-culture-seems-to/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [Show me a person who sees himself negatively and I will show you a person who sees others in a negative way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/show-me-a-person-who-sees-himself-negatively-and-i-will-show-you-a/) [John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) > [I refuse to look at life in too negative a way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-ryder/i-refuse-to-look-at-life-in-too-negative-a-way/) [Sam Ryder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-ryder/) > [I don't know how to talk about technology in a positive or negative way because it's just the way the world is to me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-martin/i-don-t-know-how-to-talk-about-technology-in-a-positive-or-negative/) [Chelsea Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-martin/) > [Just can't live that negative way...make way for the positive day!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-marley/just-can-t-live-that-negative-way-make-way-for-the-positive-day/) [Bob Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-marley/) > [If one thinks of an enlightened person in a negative way, as it hits their aura, it returns very strongly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/if-one-thinks-of-an-enlightened-person-in-a-negative-way-as-it-hits/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [You just can't live that negative way. You know what I mean. Make way for the positive day. Cause it's a new day...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-marley/you-just-can-t-live-that-negative-way-you-know-what-i-mean-make-way/) [Bob Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-marley/) > [The very moment at which you start to think in negative way. You loose the game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/the-very-moment-at-which-you-start-to-think-in-negative-way-you-loose/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [Always think in a negative way, because the positive thinking never exists in real life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-huff/always-think-in-a-negative-way-because-the-positive-thinking-never/) [Robin Huff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-huff/) > [You just can't life in that negative way, make way for the positive day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-marley/you-just-can-t-life-in-that-negative-way-make-way-for-the-positive-day/) [Bob Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-marley/) > [On the other hand, if I walk in the house, I don't even bother to find her, I just walk in the den and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-chapman/on-the-other-hand-if-i-walk-in-the-house-i-don-t-even-bother-to-find/) [Gary Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-chapman/) ## More by George H. Smith > [I am continually amazed by the credence given to religious claims in the intellectual community; and, as a human being, i am appaulled by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-h-smith/i-am-continually-amazed-by-the-credence-given-to-religious-claims-in/) [George H. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-h-smith/) > [When the atheist is told that God is unknowable, he may interpret this claim in one of two ways. He may suppose, first, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-h-smith/when-the-atheist-is-told-that-god-is-unknowable-he-may-interpret-this/) [George H. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-h-smith/) > [“It is my firm conviction that man has nothing to gain, emotionally or otherwise, by adhering to a falsehood, regardless of how comfortable or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-h-smith/it-is-my-firm-conviction-that-man-has-nothing-to-gain-emotionally-or/) [George H. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-h-smith/) > [The theist must present an intelligible description of god. Until he does so, god makes no more sense than unie; both are cognitively empty,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-h-smith/the-theist-must-present-an-intelligible-description-of-god-until-he/) [George H. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-h-smith/) > [It cannot be emphasized too strongly that Christianity has a vested interest in human misery. Christianity, perhaps more than any religion before or since,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-h-smith/it-cannot-be-emphasized-too-strongly-that-christianity-has-a-vested/) [George H. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-h-smith/) > [As for Christianity's alleged concern with truth, Christian faith is to free inquiry what the Mafia is to free enterprise. Christianity may be represented…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-h-smith/as-for-christianity-s-alleged-concern-with-truth-christian-faith-is/) [George H. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-h-smith/) > [If acorns start growing into theologians, or if women begin turning into pillars of salt, then we may wish to hypothesize about a supernatural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-h-smith/if-acorns-start-growing-into-theologians-or-if-women-begin-turning/) [George H. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-h-smith/) > [“Religion has had the disastrous effect of placing vitally important concepts, such as morality, happiness and love, in a supernatural realm inaccessible to man’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-h-smith/religion-has-had-the-disastrous-effect-of-placing-vitally-important/) [George H. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-h-smith/) > [I am arguing that faith as such, faith as an alleged method of acquiring knowledge, is totally invalid and as a consequence, all propositions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-h-smith/i-am-arguing-that-faith-as-such-faith-as-an-alleged-method-of/) [George H. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-h-smith/) > [Atheism is the absence of a belief in a god, nothing more. If the theist wishes to draw monumental implications from this lack of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-h-smith/atheism-is-the-absence-of-a-belief-in-a-god-nothing-more-if-the/) [George H. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-h-smith/) > [The leap of faith is a strategic impasse that confronts every Christian in search of converts; and, as he sees the matter, there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-h-smith/the-leap-of-faith-is-a-strategic-impasse-that-confronts-every/) [George H. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-h-smith/) > [One can be committed to conformity or one can be committed to truth, but not both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-h-smith/one-can-be-committed-to-conformity-or-one-can-be-committed-to-truth/) [George H. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-h-smith/) > [Christianity has nothing to offer a happy man living in a natural, intelligible universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-h-smith/christianity-has-nothing-to-offer-a-happy-man-living-in-a-natural/) [George H. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-h-smith/) > [Christianity cannot erase man's need for pleasure, nor can it eradicate the various sources of pleasure. What it can do, however, and what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-h-smith/christianity-cannot-erase-man-s-need-for-pleasure-nor-can-it/) [George H. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-h-smith/) > [It is my firm conviction that man has nothing to gain, emotionally or otherwise, by adhering to a falsehood, regardless of how comfortable or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-h-smith/it-is-my-firm-conviction-that-man-has-nothing-to-gain-emotionally-or-2/) [George H. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-h-smith/) [Explore all 31 George H. Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-h-smith/) ## More Agnosticism quotes > [A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-knowledge-of-the-existence-of-something-we-cannot-penetrate-of-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [The prayer of the agnostic: "O God, if there is a God, save my soul if I have a soul."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-renan/the-prayer-of-the-agnostic-o-god-if-there-is-a-god-save-my-soul-if-i/) [Ernest Renan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-renan/) > [“Some people are so stiff and inhumane as the dogma's they believe in”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/some-people-are-so-stiff-and-inhumane-as-the-dogma-s-they-believe-in/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [Agnosticism is the natural attitude of the evolutionist. How can a brute mind comprehend spiritual things?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-jennings-bryan/agnosticism-is-the-natural-attitude-of-the-evolutionist-how-can-a/) [William Jennings Bryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-jennings-bryan/) > [“An atheist is someone who is disappointed in his search of god. He is a man who strongly needed god but couldn't find him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/an-atheist-is-someone-who-is-disappointed-in-his-search-of-god-he-is/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [Intellect, at its best, can make you agnostic. Being theist or atheist is still a matter of choice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raheel-farooq/intellect-at-its-best-can-make-you-agnostic-being-theist-or-atheist/) [Raheel Farooq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raheel-farooq/) > [To be agnostic is to be open-minded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-agnostic-is-to-be-open-minded/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The religious hypothesis, therefore, must be considered only as a particular method of accounting for the visible phenomena of the universe: but no just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/the-religious-hypothesis-therefore-must-be-considered-only-as-a/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [The world is continuous flux and is impermanent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/the-world-is-continuous-flux-and-is-impermanent/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [“I'm agnostic. By definition, I'm unsure of what to believe in, but I'm also borderline-capable of believing in anything and everything, or nothing at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-lola/i-m-agnostic-by-definition-i-m-unsure-of-what-to-believe-in-but-i-m/) [Lauren Lola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-lola/) > [“The Agnostic is one who asserts 'what no one denies' that there are limits to the sphere of human intelligence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-stephen/the-agnostic-is-one-who-asserts-what-no-one-denies-that-there-are/) [Leslie Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-stephen/) > [I have only a small flickering light to guide me in the darkness of a thick forest. Up comes a theologian and blows it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-diderot/i-have-only-a-small-flickering-light-to-guide-me-in-the-darkness-of-a/) [Denis Diderot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-diderot/) > [“...The Presidential election has given me less anxiety than I myself could have imagined. The next administration will be a troublesome one, to whomsoever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/the-presidential-election-has-given-me-less-anxiety-than-i-myself/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) > [We are enabled to apprehend at all what is sublime and noble only by the perpetual instilling and drenching of the reality that surrounds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/we-are-enabled-to-apprehend-at-all-what-is-sublime-and-noble-only-by/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“We should be agnostic about those things for which there is no evidence. We should not hold beliefs merely because they gratify our desires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-should-be-agnostic-about-those-things-for-which-there-is-no/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 275 Agnosticism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agnosticism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The negative way [of describing God] is a cardboard prop of Christianity to conceal its unknowable God. When this prop collapses, theistic agnosticism emerges, complete with its package of contradictions and non-sensical utterances.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George H. 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