--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One must choose between God and Man, and…" description: "\"One must choose between God and Man, and all \"radicals\" and \"progressives\", from the mildest liberal to the most extreme anarchist, have in effect chos..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f7/george-orwell-57_anarchist_one-must-choose-between-god-and-man-and_2615731.jpg" --- # One must choose between God and Man, and all "radicals"… ![“One must choose between God and Man, and all "radicals" and "progressives", from the mildest liberal to the most extreme anarchist, have in effect chosen Man.” quote by George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f7/george-orwell-57_anarchist_one-must-choose-between-god-and-man-and_2615731.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f7/george-orwell-57_anarchist_one-must-choose-between-god-and-man-and_2615731.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f7/george-orwell-57_anarchist_one-must-choose-between-god-and-man-and_2615731.jpg) > “One must choose between God and Man, and all "radicals" and "progressives", from the mildest liberal to the most extreme anarchist, have in effect chosen Man.” [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author suggests that all political ideologies ultimately prioritize humanity over divine authority, implying a secular bias. **In simple terms:** All ideologies favor humanity over God. Key Takeaway Consider the human focus in political thought. Themes politics secularism ideology humanism Mood analytical critical Type philosophical debate When to use this quote - academic courses - public discourse - policy analysis Key Concepts philosophical materialism political theory Questions to Reflect On - Why do people choose human-centered ideologies? - How does secularism shape political movements? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex beliefs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anarchist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchist/) [Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) [Extremes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extremes/) [God and man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-and-man/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Positive atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/positive-atheism/) [Radical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/radical/) ## Related quotes > [“Goodness is something chosen. When a man cannot choose he ceases to be a man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/goodness-is-something-chosen-when-a-man-cannot-choose-he-ceases-to-be/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [It is the same: a chosen one is a man whom God's finger crushes against the wall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/it-is-the-same-a-chosen-one-is-a-man-whom-god-s-finger-crushes/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [The important thing to realize is that while we may not escape our own basic pattern, we can work in harmony with it. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-yogananda/the-important-thing-to-realize-is-that-while-we-may-not-escape-our/) Swami Yogananda > [During the first two months of the war it was the Anarchists more than anyone else who had saved the situation, and much later…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/during-the-first-two-months-of-the-war-it-was-the-anarchists-more/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [If I had understood the situation a bit better I should probably have joined the Anarchists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/if-i-had-understood-the-situation-a-bit-better-i-should-probably-have/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Something in his face deeply moved me. It was the face of a man who would commit murder and throw away his life for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/something-in-his-face-deeply-moved-me-it-was-the-face-of-a-man-who/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“We curse out loud instead of loving out loud! Our words and thoughts produce life or death. We choose! God gave us the freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-delgado/we-curse-out-loud-instead-of-loving-out-loud-our-words-and-thoughts/) [Iris Delgado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-delgado/) > [Sometimes God will put you on your back so that you have no choice but to look up and call on him for help.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jefroy-hanson/sometimes-god-will-put-you-on-your-back-so-that-you-have-no-choice/) [Jefroy Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jefroy-hanson/) > [Everything in this life passes away — only God remains, only He is worth struggling towards. We have a choice: to follow the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seraphim-rose/everything-in-this-life-passes-away-only-god-remains-only-he-is-worth/) [Seraphim Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seraphim-rose/) > [The Lord put it clearly: you cannot serve two masters. You have to choose between God and money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/the-lord-put-it-clearly-you-cannot-serve-two-masters-you-have-to/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [“Scripture teaches that because of his sin, man cannot choose God, apart from grace.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-brown/scripture-teaches-that-because-of-his-sin-man-cannot-choose-god-apart/) [Gregory Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-brown/) > [Could God exist if nobody else did? No. That’s why gods are very avid for worshipers. If there is nobody to worship them, there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/could-god-exist-if-nobody-else-did-no-that-s-why-gods-are-very-avid/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Most conservatives choose God. The tree huggers choose weather, or preventing weather.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tomi-lahren/most-conservatives-choose-god-the-tree-huggers-choose-weather-or/) [Tomi Lahren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tomi-lahren/) > [ As we learn in \[the\] scriptures, the fundamental purposes for the gift of agency were to love one another and to choose God. Thus… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-a-bednar/as-we-learn-in-the-scriptures-the-fundamental-purposes-for-the-gift/) [David A. Bednar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-a-bednar/) > [“Having placed himself on the level of the world for humans to choose between, God nevertheless stipulates that a choice must be made, human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-a-tietjen/having-placed-himself-on-the-level-of-the-world-for-humans-to-choose/) Mark A. Tietjen ## More by George Orwell > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [It was given out that the animals there practised cannibalism, tortured one another with red-hot horseshoes, and had their females in common. This was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/it-was-given-out-that-the-animals-there-practised-cannibalism/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“The actual writing would be easy. All he had to do was to transfer to paper the interminable restless monologue that had been running…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-actual-writing-would-be-easy-all-he-had-to-do-was-to-transfer-to/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [He felt as though he were wandering in the forests of the sea bottom, lost in a monstrous world where he himself was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/he-felt-as-though-he-were-wandering-in-the-forests-of-the-sea-bottom/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“if you took 1 Corinthians, chapter thirteen, and in every verse wrote 'money' instead of 'charity', the chapter had ten times as much meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/if-you-took-1-corinthians-chapter-thirteen-and-in-every-verse-wrote/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Happiness can exist only in acceptance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/happiness-can-exist-only-in-acceptance/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed—if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-if-all-others-accepted-the-lie-which-the-party-imposed-if-all/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Whitman himself "accepted" a great deal that his contemporaries found unmentionable. For he is not only writing of the prairie, he also wanders through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/whitman-himself-accepted-a-great-deal-that-his-contemporaries-found/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“But I tell you, Winston, that reality is not external. Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else. Whatever the Party holds to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/but-i-tell-you-winston-that-reality-is-not-external-reality-exists-in/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“And the people under the sky were also very much the same...everywhere, all over the world, hundreds or thousands of millions of people just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-the-people-under-the-sky-were-also-very-much-the-same-everywhere/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/don-t-you-see-that-the-whole-aim-of-newspeak-is-to-narrow-the-range/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Windmill or no windmill, he said, life would go on as it had always gone on--that is, badly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/windmill-or-no-windmill-he-said-life-would-go-on-as-it-had-always/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/man-is-the-only-creature-that-consumes-without-producing-he-does-not/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [And the bigger the fall, the bigger the joke. It would be better fun to throw a custard pie at a bishop than at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-the-bigger-the-fall-the-bigger-the-joke-it-would-be-better-fun-to/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Any writer or journalist who wants to retain his integrity finds himself thwarted by the general drift of society rather than by active persecution.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/any-writer-or-journalist-who-wants-to-retain-his-integrity-finds/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) [Explore all 1,657 George Orwell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## More Anarchist quotes > [The minimum that most minimalists want leaves in place just the institutions who protect their interests. That's libertarians for you - anarchists who want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-stanley-robinson/the-minimum-that-most-minimalists-want-leaves-in-place-just-the/) [Kim Stanley Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-stanley-robinson/) > [Anarchism is a definite intellectual current in the life of our times, whose adherents advocate the abolition of economic monopolies and of all political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-rocker/anarchism-is-a-definite-intellectual-current-in-the-life-of-our-times/) [Rudolf Rocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-rocker/) > [The hope of Internet anarchists was that repressive governments would have only two options: accept the Internet with its limitless possibilities of spreading information,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/the-hope-of-internet-anarchists-was-that-repressive-governments-would/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [“An anarchist government somehow creates an impression in the hearts of citizens that no one cares.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/an-anarchist-government-somehow-creates-an-impression-in-the-hearts/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [“Bruno was a musician with the temperament of an anarchist and the breath of a bartender's dishrag. He gave the lie to bookselling as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheridan-hay/bruno-was-a-musician-with-the-temperament-of-an-anarchist-and-the/) [Sheridan Hay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheridan-hay/) > [In the sixties, during the Vietnam war, when anarchists and pacifists and socialists, Democrats and Republicans, decent-hearted Americans, all recoiled with horror at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/in-the-sixties-during-the-vietnam-war-when-anarchists-and-pacifists/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [Creativity comes by breaking the rules, by saying that you're in love with the anarchist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-roddick/creativity-comes-by-breaking-the-rules-by-saying-that-you-re-in-love/) [Anita Roddick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-roddick/) > [The modern day anarchists known as the Tea Party, they believe in no government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-reid/the-modern-day-anarchists-known-as-the-tea-party-they-believe-in-no/) [Harry Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-reid/) > [ \[On an anarchist acquaintance:\] Everything in appearance the most alarmist aunt could wish. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/on-an-anarchist-acquaintance-everything-in-appearance-the-most/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [Anarchists are opposed to violence; everyone knows that. The main plank of anarchism is the removal of violence from human relations. It is life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errico-malatesta/anarchists-are-opposed-to-violence-everyone-knows-that-the-main-plank/) [Errico Malatesta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errico-malatesta/) > [The Anarchists are simply unterrified Jeffersonian Democrats. They believe that 'the best government is that which governs least,' and that which governs least is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-tucker/the-anarchists-are-simply-unterrified-jeffersonian-democrats-they/) [Benjamin Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-tucker/) > [I am in total opposition to any institutional power. I favor a world of neighborhoods in which all social organization is voluntary and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-hess/i-am-in-total-opposition-to-any-institutional-power-i-favor-a-world/) [Karl Hess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-hess/) > [I'm an anarchist. I'm implacably opposed to heirarchical systems of power and control. I also mistrust crowds, as they often operate according to their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/i-m-an-anarchist-i-m-implacably-opposed-to-heirarchical-systems-of/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [We must therefore turn to history for enlightenment; here we find that none of the proclaimed anarchist groups correspond to the libertarian position, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/we-must-therefore-turn-to-history-for-enlightenment-here-we-find-that/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [“I became an anarchist very early on. Anarchism, in my mind, meant taking democracy seriously and organizing prefiguratively- that is, in a way that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrej-gruba-i/i-became-an-anarchist-very-early-on-anarchism-in-my-mind-meant-taking/) [Andrej Grubačić](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrej-gruba-i/) [Browse all 408 Anarchist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "One must choose between God and Man, and all \"radicals\" and \"progressives\", from the mildest liberal to the most extreme anarchist, have in effect chosen Man.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Orwell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/one-must-choose-between-god-and-man-and-all-radicals-and-progressives/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Anarchist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/one-must-choose-between-god-and-man-and-all-radicals-and-progressives/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f7/george-orwell-57_anarchist_one-must-choose-between-god-and-man-and_2615731.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f7/george-orwell-57_anarchist_one-must-choose-between-god-and-man-and_2615731.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f7/george-orwell-57_anarchist_one-must-choose-between-god-and-man-and_2615731.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“One must choose between God and Man, and all \"radicals\" and \"progressives\", from the mildest liberal to the…” — George Orwell", "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 Orwell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "One must choose between God and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/one-must-choose-between-god-and-man-and-all-radicals-and-progressives/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/one-must-choose-between-god-and-man-and-all-radicals-and-progressives/#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 } } ] } ```