--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If Scripture has more than one meaning…" description: "\"If Scripture has more than one meaning, it has no meaning at all.\" — John Owen" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c0/john-owen-1415_bible_if-scripture-has-more-than-one-meaning-i_1655373.png" --- # If Scripture has more than one meaning, it has no meaning… ![“If Scripture has more than one meaning, it has no meaning at all.” quote by John Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c0/john-owen-1415_bible_if-scripture-has-more-than-one-meaning-i_1655373.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c0/john-owen-1415_bible_if-scripture-has-more-than-one-meaning-i_1655373.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c0/john-owen-1415_bible_if-scripture-has-more-than-one-meaning-i_1655373.png) > “If Scripture has more than one meaning, it has no meaning at all.” [John Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-owen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. If a text yields multiple meanings, its truth is compromised. **In simple terms:** Multiple meanings mean no clear meaning. Key Takeaway Seek clear, singular interpretation of scripture. Themes theology interpretation clarity Mood reflective serious Type philosophical theological When to use this quote - preaching - Bible study groups - religious education Key Concepts hermeneutics dogma exegesis Questions to Reflect On - How do we handle ambiguous passages? - What value is there in multiple perspectives? A Different Perspective Texts can be rich and layered, not just singular. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bible/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Meaning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaning/) [Meaning Meaning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaning-meaning-311139/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Scripture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scripture/) [Scripture Meaning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scripture-meaning-699428/) ## Related quotes > [ “\[T\]here is nothing to say about life. It has no meaning. You make meaning. If you want a meaning in your life, find a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/t-here-is-nothing-to-say-about-life-it-has-no-meaning-you-make/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Life has no meaning. Each of us has meaning and we bring it to life. We are the only answer of meaning of life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikas-runwal/life-has-no-meaning-each-of-us-has-meaning-and-we-bring-it-to-life-we/) [Vikas Runwal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikas-runwal/) > [You are free to give life meaning, whatever meaning you want to give it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fulghum/you-are-free-to-give-life-meaning-whatever-meaning-you-want-to-give-it/) [Robert Fulghum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fulghum/) > [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/) > [Through reading the scriptures I realized there was a purpose for my life, that I was created for a reason, that I was significant,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-hosoi/through-reading-the-scriptures-i-realized-there-was-a-purpose-for-my/) [Christian Hosoi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-hosoi/) > [But there's the rub. The present can never deliver one thing: meaning. The way of happiness and meaning are not the same. To find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-rubenfeld/but-there-s-the-rub-the-present-can-never-deliver-one-thing-meaning/) [Jed Rubenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-rubenfeld/) > [As soon as you look at the world through an ideology you are finished. No reality fits an ideology. Life is beyond that. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-de-mello/as-soon-as-you-look-at-the-world-through-an-ideology-you-are-finished/) [Anthony de Mello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-de-mello/) > [“We all search for our meaning, and if we do not find meaning in who we are or what we do, we often search…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-ford/we-all-search-for-our-meaning-and-if-we-do-not-find-meaning-in-who-we/) [Jim Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-ford/) > [“There's no meaning. What's the meaning of the universe? What's the meaning of a flea? It's just there. We're so engaged in doing things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/there-s-no-meaning-what-s-the-meaning-of-the-universe-what-s-the/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Does a being who requires meaning find meaning in a universe that has no meaning?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/does-a-being-who-requires-meaning-find-meaning-in-a-universe-that-has/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [A man must fill his life with meaning, meaning is not automatically given to life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-potok/a-man-must-fill-his-life-with-meaning-meaning-is-not-automatically/) [Chaim Potok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-potok/) > [“The meaning of life is not a search—it is a choice. Meaning is not found in things; meaning is what you make of things.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-holden/the-meaning-of-life-is-not-a-search-it-is-a-choice-meaning-is-not/) [Robert Holden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-holden/) > [Life is without meaning. You bring the meaning to it. The meaning of life is whatever you ascribe it to be. Being alive is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/life-is-without-meaning-you-bring-the-meaning-to-it-the-meaning-of/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Life in itself has no meaning. Life is an opportunity to create meaning. Meaning has not to be discovered; it has to be created.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/life-in-itself-has-no-meaning-life-is-an-opportunity-to-create/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Nothing in theatre has any meaning before or after. Meaning is now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-brook/nothing-in-theatre-has-any-meaning-before-or-after-meaning-is-now/) [Peter Brook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-brook/) ## More by John Owen > [God hath work to do in this world; and to desert it because of its difficulties and entanglements, is to cast off His authority.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-owen/god-hath-work-to-do-in-this-world-and-to-desert-it-because-of-its/) [John Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-owen/) > [If we do not abide in prayer, we will abide in temptation. Let this be one aspect of our daily intercession: "God, preserve my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-owen/if-we-do-not-abide-in-prayer-we-will-abide-in-temptation-let-this-be/) [John Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-owen/) > [The least grace is a better security for heaven than the greatest gifts or privileges whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-owen/the-least-grace-is-a-better-security-for-heaven-than-the-greatest/) [John Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-owen/) > [“Our belief of the Scriptures to be the word of God, or a divine revelation, and our understanding of the mind and will of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-owen/our-belief-of-the-scriptures-to-be-the-word-of-god-or-a-divine/) [John Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-owen/) > [How can we possibly believe the promises concerning Heaven, immortality, and glory, when we do not believe the promises concerning our present life? 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He hates the idea of people going there. He hates it so much that He was willing to take on human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-minton/god-hates-hell-he-hates-the-idea-of-people-going-there-he-hates-it-so/) [Evan Minton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-minton/) > [“The Devil can cite Scripture for his purpose, Sergeant,’ Anthony Payne replied. ‘That is from The Merchant of Venice, but it holds great truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-arnold/the-devil-can-cite-scripture-for-his-purpose-sergeant-anthony-payne/) [Michael Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-arnold/) > [When you put your hand on the Bible, you are saying something much stronger than just telling your peers that you're going to tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-greenwood/when-you-put-your-hand-on-the-bible-you-are-saying-something-much/) [Lee Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-greenwood/) > [“Scripture also teaches that human beings are morally responsible creatures”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-peterson/scripture-also-teaches-that-human-beings-are-morally-responsible/) [Robert A. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-peterson/) > [“The wife of a junior officer cooped up in a horrible canvas partition in steerage for five months wrote: "I had enjoyed much peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-taylor/the-wife-of-a-junior-officer-cooped-up-in-a-horrible-canvas-partition/) [Stephen Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-taylor/) > [O Word of God incarnate . . . 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