--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If God is incomprehensible to man, it…" description: "\"If God is incomprehensible to man, it would seem rational never to think of Him at all.\" — Jean Meslier" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc4/jean-meslier-46584_ifs_if-god-is-incomprehensible-to-man-it-wou_465938.png" --- # If God is incomprehensible to man, it would seem rational… ![“If God is incomprehensible to man, it would seem rational never to think of Him at all.” quote by Jean Meslier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc4/jean-meslier-46584_ifs_if-god-is-incomprehensible-to-man-it-wou_465938.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc4/jean-meslier-46584_ifs_if-god-is-incomprehensible-to-man-it-wou_465938.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc4/jean-meslier-46584_ifs_if-god-is-incomprehensible-to-man-it-wou_465938.png) > “If God is incomprehensible to man, it would seem rational never to think of Him at all.” [Jean Meslier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-meslier/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. If God is beyond human understanding, it may be rational to avoid thinking about Him entirely. **In simple terms:** Incomprehensible God may be ignored. Key Takeaway Question religious focus. Themes theology philosophy skepticism Mood critical contemplative Type philosophical theological When to use this quote - personal belief - academic debate - spiritual practice - ethical discussions Key Concepts existentialism faith rationalism Questions to Reflect On - Is avoidance rational? - What are alternatives to belief? A Different Perspective Ignoring God may neglect moral guidance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [It is always incomprehensible to a man that a woman should ever refuse an offer of marriage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/it-is-always-incomprehensible-to-a-man-that-a-woman-should-ever/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [Having refuted, then, as well as we could, every notion which might suggest that we were to think of God as in any degree…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/origen/having-refuted-then-as-well-as-we-could-every-notion-which-might/) [Origen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/origen/) > [“Humans think they are rational, and they think they understand their reality. But they are wrong on both counts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/humans-think-they-are-rational-and-they-think-they-understand-their/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [If I make a stupid decision but don't execute it because I'm, say, lazy, then I'm lucky, not rational. However, at other times a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nomy-arpaly/if-i-make-a-stupid-decision-but-don-t-execute-it-because-i-m-say-lazy/) [Nomy Arpaly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nomy-arpaly/) > [“It is always incomprehensible to a man that a woman should ever refuse an offer of marriage. A man always imagines a woman to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/it-is-always-incomprehensible-to-a-man-that-a-woman-should-ever-2/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [Man is not a rational animal, he is a rationalizing animal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/man-is-not-a-rational-animal-he-is-a-rationalizing-animal/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Man is a rational animal—so at least I have been told. … Aristotle, so far as I know, was the first man to proclaim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/man-is-a-rational-animal-so-at-least-i-have-been-told-aristotle-so/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Man is a rational animal who always loses his temper when he is called upon to act in accordance with the dictates of reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/man-is-a-rational-animal-who-always-loses-his-temper-when-he-is/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I consider the differences between man and animals in propensities, feelings, and intellectual faculties, to be the result of the same cause as that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-william-lawrence-1st-baronet/i-consider-the-differences-between-man-and-animals-in-propensities/) Sir William Lawrence, 1st Baronet > [“not heaven and earth and the great seas, not the creatures that live in the water and on dry land, not plants, and stars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/basil-the-great/not-heaven-and-earth-and-the-great-seas-not-the-creatures-that-live/) [Basil the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/basil-the-great/) > [God is not more incomprehensible than you; but if he is not more just, it is hardly worth while beIieving in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-anne-de-vichy-chamrond-marquise-du-deffand/god-is-not-more-incomprehensible-than-you-but-if-he-is-not-more-just/) [Marie Anne de Vichy-Chamrond, marquise du Deffand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-anne-de-vichy-chamrond-marquise-du-deffand/) > [“The very fact that we know that God is incomprehensible is itself an evidence of what he has graciously let us comprehend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mathis/the-very-fact-that-we-know-that-god-is-incomprehensible-is-itself-an/) [David Mathis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mathis/) > [Of all human and ancient opinions concerning religion, that seems to me the most likely and most excusable, that acknowledged God as an incomprehensible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/of-all-human-and-ancient-opinions-concerning-religion-that-seems-to/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [I don't think we are all irrational every time we fail to see through an argument in a book, but suppose it's true about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nomy-arpaly/i-don-t-think-we-are-all-irrational-every-time-we-fail-to-see-through/) [Nomy Arpaly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nomy-arpaly/) > [What do you do when your world is falling apart? How do you hold onto the real and the rational? I think that's very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-durance/what-do-you-do-when-your-world-is-falling-apart-how-do-you-hold-onto/) [Erica Durance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-durance/) ## More by Jean Meslier > [Think hard about the reasons for believing and not believing, what your religion teaches you and demands so inexorably that you believe. I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-meslier/think-hard-about-the-reasons-for-believing-and-not-believing-what/) [Jean Meslier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-meslier/) > [I would like the last of the kings to be strangled by the guts of the last priest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-meslier/i-would-like-the-last-of-the-kings-to-be-strangled-by-the-guts-of-the/) [Jean Meslier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-meslier/) > [To claim that the souls of men will be happy or unhappy after the death of the body, is to pretend that man will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-meslier/to-claim-that-the-souls-of-men-will-be-happy-or-unhappy-after-the/) [Jean Meslier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-meslier/) > [To discover the true principles of morality, men have no need of theology, of revelation, or of gods. They need but common sense. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-meslier/to-discover-the-true-principles-of-morality-men-have-no-need-of/) [Jean Meslier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-meslier/) > [... inventions and purely human institutions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-meslier/inventions-and-purely-human-institutions/) [Jean Meslier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-meslier/) > [Matter and energy moves itself. It has no exterior mover.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-meslier/matter-and-energy-moves-itself-it-has-no-exterior-mover/) [Jean Meslier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-meslier/) > [“How I suffered when I had to preach to you those pious lies that I detest in my heart. What remorse your credulity caused…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-meslier/how-i-suffered-when-i-had-to-preach-to-you-those-pious-lies-that-i/) [Jean Meslier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-meslier/) [Explore all 8 Jean Meslier quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-meslier/) ## More Ifs quotes > [Women still, when they have breast cancer, go to work; they still lead their lives. They have to. I just did what I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-potter/women-still-when-they-have-breast-cancer-go-to-work-they-still-lead/) [Monica Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-potter/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. If you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-helgoe/if-you-ask-an-introvert-a-question-wait-until-she-thinks-about-it/) [Laurie Helgoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-helgoe/) > [Many individuals spend a considerable portion of their lifetimes in terror of one imagined catastrophe or another. The classic is that your immortal soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/many-individuals-spend-a-considerable-portion-of-their-lifetimes-in/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [Obviously, if you don't love life, you can't enjoy an oyster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-clark/obviously-if-you-don-t-love-life-you-can-t-enjoy-an-oyster/) [Eleanor Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-clark/) > [If I don't have pressure, I don't function.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferran-adria/if-i-don-t-have-pressure-i-don-t-function/) [Ferran Adria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferran-adria/) > [If you restore a car, and you're making money, then you're doing it wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/if-you-restore-a-car-and-you-re-making-money-then-you-re-doing-it/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. 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If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-sarabhai/but-we-are-convinced-that-if-we-are-to-play-a-meaningful-role/) [Vikram Sarabhai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-sarabhai/) > [The thing about hitting kids is, think about if you were doing the same thing to another adult. Hitting your kid is really the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-braff/the-thing-about-hitting-kids-is-think-about-if-you-were-doing-the/) [Zach Braff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-braff/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) Browse all 94,303 Ifs quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If God is incomprehensible to man, it would seem rational never to think of Him at all.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jean Meslier" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-meslier/if-god-is-incomprehensible-to-man-it-would-seem-rational-never-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ifs" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-meslier/if-god-is-incomprehensible-to-man-it-would-seem-rational-never-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc4/jean-meslier-46584_ifs_if-god-is-incomprehensible-to-man-it-wou_465938.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc4/jean-meslier-46584_ifs_if-god-is-incomprehensible-to-man-it-wou_465938.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc4/jean-meslier-46584_ifs_if-god-is-incomprehensible-to-man-it-wou_465938.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If God is incomprehensible to man, it would seem rational never to think of Him at all.” — Jean Meslier", "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": "Jean Meslier", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-meslier/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If God is incomprehensible to man,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-meslier/if-god-is-incomprehensible-to-man-it-would-seem-rational-never-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-meslier/if-god-is-incomprehensible-to-man-it-would-seem-rational-never-to/#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 } } ] } ```