--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Without God there is for mankind no…" description: "\"Without God there is for mankind no purpose, no goal, no hope, only a wavering future, an eternal dread of every darkness.\" — Jean Paul" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33d/jean-paul-3898_darkness_without-god-there-is-for-mankind-no-purp_2513329.jpg" --- # Without God there is for mankind no purpose, no goal, no… ![“Without God there is for mankind no purpose, no goal, no hope, only a wavering future, an eternal dread of every darkness.” quote by Jean Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33d/jean-paul-3898_darkness_without-god-there-is-for-mankind-no-purp_2513329.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33d/jean-paul-3898_darkness_without-god-there-is-for-mankind-no-purp_2513329.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33d/jean-paul-3898_darkness_without-god-there-is-for-mankind-no-purp_2513329.jpg) > “Without God there is for mankind no purpose, no goal, no hope, only a wavering future, an eternal dread of every darkness.” [Jean Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It suggests that without belief in a higher purpose, humanity feels aimless and fearful. **In simple terms:** Lack of purpose leads to dread Key Takeaway Seek meaning beyond material existence Themes existential spirituality purpose hope Mood reflective somber Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal crisis - philosophical reflection - mental health counseling Key Concepts Nihilism faith psychology Questions to Reflect On - What gives your life meaning? - Can secular values replace religious purpose? A Different Perspective Faith may not resolve existential angst for everyone ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Dread](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dread/) [Eternal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternal/) [Eternal Dread](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternal-dread-528033/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Goal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goal/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [God Mankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-mankind-1177974/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Mankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mankind/) [Mankind Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mankind-purpose-1177975/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [No hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/no-hope/) [Our future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-future/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Wavering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wavering/) [Without god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/without-god/) ## Related quotes > [“He knew he could never jingle change in his pocket or park his car like a confident adult, he was the Adrian he had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/he-knew-he-could-never-jingle-change-in-his-pocket-or-park-his-car/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [“If God be unchangeable, then what we see-of Him at any moment, must be true of Him at every moment of time; true of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-allin/if-god-be-unchangeable-then-what-we-see-of-him-at-any-moment-must-be/) [Thomas Allin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-allin/) > [“Human relations is the study of mankind, with the purpose of revealing and removing the basic causes of conflicts among men.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/validivar/human-relations-is-the-study-of-mankind-with-the-purpose-of-revealing/) [Validivar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/validivar/) > [We were created to take care of, steward the land. That is mankind's purpose on earth, to steward and take care of the land…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-studi/we-were-created-to-take-care-of-steward-the-land-that-is-mankind-s/) [Wes Studi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-studi/) > [Of course, without God, there is no value to life. That leads to immorality, that leads to sexual abuse, and there is no hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/of-course-without-god-there-is-no-value-to-life-that-leads-to/) [Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/) > [Christmas is more than trees and twinkling lights, more than toys and gifts and baubles of a hundred varieties. It is love. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-b-hinckley/christmas-is-more-than-trees-and-twinkling-lights-more-than-toys-and/) [Gordon B. Hinckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-b-hinckley/) > [“Why," said the saint, "did I go into the forest and the desert? Was it not because I loved mankind far too well? Now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/why-said-the-saint-did-i-go-into-the-forest-and-the-desert-was-it-not/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Life is amazing gift from God to mankind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/life-is-amazing-gift-from-god-to-mankind/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [I am at peace with God and all mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-am-at-peace-with-god-and-all-mankind/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The world today is fast becoming one.Humanity is one, God is one and mankind are all part of one human family. all Religions are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naeem-abdullah/the-world-today-is-fast-becoming-one-humanity-is-one-god-is-one-and/) [Naeem Abdullah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naeem-abdullah/) > [Grace is the free, undeserved goodness and favor of God to mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-henry/grace-is-the-free-undeserved-goodness-and-favor-of-god-to-mankind/) [Matthew Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-henry/) > [If no God, mankind is a set of bi-pedal carbon units of mostly water. And nothing else](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-wilson/if-no-god-mankind-is-a-set-of-bi-pedal-carbon-units-of-mostly-water/) [Douglas Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-wilson/) > [I cannot but take notice of the wonderful love of God to mankind, who, in order to encourage obedience to His laws, has annexed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-melmoth/i-cannot-but-take-notice-of-the-wonderful-love-of-god-to-mankind-who/) [William Melmoth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-melmoth/) > [ “\[The Devil\] In my opinion, there is no need to destroy anything, one needs only destroy the idea of God in mankind, that's where… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/the-devil-in-my-opinion-there-is-no-need-to-destroy-anything-one/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“Oh God, what is it with mankind? Never happy unless it's blowing someone up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-scarrow/oh-god-what-is-it-with-mankind-never-happy-unless-it-s-blowing/) [Alex Scarrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-scarrow/) ## More by Jean Paul > [What Cicero said of men-that they are like wines, age souring the bad, and bettering the good-we can say of misfortune, that it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul/what-cicero-said-of-men-that-they-are-like-wines-age-souring-the-bad/) [Jean Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul/) > [Like a morning dream, life becomes more and more bright the longer we live, and the reason of everything appears more clear. What has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul/like-a-morning-dream-life-becomes-more-and-more-bright-the-longer-we/) [Jean Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul/) > [There is a joy in sorrow which none but a mourner can know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul/there-is-a-joy-in-sorrow-which-none-but-a-mourner-can-know/) [Jean Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul/) > [I have made as much out of myself as could be made of the stuff, and no man should require more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul/i-have-made-as-much-out-of-myself-as-could-be-made-of-the-stuff-and/) [Jean Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul/) > [Art is indeed not the bread but the wine of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul/art-is-indeed-not-the-bread-but-the-wine-of-life/) [Jean Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul/) > [It is simpler and easier to flatter people than to praise them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul/it-is-simpler-and-easier-to-flatter-people-than-to-praise-them/) [Jean Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul/) > [Humankind's chief fault is that they have so many small ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul/humankind-s-chief-fault-is-that-they-have-so-many-small-ones/) [Jean Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul/) > [As a man grows older it is harder and harder to frighten him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul/as-a-man-grows-older-it-is-harder-and-harder-to-frighten-him/) [Jean Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul/) > [In science the new is an advance; but in morals, as contradicting our inner ideals and historic idols, it is ever a retrogression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul/in-science-the-new-is-an-advance-but-in-morals-as-contradicting-our/) [Jean Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul/) > [It has been jestingly said that the works of John Paul Richter are almost unintelligible to any but the Germans, and even to some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul/it-has-been-jestingly-said-that-the-works-of-john-paul-richter-are/) [Jean Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul/) > [What makes old age so sad is, not that our joys, but that our hopes then cease.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul/what-makes-old-age-so-sad-is-not-that-our-joys-but-that-our-hopes/) [Jean Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul/) > [There are souls which fall from heaven like flowers, but ere they bloom are crushed under the foul tread of some brutal hoof.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul/there-are-souls-which-fall-from-heaven-like-flowers-but-ere-they/) [Jean Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul/) > [Romanticism is beauty without bounds-the beautiful infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul/romanticism-is-beauty-without-bounds-the-beautiful-infinite/) [Jean Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul/) > [Weaklings must lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul/weaklings-must-lie/) [Jean Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul/) > [God is an unutterable sigh, planted in the depths of the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul/god-is-an-unutterable-sigh-planted-in-the-depths-of-the-soul/) [Jean Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul/) [Explore all 117 Jean Paul quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul/) ## More Darkness quotes > [“Narrative cannot sustain formlessness any more than light can sustain darkness - it is the antithesis of formlessness, and so it can never truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/narrative-cannot-sustain-formlessness-any-more-than-light-can-sustain/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“Wait here, wait here!" he cried and jumped up and began to run for help toward a cluster of lights he saw in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/wait-here-wait-here-he-cried-and-jumped-up-and-began-to-run-for-help/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [Strange - is it not? That of the myriads who Before us passed the door of Darkness through, Not one returns to tell us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/strange-is-it-not-that-of-the-myriads-who-before-us-passed-the-door/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [Clear moments are so short. There is much more darkness. More ocean than terra firma. More shadow than form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-zagajewski/clear-moments-are-so-short-there-is-much-more-darkness-more-ocean/) [Adam Zagajewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-zagajewski/) > [I even see the cinema itself as a woman, with its alternation of light and darkness, of appearing and disappearing images](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/i-even-see-the-cinema-itself-as-a-woman-with-its-alternation-of-light/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [I guess he'll have to figure out someday that he is supposed to have this dark side, that it is part of what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-guess-he-ll-have-to-figure-out-someday-that-he-is-supposed-to-have/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“I promise to respect and protect your aloneness, knowing that everything created must have its period of darkness: child and bulb, poem and personality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/i-promise-to-respect-and-protect-your-aloneness-knowing-that/) [anne morrow lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [The beauty of darkness is how it lets you see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/the-beauty-of-darkness-is-how-it-lets-you-see/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [“Even in darkness your lips taste of sunshine”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-lia-block/even-in-darkness-your-lips-taste-of-sunshine/) [Francesca Lia Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-lia-block/) > [“Defy me not for gleam can only shine in my existence" said Darkness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/defy-me-not-for-gleam-can-only-shine-in-my-existence-said-darkness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What does he look like? The question was soft- tentative. I knew who he meant. I interlaced my fingers through Rhysand's and squeezed tightly.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/what-does-he-look-like-the-question-was-soft-tentative-i-knew-who-he/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [The dream of coming back is becoming a reality. A lot of the uncertainty about the future has been cleared up. A lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tagliabue/the-dream-of-coming-back-is-becoming-a-reality-a-lot-of-the/) [Paul Tagliabue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tagliabue/) > [“Life is like coffee, the darker it gets, the more it energizes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ankita-singhal/life-is-like-coffee-the-darker-it-gets-the-more-it-energizes/) [Ankita Singhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ankita-singhal/) > [Twinking tears in a sea of black. Soft light in a world of darkness. Tiny wishes in a place of dreams. Do you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-gentile/twinking-tears-in-a-sea-of-black-soft-light-in-a-world-of-darkness/) [Nicole Gentile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-gentile/) [Browse all 8,219 Darkness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Without God there is for mankind no purpose, no goal, no hope, only a wavering future, an eternal dread of every darkness.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jean Paul" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul/without-god-there-is-for-mankind-no-purpose-no-goal-no-hope-only-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Darkness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul/without-god-there-is-for-mankind-no-purpose-no-goal-no-hope-only-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33d/jean-paul-3898_darkness_without-god-there-is-for-mankind-no-purp_2513329.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33d/jean-paul-3898_darkness_without-god-there-is-for-mankind-no-purp_2513329.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33d/jean-paul-3898_darkness_without-god-there-is-for-mankind-no-purp_2513329.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Without God there is for mankind no purpose, no goal, no hope, only a wavering future, an eternal dread of…” — Jean Paul", "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 Paul", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Without God there is for mankind...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul/without-god-there-is-for-mankind-no-purpose-no-goal-no-hope-only-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul/without-god-there-is-for-mankind-no-purpose-no-goal-no-hope-only-a/#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 } } ] } ```