--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Strange things happened to them…" description: "\"“Strange things happened to them . . . some bitterly cruel and some so beautiful that faith is refired forever.”\" — John Steinbeck" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/500/john-steinbeck-71_religion_strange-things-happened-to-them-some-bit_1827489.jpg" --- # Strange things happened to them . . . some bitterly cruel… ![“Strange things happened to them . . . some bitterly cruel and some so beautiful that faith is refired forever.” quote by John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/500/john-steinbeck-71_religion_strange-things-happened-to-them-some-bit_1827489.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/500/john-steinbeck-71_religion_strange-things-happened-to-them-some-bit_1827489.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/500/john-steinbeck-71_religion_strange-things-happened-to-them-some-bit_1827489.jpg) > ““Strange things happened to them . . . some bitterly cruel and some so beautiful that faith is refired forever.”” [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life presents both cruelty and beauty, renewing faith through contrasting experiences. **In simple terms:** Hardship and beauty renew faith. Key Takeaway Find hope in contrast. Themes faith adversity beauty resilience Mood hopeful contemplative Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - personal loss - nature awe - art appreciation - spiritual practice Key Concepts spiritual renewal dualities human experience Questions to Reflect On - What events have renewed your faith? - How do you reconcile cruelty with beauty? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex emotions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Strange things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange-things/) ## Related quotes > [The people in flight from the terror behind-strange things happen to them, some bitterly cruel and some so beautiful that the faith is refired…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/the-people-in-flight-from-the-terror-behind-strange-things-happen-to/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“This is just the way life is – sometimes cruel, sometimes beautiful, all the time confusing and frightening and exhilarating – and we just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-rattray/this-is-just-the-way-life-is-sometimes-cruel-sometimes-beautiful-all/) [Chloe Rattray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-rattray/) > [The cars of the migrant people crawled out of the side roads onto the great cross-country highway, and they took the migrant way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/the-cars-of-the-migrant-people-crawled-out-of-the-side-roads-onto-the/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [It seems a strange thing, but once I was able to get past that kind of self-image problem, I was able to open up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-poehler/it-seems-a-strange-thing-but-once-i-was-able-to-get-past-that-kind-of/) [Amy Poehler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-poehler/) > [I've been accused of humanizing the Nazis, to which I can only say, you can't blame me for that. 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It is a satisfaction like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-write-because-i-like-to-write-i-find-joy-in-the-texture-and-tone/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) [Explore all 1,589 John Steinbeck quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) ## More Cruel quotes > [“History has a cruel way of disappointing optimists.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-thompson/history-has-a-cruel-way-of-disappointing-optimists/) Keith Thompson > [“I think the reason we're cruel sometimes is that we're afraid we're going to like something.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/i-think-the-reason-we-re-cruel-sometimes-is-that-we-re-afraid-we-re/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [“Don't be so cruel to me. Don't promise me anything. I've got everything that i need. 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That’s”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-d-anderson/my-power-is-as-cruel-a-joke-as-it-can-get-that-s/) Katie D. Anderson > [I must be cruel only to be kind; Thus bad begins, and worse remains behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-must-be-cruel-only-to-be-kind-thus-bad-begins-and-worse-remains/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Huamns, uregulated, are cruel and capricious; violet and selfish; miserable and quarrelsome. 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But this is what princes and kings call themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/what-people-loathe-the-most-is-to-be-orphaned-desolate-unworthy-but/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) Browse all 1,069 Cruel quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Strange things happened to them . . . some bitterly cruel and some so beautiful that faith is refired forever.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Steinbeck" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/strange-things-happened-to-them-some-bitterly-cruel-and-some-so/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cruel" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/strange-things-happened-to-them-some-bitterly-cruel-and-some-so/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/500/john-steinbeck-71_religion_strange-things-happened-to-them-some-bit_1827489.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/500/john-steinbeck-71_religion_strange-things-happened-to-them-some-bit_1827489.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/500/john-steinbeck-71_religion_strange-things-happened-to-them-some-bit_1827489.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Strange things happened to them . . . some bitterly cruel and some so beautiful that faith is refired forever.” — John Steinbeck", "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 Steinbeck", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Strange things happened to them ....", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/strange-things-happened-to-them-some-bitterly-cruel-and-some-so/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/strange-things-happened-to-them-some-bitterly-cruel-and-some-so/#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 } } ] } ```