--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Whatever diminishes life is evil, and…" description: "\"Whatever diminishes life is evil, and whatever enhances life is good.\" — John Shelby Spong" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7c/john-shelby-spong-1488_evil_whatever-diminishes-life-is-evil-and-wha_1524124.png" --- # Whatever diminishes life is evil, and whatever enhances… ![“Whatever diminishes life is evil, and whatever enhances life is good.” quote by John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7c/john-shelby-spong-1488_evil_whatever-diminishes-life-is-evil-and-wha_1524124.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7c/john-shelby-spong-1488_evil_whatever-diminishes-life-is-evil-and-wha_1524124.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7c/john-shelby-spong-1488_evil_whatever-diminishes-life-is-evil-and-wha_1524124.png) > “Whatever diminishes life is evil, and whatever enhances life is good.” [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life's moral quality is determined by actions that either diminish or enhance existence, framing good and evil as impacts on life. **In simple terms:** Good improves life, evil harms it. Key Takeaway Act to enhance life, avoid harm. Themes ethics morality humanity Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - policy making - medical decisions - environmental stewardship - personal choices Key Concepts philosophical theology consequentialism Questions to Reflect On - How do you define actions that diminish life? - What responsibilities arise from enhancing life? A Different Perspective Complex issues may blur good vs. evil. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Diminishes Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diminishes-life-3986614/) [Enhances Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enhances-life-4185705/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Evil Enhances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil-enhances-5640580/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-evil-979934/) ## Related quotes > [I get weary of reading about rebirths because we're all growing all the time and it diminishes the life you've lived if you say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rickie-lee-jones/i-get-weary-of-reading-about-rebirths-because-we-re-all-growing-all/) [Rickie Lee Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rickie-lee-jones/) > [“As time diminishes, your life also diminishes with it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/as-time-diminishes-your-life-also-diminishes-with-it/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [For me, education is very important. It opens up vistas of life and makes it easy for you to deal with it, because if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/poonam-dhillon/for-me-education-is-very-important-it-opens-up-vistas-of-life-and/) [Poonam Dhillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/poonam-dhillon/) > [“The correct word is like any small detail - it enhances life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-stoddard/the-correct-word-is-like-any-small-detail-it-enhances-life/) [Alexandra Stoddard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-stoddard/) > [Whatever prepares you for death enhances life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-levine/whatever-prepares-you-for-death-enhances-life/) [Stephen Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-levine/) > [I think that the activism I've become involved with informs and enhances my life in a lot of ways, and definitely career-wise. This record…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thao-nguyen/i-think-that-the-activism-i-ve-become-involved-with-informs-and/) [Thao Nguyen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thao-nguyen/) > [Has a man the right to kill himself? Yes, if his death harms no one and if life is an evil to him. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/has-a-man-the-right-to-kill-himself-yes-if-his-death-harms-no-one-and/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [And now because you are His child, live as a child of God; be redeemed from the life of evil, which is false to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-william-robertson/and-now-because-you-are-his-child-live-as-a-child-of-god-be-redeemed/) [Frederick William Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-william-robertson/) > [Death is the essential condition of life, not an evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-perkins-gilman/death-is-the-essential-condition-of-life-not-an-evil/) [Charlotte Perkins Gilman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-perkins-gilman/) > [“Nothing less than life in the steps of Christ is adequate to the human soul or the needs of our world. Any other offer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/nothing-less-than-life-in-the-steps-of-christ-is-adequate-to-the/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) > [Where there is no respect for life, there you will find evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-r-melling/where-there-is-no-respect-for-life-there-you-will-find-evil/) [O.R. Melling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-r-melling/) > [The nature of the world is to be calm, and enhance and support life, and evil is an absence of the inclination of matter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/the-nature-of-the-world-is-to-be-calm-and-enhance-and-support-life/) [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) > [“Evil is anything that goes against life, harms life, stifles life, destroys life. Evil is bringing harm to another person, inflicting unnecessary pain, suffering,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/evil-is-anything-that-goes-against-life-harms-life-stifles-life/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [“I would sooner say, or hear it said of me, that I was so typical a child of my age, that in my perversity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-would-sooner-say-or-hear-it-said-of-me-that-i-was-so-typical-a/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Good is that which promotes life, evil is that which destroys life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-schweitzer/good-is-that-which-promotes-life-evil-is-that-which-destroys-life/) [Albert Schweitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-schweitzer/) ## More by John Shelby Spong > [The way that I see Christianity is that its role is to enhance the life of every person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/the-way-that-i-see-christianity-is-that-its-role-is-to-enhance-the/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [The Sins of Scripture is an interesting title; most people don't put sins and scripture together in the same title. It jars people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/the-sins-of-scripture-is-an-interesting-title-most-people-don-t-put/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [“When a human life is open to all that humanity can be, humanity and divinity flow together as one. It was and is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/when-a-human-life-is-open-to-all-that-humanity-can-be-humanity-and/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [I don't see Jesus as rescuing the fallen; I see Jesus as expanding the potential of life. The primary reason the old idea of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/i-don-t-see-jesus-as-rescuing-the-fallen-i-see-jesus-as-expanding-the/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [The Bible interprets life from its particular perspective; it does not record in a factual way the human journey through history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/the-bible-interprets-life-from-its-particular-perspective-it-does-not/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [My basis of morality is this: does this action enhance life, or does it denigrate life? Does it build up or does it tear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/my-basis-of-morality-is-this-does-this-action-enhance-life-or-does-it/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [I want the traditional family upheld, but I don't want it upheld to the detriment of other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/i-want-the-traditional-family-upheld-but-i-don-t-want-it-upheld-to/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [We live in a very pluralistic society today. There are Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, atheists, Roman Catholics, Evangelical Christians, and Christians like me. 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Sometimes, you're just in the wrong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/some-people-think-prayer-stops-bullets-or-rockets-or-land-mines-it/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [The Hebrew scriptures say it's okay to enslave anybody except your fellow Jews. It says you should enslave only your neighbors. I say to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/the-hebrew-scriptures-say-it-s-okay-to-enslave-anybody-except-your/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [ I know Jerry \[Falwell\] fairly well, and he's probably not bright enough to recognize all of the implications of what he said. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/i-know-jerry-falwell-fairly-well-and-he-s-probably-not-bright-enough/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [Benedict XVI kept saying that homosexuals are deviant. They're not deviant. They're deviant only if you say that anyone who is different from me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/benedict-xvi-kept-saying-that-homosexuals-are-deviant-they-re-not/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [ I find it fascinating that Paul \[the apostol\], writing to the Galatians, responds to the question, "What does it mean to live in Christ?"… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/i-find-it-fascinating-that-paul-the-apostol-writing-to-the-galatians/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) [Explore all 236 John Shelby Spong quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) ## More Evil quotes > [I've always been fascinated by the idea that there's no such thing as evil; it's all in your point of view. To one group…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/i-ve-always-been-fascinated-by-the-idea-that-there-s-no-such-thing-as/) [Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/) > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Every action that helps us manifest our divine nature more and more is good; every action that retards it is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/every-action-that-helps-us-manifest-our-divine-nature-more-and-more/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [I do conscientiously and sincerely believe that the Order of Freemasonry, if not the greatest, is one of the greatest moral and political evils…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/i-do-conscientiously-and-sincerely-believe-that-the-order-of/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [The Republicans do not look on the Democrats as the evil empire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/the-republicans-do-not-look-on-the-democrats-as-the-evil-empire/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [What is done out of love always takes place beyond good and evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-is-done-out-of-love-always-takes-place-beyond-good-and-evil/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ Evil cannot be "treated" -- nor should it be. Evil has to \[be\] confronted and destroyed and it matters not why the evil is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-o-reilly/evil-cannot-be-treated-nor-should-it-be-evil-has-to-be-confronted-and/) [Bill O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-o-reilly/) > [The evil which does me no harm is like the good which in no wise avails me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/the-evil-which-does-me-no-harm-is-like-the-good-which-in-no-wise/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [Attack the evil that is within yourself, rather than attacking the evil that is in others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/attack-the-evil-that-is-within-yourself-rather-than-attacking-the/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Somewhere somebody must have some sense. Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. 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