--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To surrender to ignorance and call it God…" description: "\"To surrender to ignorance and call it God has always been premature, and it remains premature today.\" — Isaac Asimov" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/936/isaac-asimov-309_ignorance_to-surrender-to-ignorance-and-call-it-go_1996024.jpg" --- # To surrender to ignorance and call it God has always been… ![“To surrender to ignorance and call it God has always been premature, and it remains premature today.” quote by Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/936/isaac-asimov-309_ignorance_to-surrender-to-ignorance-and-call-it-go_1996024.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/936/isaac-asimov-309_ignorance_to-surrender-to-ignorance-and-call-it-go_1996024.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/936/isaac-asimov-309_ignorance_to-surrender-to-ignorance-and-call-it-go_1996024.jpg) > “To surrender to ignorance and call it God has always been premature, and it remains premature today.” [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Equating ignorance with divinity is premature; true understanding requires ongoing inquiry beyond simplistic labels. **In simple terms:** Don't mistake ignorance for belief. Key Takeaway Pursue knowledge continuously. Themes faith ignorance philosophy Mood skeptical thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - scientific research - philosophical debate - education reform - personal study Key Concepts epistemology critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - What evidence challenges your assumptions? - How do you differentiate belief from knowledge? A Different Perspective Blind faith can hinder progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) [Surrender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surrender/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) ## Related quotes > [If I wanted to write, I had to be willing to develop a kind of concentration found mostly in people awaiting execution. I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-i-wanted-to-write-i-had-to-be-willing-to-develop-a-kind-of/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [There are many aspects of the universe that still cannot be explained satisfactorily by science; but ignorance implies only ignorance that may someday be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/there-are-many-aspects-of-the-universe-that-still-cannot-be-explained/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [The only thing we don't have a god for is premature ejaculation... but I hear that it's coming quickly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/the-only-thing-we-don-t-have-a-god-for-is-premature-ejaculation-but-i/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [“Ignorance is worst when it amounts to ignorance of God, and knowledge is best when it exercises itself upon the name of God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-haddon-spurgeon/ignorance-is-worst-when-it-amounts-to-ignorance-of-god-and-knowledge/) [Charles Haddon Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-haddon-spurgeon/) > [“labelling our ignorance "God".”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/labelling-our-ignorance-god/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [If the history of science shows us anything, it is that we get nowhere by labeling our ignorance “God”.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-the-history-of-science-shows-us-anything-it-is-that-we-get-nowhere/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Ignorance is God's prison. Knowing is God's palace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/ignorance-is-god-s-prison-knowing-is-god-s-palace/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [No one infers a god from the simple, from the known, from what is understood, but from the complex, from the unknown, and incomprehensible.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-one-infers-a-god-from-the-simple-from-the-known-from-what-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Every human being is a god today. A god, who creates his own world employing deceit, envy, betrayal, murder, legality, obligation, superstition, faith, devotion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shankar-lamichhane/every-human-being-is-a-god-today-a-god-who-creates-his-own-world/) [Shankar Lamichhane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shankar-lamichhane/) > [Wisdom leads to unity, but ignorance to separation. So long as God seems to be outside and far away, there is ignorance. But when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramakrishna/wisdom-leads-to-unity-but-ignorance-to-separation-so-long-as-god/) [Ramakrishna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramakrishna/) > [“Against ignorance, God Himself is helpless.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-lawrence/against-ignorance-god-himself-is-helpless/) [R.J. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-j-lawrence/) > [Our ignorance is God; what we know is science. When we abandon the doctrine that some infinite being created matter and force, and enacted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/our-ignorance-is-god-what-we-know-is-science-when-we-abandon-the/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [Our ignorance of God is too great, because our estimations of God are too little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-charnock/our-ignorance-of-god-is-too-great-because-our-estimations-of-god-are/) [Stephen Charnock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-charnock/) > [Today, on our own turf, we face pagan ignorance about God every bit as deep as that which the early church faced in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/today-on-our-own-turf-we-face-pagan-ignorance-about-god-every-bit-as/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) > [“Truly, these times of ignorance God overlook, but now he commanded all men everywhere to repent." Acts 17: 30”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/truly-these-times-of-ignorance-god-overlook-but-now-he-commanded-all/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) ## More by Isaac Asimov > [The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/the-strain-of-anti-intellectualism-has-been-a-constant-thread-winding/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Suppose that we are wise enough to learn and know-and yet not wise enough to control our learning and knowledge, so that we use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/suppose-that-we-are-wise-enough-to-learn-and-know-and-yet-not-wise/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Uncertainty that comes from knowledge (knowing what you don't know) is different from uncertainty coming from ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/uncertainty-that-comes-from-knowledge-knowing-what-you-don-t-know-is/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“Don't you see? It's Galaxy-wide. It's a worship of the past. It's a deterioration - a stagnation!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/don-t-you-see-it-s-galaxy-wide-it-s-a-worship-of-the-past-it-s-a/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [So the universe is not quite as you thought it was. You'd better rearrange your beliefs, then. Because you certainly can't rearrange the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/so-the-universe-is-not-quite-as-you-thought-it-was-you-d-better/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [It is in meeting the great tests that mankind can most successfully rise to great heights. Out of danger and restless insecurity comes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/it-is-in-meeting-the-great-tests-that-mankind-can-most-successfully/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“It might seem to you, Peter, that a truck driver, one step above an ape in your view, can't remember. But truck drivers can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/it-might-seem-to-you-peter-that-a-truck-driver-one-step-above-an-ape/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [When life is so harsh that a man loses all hope in himself, then he raises his eyes to a shining rock, worshipping it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/when-life-is-so-harsh-that-a-man-loses-all-hope-in-himself-then-he/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“You are a military man and should know better. If there is one science into which man has probed continuously and successfully, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/you-are-a-military-man-and-should-know-better-if-there-is-one-science/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“temperatura constante de mais ou menos 21 graus”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/temperatura-constante-de-mais-ou-menos-21-graus/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“Human beings can tolerate an immortal robot, for it doesn't matter how long a machine lasts, but they cannot tolerate an immortal human being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/human-beings-can-tolerate-an-immortal-robot-for-it-doesn-t-matter-how/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“if people believe this, they would act on that belief. Many a prophecy, by the mere force of its being believed, is transmuted”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/if-people-believe-this-they-would-act-on-that-belief-many-a-prophecy/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [I do not use airplanes. They strike me as unsporting. You can have an automobile accident-and survive. You can be on a sinking ship-and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/i-do-not-use-airplanes-they-strike-me-as-unsporting-you-can-have-an/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [There are many aspects of the universe that still cannot be explained satisfactorily by science; but ignorance implies only ignorance that may someday be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/there-are-many-aspects-of-the-universe-that-still-cannot-be-explained/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. \[The Second Law…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/a-robot-must-obey-the-orders-given-it-by-human-beings-except-where/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) [Explore all 671 Isaac Asimov quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) ## More Ignorance quotes > [My folks tried to make a preacher of me and missed by a narrow margin… I would have made a good one if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/my-folks-tried-to-make-a-preacher-of-me-and-missed-by-a-narrow-margin/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Ignorance is not bliss — it is oblivion. Determined ignorance is the hastiest kind of oblivion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-wylie/ignorance-is-not-bliss-it-is-oblivion-determined-ignorance-is-the/) [Philip Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-wylie/) > [... informed ignorance provides the natural state of mind for research scientists at the ever-shifting frontiers of knowledge. People who believe themselves ignorant of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/informed-ignorance-provides-the-natural-state-of-mind-for-research/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [“If knowledge does not liberate the self from the self, then ignorance is better than such knowledge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-sanai/if-knowledge-does-not-liberate-the-self-from-the-self-then-ignorance/) [Hakim Sanai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakim-sanai/) > [You are senile old fool, and because of your impudence, I cannot fathom how you still live!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-are-senile-old-fool-and-because-of-your-impudence-i-cannot-fathom/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Surely, God could have caused birds to fly with their bones made of solid gold, with their veins full of quicksilver, with their flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/surely-god-could-have-caused-birds-to-fly-with-their-bones-made-of/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [“Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors, must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/knowledge-will-forever-govern-ignorance-and-a-people-who-mean-to-be/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [“Don’t turn your face away. Once you’ve seen, you can no longer act like you don’t know. Open your eyes to the truth. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vashti-quiroz-vega/don-t-turn-your-face-away-once-you-ve-seen-you-can-no-longer-act-like/) Vashti Quiroz-Vega > [Nothing is worse than active ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/nothing-is-worse-than-active-ignorance/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [The only victories which leave no regret are those which are gained over ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/the-only-victories-which-leave-no-regret-are-those-which-are-gained/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [“Those who embrace prejudice doom themselves to live in ignorance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-p-lintz-sr/those-who-embrace-prejudice-doom-themselves-to-live-in-ignorance/) John P Lintz Sr > [“You are a lawmaker in your own right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/you-are-a-lawmaker-in-your-own-right/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [Sanity can take one of only two forms: that of ignorance, or denial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-r-audette/sanity-can-take-one-of-only-two-forms-that-of-ignorance-or-denial/) [Derek R. Audette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-r-audette/) [Browse all 5,657 Ignorance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To surrender to ignorance and call it God has always been premature, and it remains premature today.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Isaac Asimov" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/to-surrender-to-ignorance-and-call-it-god-has-always-been-premature/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ignorance" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/to-surrender-to-ignorance-and-call-it-god-has-always-been-premature/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/936/isaac-asimov-309_ignorance_to-surrender-to-ignorance-and-call-it-go_1996024.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/936/isaac-asimov-309_ignorance_to-surrender-to-ignorance-and-call-it-go_1996024.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/936/isaac-asimov-309_ignorance_to-surrender-to-ignorance-and-call-it-go_1996024.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To surrender to ignorance and call it God has always been premature, and it remains premature today.” — Isaac Asimov", "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": "Isaac Asimov", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To surrender to ignorance and call...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/to-surrender-to-ignorance-and-call-it-god-has-always-been-premature/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/to-surrender-to-ignorance-and-call-it-god-has-always-been-premature/#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 } } ] } ```