--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are at home here. Alienation is…" description: "\"We are at home here. Alienation is unnecessary. Contact with reality at a deep level is part of the Christian's life. He enters into reality, rather th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddd/hans-rookmaaker-38063_alienation_we-are-at-home-here-alienation-is-unnece_2705026.jpg" --- # We are at home here. Alienation is unnecessary. Contact… ![“We are at home here. Alienation is unnecessary. Contact with reality at a deep level is part of the Christian's life. He enters into reality, rather than escaping from it. The flight from reality is a mark of Eastern and classical mysticism, not of Christianity.” quote by Hans Rookmaaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddd/hans-rookmaaker-38063_alienation_we-are-at-home-here-alienation-is-unnece_2705026.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddd/hans-rookmaaker-38063_alienation_we-are-at-home-here-alienation-is-unnece_2705026.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddd/hans-rookmaaker-38063_alienation_we-are-at-home-here-alienation-is-unnece_2705026.jpg) > “We are at home here. Alienation is unnecessary. Contact with reality at a deep level is part of the Christian's life. He enters into reality, rather than escaping from it. The flight from reality is a mark of Eastern and classical mysticism, not of Christianity.” [Hans Rookmaaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-rookmaaker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True Christian life engages reality directly, not through escapism. **In simple terms:** Engage reality, don’t flee it. Key Takeaway Embrace reality fully. Themes faith reality engagement Mood thoughtful serious Type theological philosophical When to use this quote - prayer - community involvement - social activism - personal reflection Key Concepts Christian worldview mysticism contrast Questions to Reflect On - What reality do you tend to avoid? - How does confronting reality deepen faith? A Different Perspective Escaping reality can lead to spiritual isolation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alienation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alienation/) [Alienation Unnecessary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alienation-unnecessary-2762040/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian/) [Christianity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity/) [Contact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contact/) [Eastern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eastern/) [Escaping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/escaping/) [Flight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flight/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Home Alienation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home-alienation-2762041/) [Levels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/levels/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mark/) [Mysticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mysticism/) [Mysticism Christianity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mysticism-christianity-2762042/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Unnecessary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unnecessary/) ## Related quotes > [I guess lyrically they're similar because they're talking about escaping the kind of misery that likes company. 'The Last One Alive,' for me, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-crosby/i-guess-lyrically-they-re-similar-because-they-re-talking-about/) [Jon Crosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-crosby/) > [I was interested in the ways that artists responded to totalitarianism - the Czech Jazz Section, Romanian absurdist theatre, Brecht's alienation effect. The anything-goes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-royle/i-was-interested-in-the-ways-that-artists-responded-to/) [Nicholas Royle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-royle/) > [My films do have characters who have trouble escaping the world around them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lasse-hallstrom/my-films-do-have-characters-who-have-trouble-escaping-the-world/) [Lasse Hallstrom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lasse-hallstrom/) > [“The dark might be dark, but at least we don’t have to look at ourselves when we’re standing in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/the-dark-might-be-dark-but-at-least-we-don-t-have-to-look-at/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [Now the first step has to be taken, the step towards democracy. This step is full of risks, and requires trust on all sides.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-barenboim/now-the-first-step-has-to-be-taken-the-step-towards-democracy-this/) [Daniel Barenboim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-barenboim/) > [“Is there any escaping the junkshop of the self?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-smith/is-there-any-escaping-the-junkshop-of-the-self/) [Ali Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-smith/) > [Now there is no taboo; everything is allowed. But one cannot simply go back to tonality, it’s not the way. We must find a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gyorgy-ligeti/now-there-is-no-taboo-everything-is-allowed-but-one-cannot-simply-go/) [Gyorgy Ligeti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gyorgy-ligeti/) > [My youth is escaping without giving me anything it owes me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/my-youth-is-escaping-without-giving-me-anything-it-owes-me/) [Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/) > [But the desire of obtaining the advantages, and of escaping the burthens, of political society, is a perpetual and inexhaustible source of discord; nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/but-the-desire-of-obtaining-the-advantages-and-of-escaping-the/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [I think the reason I'm an actor is the joy I find from escaping and going to be somebody else. That's what I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-glover/i-think-the-reason-i-m-an-actor-is-the-joy-i-find-from-escaping-and/) [John Glover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-glover/) > [Elvis' early music has drama because as he sang he was escaping limits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/elvis-early-music-has-drama-because-as-he-sang-he-was-escaping-limits/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [The real test of a bridge player isn’t in keeping out of trouble, but in escaping once he’s in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-sheinwold/the-real-test-of-a-bridge-player-isn-t-in-keeping-out-of-trouble-but/) [Alfred Sheinwold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-sheinwold/) > [Patience is necessary in this life because so much of life is fraught with adversity. No matter how hard we try, our lives will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-kempis/patience-is-necessary-in-this-life-because-so-much-of-life-is-fraught/) [Thomas a Kempis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-kempis/) > [“Writing is the self escaping into the open." E.B. White”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solveig-eggerz/writing-is-the-self-escaping-into-the-open-e-b-white/) [Solveig Eggerz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solveig-eggerz/) > [Because after you've crossed some lines, you just keep crossing them. And there's no escaping from constant escape. Distracting ourselves. Avoiding confrontation. Getting past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/because-after-you-ve-crossed-some-lines-you-just-keep-crossing-them/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) ## More by Hans Rookmaaker > [Jesus didn't come to make us Christian. Jesus came to make us fully human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-rookmaaker/jesus-didn-t-come-to-make-us-christian-jesus-came-to-make-us-fully/) [Hans Rookmaaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-rookmaaker/) > [Art is a form of play rejoicing before the face of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-rookmaaker/art-is-a-form-of-play-rejoicing-before-the-face-of-god/) [Hans Rookmaaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-rookmaaker/) > [By means of the iconic, artists express their view of reality and show their understanding of the structure of reality. They see what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-rookmaaker/by-means-of-the-iconic-artists-express-their-view-of-reality-and-show/) [Hans Rookmaaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-rookmaaker/) > [Art tries, literally, to picture the things which philosophy tries to put into carefully thought-out words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-rookmaaker/art-tries-literally-to-picture-the-things-which-philosophy-tries-to/) [Hans Rookmaaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-rookmaaker/) > [Art cannot be used to show the validity of Christianity; it should rather be the reverse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-rookmaaker/art-cannot-be-used-to-show-the-validity-of-christianity-it-should/) [Hans Rookmaaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-rookmaaker/) > [Modern art did not just happen. It came as a result of a deep reversal of spiritual values in the Age of Reason, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-rookmaaker/modern-art-did-not-just-happen-it-came-as-a-result-of-a-deep-reversal/) [Hans Rookmaaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-rookmaaker/) > [Our world has changed for better or for worse. It is for us to find truth and beauty for today, constantly re-applying the truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-rookmaaker/our-world-has-changed-for-better-or-for-worse-it-is-for-us-to-find/) [Hans Rookmaaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-rookmaaker/) > [We do not know what we see, but we see what we know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-rookmaaker/we-do-not-know-what-we-see-but-we-see-what-we-know/) [Hans Rookmaaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-rookmaaker/) > [How can you say that modern art is ugly,when you worship the Lord in a building painted like this?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-rookmaaker/how-can-you-say-that-modern-art-is-ugly-when-you-worship-the-lord-in/) [Hans Rookmaaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-rookmaaker/) > [We may appreciate the efforts, and even the greatness of the men who have tried to find the universal, the general 'behind' appearances; yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-rookmaaker/we-may-appreciate-the-efforts-and-even-the-greatness-of-the-men-who/) [Hans Rookmaaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-rookmaaker/) > [What is Christian in art does not lie in the theme but in the spirit of it, in its wisdom and the understanding of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-rookmaaker/what-is-christian-in-art-does-not-lie-in-the-theme-but-in-the-spirit/) [Hans Rookmaaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-rookmaaker/) [Explore all 12 Hans Rookmaaker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-rookmaaker/) ## More Alienation quotes > [ Anthropology has always struggled with an intense, fascinated repulsion towards its subject… \[The anthropologist\] submits himself to the exotic to confirm his own inner… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/anthropology-has-always-struggled-with-an-intense-fascinated/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [“Everyone who lived in high-up, magical places must feel the same way. You come down into the world and you mingle, but all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arjum-hasan/everyone-who-lived-in-high-up-magical-places-must-feel-the-same-way/) [Arjum Hasan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arjum-hasan/) > [“If his long day were lived in a European novel, he'd become "D" when on the run or near disappeared.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-kudera/if-his-long-day-were-lived-in-a-european-novel-he-d-become-d-when-on/) [Alex Kudera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-kudera/) > [Perhaps a creature of so much ingenuity and deep memory is almost bound to grow alienated from his world, his fellows, and the objects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/perhaps-a-creature-of-so-much-ingenuity-and-deep-memory-is-almost/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [“She would not say of anyone in the world now that they were this or were that. She felt very young; at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/she-would-not-say-of-anyone-in-the-world-now-that-they-were-this-or/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Holidays are in no sense an alternative to the congestion and bustle of the cities and work. Quite the contrary. People look to escape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baudrillard/holidays-are-in-no-sense-an-alternative-to-the-congestion-and-bustle/) [Jean Baudrillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baudrillard/) > [The universe must be experienced as the Great Self. Each is fulfilled in the other: the Great Self is fulfilled in the individual self,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-berry/the-universe-must-be-experienced-as-the-great-self-each-is-fulfilled/) [Thomas Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berry/) > [“We are accustomed to think of ourselves as a great democratic body, linked by common ties of blood and language, united indissolubly by all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/we-are-accustomed-to-think-of-ourselves-as-a-great-democratic-body/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [“Alienation produces eccentrics or revolutionary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-holzer/alienation-produces-eccentrics-or-revolutionary/) [Jenny Holzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-holzer/) > [“A consequence of this alienation of humans from their own nature is that they are also alienated from each other. Productive activity becomes ‘activity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/a-consequence-of-this-alienation-of-humans-from-their-own-nature-is/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [I feel what they feel: man-hating, that volatile admixture of pity, contempt, disgust, envy, alienation, fear, and rage at men. It is hatred not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-levine/i-feel-what-they-feel-man-hating-that-volatile-admixture-of-pity/) [Judith Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-levine/) > [Part of the gestation of 'The Wall' was this business of alienation from the audience, and so the interesting thing was, what 'The Wall'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-mason/part-of-the-gestation-of-the-wall-was-this-business-of-alienation/) [Nick Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-mason/) > [“Most of her friends owned laptops and seemed to spend more time with their phones than anything else. Steffy kept her latest playlists and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaime-allison-parker/most-of-her-friends-owned-laptops-and-seemed-to-spend-more-time-with/) [Jaime Allison Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaime-allison-parker/) > [The number one problem in our world is alienation, rich versus poor, black versus white, labor versus management, conservative versus liberal, East versus West…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/the-number-one-problem-in-our-world-is-alienation-rich-versus-poor/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [What unites Trump's voters is a sense of alienation from America's wealthy and powerful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance-2/what-unites-trump-s-voters-is-a-sense-of-alienation-from-america-s/) [J. D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance-2/) [Browse all 392 Alienation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alienation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We are at home here. Alienation is unnecessary. Contact with reality at a deep level is part of the Christian's life. He enters into reality, rather than escaping from it. 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