--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Whatever sympathy I feel towards…" description: "\"Whatever sympathy I feel towards religions, whatever admiration for some of their adherents, whatever historical or biological necessity I see in them,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/373/john-fowles-816_accepting_whatever-sympathy-i-feel-towards-religio_1267443.png" --- # Whatever sympathy I feel towards religions, whatever… ![“Whatever sympathy I feel towards religions, whatever admiration for some of their adherents, whatever historical or biological necessity I see in them, whatever metaphorical truth, I cannot accept them as credible explanations of reality; and they are incredible to me in proportion to the degree…” quote by John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/373/john-fowles-816_accepting_whatever-sympathy-i-feel-towards-religio_1267443.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/373/john-fowles-816_accepting_whatever-sympathy-i-feel-towards-religio_1267443.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/373/john-fowles-816_accepting_whatever-sympathy-i-feel-towards-religio_1267443.png) > “Whatever sympathy I feel towards religions, whatever admiration for some of their adherents, whatever historical or biological necessity I see in them, whatever metaphorical truth, I cannot accept them as credible explanations of reality; and they are incredible to me in proportion to the degree that they require my belief in positive human attributes and intervenient powers in their divinities.” [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker doubts religious explanations, seeing them as metaphorical but not factual, and questions the need for belief in divine attributes. **In simple terms:** Religion is seen as metaphor, not literal truth. Key Takeaway Question the basis of belief systems. Themes philosophy religion skepticism Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - academic debate - personal reflection - interfaith dialogue - ethical discussions Key Concepts metaphor belief human nature Questions to Reflect On - What makes a belief system credible? - Can metaphorical truths guide behavior? A Different Perspective Religious narratives can offer moral value despite factual doubts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accept Credible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accept-credible-4050985/) [Accepting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepting/) [Admiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/admiration/) [Admiration Adherents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/admiration-adherents-4050984/) [Attributes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attributes/) [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Degrees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/degrees/) [Divinity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divinity/) [Explanation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explanation/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Feel Religions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-religions-4050982/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Historical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historical/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Incredibles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incredibles/) [Metaphorical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metaphorical/) [Proportion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proportion/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religions Admiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religions-admiration-4050983/) [Sympathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sympathy/) [Sympathy Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sympathy-feel-281934/) ## Related quotes > [I don't try to kind of go for the overly sympathetic. 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On a metaphorical level, everything that's really important - like the clouds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mickey-hart/the-musical-mystery-is-how-do-you-marry-tuned-percussion-and-voice-on/) [Mickey Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mickey-hart/) > [Throughout my career I've struggled to encourage people to read my books on a more metaphorical level. I'm less attached to my settings than,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/throughout-my-career-i-ve-struggled-to-encourage-people-to-read-my/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [And what is the very essence of poetry if it is not this 'metaphorical language'-this marking of the before unapprehended relations of things?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-barfield/and-what-is-the-very-essence-of-poetry-if-it-is-not-this-metaphorical/) [Owen Barfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-barfield/) > [When dams were erected on the Columbia, salmon battered themselves against the concrete, trying to return home. I expect no less from us. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/when-dams-were-erected-on-the-columbia-salmon-battered-themselves/) [Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/) > [Cyberspace' is a metaphorical idea which is supposed to be the space where your consciousness is located when you're using computer technology on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/cyberspace-is-a-metaphorical-idea-which-is-supposed-to-be-the-space/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [I think you sense the metaphorical resonance of what you're writing without analysing it too carefully. That leads you down dead ends. 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Why live in night?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/the-craving-to-risk-death-is-our-last-great-perversion-we-come-from/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [There is only one good definition of God: the freedom that allows other freedoms to exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/there-is-only-one-good-definition-of-god-the-freedom-that-allows/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [They looked down on her; and she looked up through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/they-looked-down-on-her-and-she-looked-up-through-them/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [“Long afterwards I realized why some men, racing drivers and their like, become addicted to speed. 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People knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/yet-this-distance-all-those-abysses-unbridged-and-then-unbridgeable/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) [Explore all 341 John Fowles quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) ## More Accepting quotes > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [Laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing! It is the jester! A voice from the Void, to cheer poor Cicero! I accept your gift, dearest Night Mother.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/laughing-laughing-laughing-laughing-it-is-the-jester-a-voice-from-the/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [This duo inside of me causes the perfect opportunity to live and learn twice as fast as those who choose to accept simplicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/this-duo-inside-of-me-causes-the-perfect-opportunity-to-live-and/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. 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I totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pirjo-honkasalo/as-my-films-are-born-at-the-moment-when-they-are-reflected-into/) [Pirjo Honkasalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pirjo-honkasalo/) [Browse all 6,788 Accepting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepting/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Whatever sympathy I feel towards religions, whatever admiration for some of their adherents, whatever historical or biological necessity I see in them, whatever metaphorical truth, I cannot accept them as credible explanations of reality; and they are incredible to me in proportion to the degree that they require my belief in positive human attributes and intervenient powers in their divinities.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Fowles" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/whatever-sympathy-i-feel-towards-religions-whatever-admiration-for/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Accepting" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/whatever-sympathy-i-feel-towards-religions-whatever-admiration-for/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/373/john-fowles-816_accepting_whatever-sympathy-i-feel-towards-religio_1267443.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/373/john-fowles-816_accepting_whatever-sympathy-i-feel-towards-religio_1267443.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/373/john-fowles-816_accepting_whatever-sympathy-i-feel-towards-religio_1267443.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Whatever sympathy I feel towards religions, whatever admiration for some of their adherents, whatever…” — John Fowles", "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": "John Fowles", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Whatever sympathy I feel towards religions,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/whatever-sympathy-i-feel-towards-religions-whatever-admiration-for/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/whatever-sympathy-i-feel-towards-religions-whatever-admiration-for/#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 } } ] } ```