--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The guarantee that our self enjoys an…" description: "\"The guarantee that our self enjoys an intended relation to the outer world is most, if not all, we ask from religion. God is the self projected onto re..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d07/john-updike-396_asks_the-guarantee-that-our-self-enjoys-an-in_2982134.jpg" --- # The guarantee that our self enjoys an intended relation to… ![“The guarantee that our self enjoys an intended relation to the outer world is most, if not all, we ask from religion. God is the self projected onto reality by our natural and necessary optimism. He is the not-me personified.” quote by John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d07/john-updike-396_asks_the-guarantee-that-our-self-enjoys-an-in_2982134.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d07/john-updike-396_asks_the-guarantee-that-our-self-enjoys-an-in_2982134.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d07/john-updike-396_asks_the-guarantee-that-our-self-enjoys-an-in_2982134.jpg) > “The guarantee that our self enjoys an intended relation to the outer world is most, if not all, we ask from religion. God is the self projected onto reality by our natural and necessary optimism. He is the not-me personified.” [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Religion is seen as a projection of the self onto reality, embodying optimism and a non-self that we relate to. **In simple terms:** Religion reflects our optimistic self-projection onto the world. Key Takeaway Recognize personal bias in spiritual beliefs. Themes religion philosophy optimism Mood reflective critical Type philosophical theoretical When to use this quote - personal belief systems - spiritual discussions - psychological analysis Key Concepts self-projection existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How does personal optimism shape your spiritual views? - Can faith exist beyond self-projection? A Different Perspective This view may overlook communal and transcendent aspects of faith. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Optimism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/optimism/) [Outer worlds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outer-worlds/) [Positive atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/positive-atheism/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [I guarantee my self worth isn't affected by your acceptance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-moores/i-guarantee-my-self-worth-isn-t-affected-by-your-acceptance/) [Sarah Moores](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-moores/) > [“The faith in an afterlife, however much our reason ridicules it, very modestly extends our faith that each moment of our consciousness will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-faith-in-an-afterlife-however-much-our-reason-ridicules-it-very/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [We are just a little tiny flicker of a much larger flame that is Life itself, Consciousness itself, Being itself, Love itself, God’s very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/we-are-just-a-little-tiny-flicker-of-a-much-larger-flame-that-is-life/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [“The same God who loves us as we are also loves us to much to leave us as we are. 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And like the ether it lifts but the winged. Even like the sun…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/like-the-ocean-is-your-god-self-it-remains-for-ever-undefiled-and/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) ## More by John Updike > [Life is a roller coaster, you have your ups and downs unless you fall off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/life-is-a-roller-coaster-you-have-your-ups-and-downs-unless-you-fall/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Children are not a zoo of entertainingly exotic creatures, but an array of mirrors in which the human predicament leaps out at us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/children-are-not-a-zoo-of-entertainingly-exotic-creatures-but-an/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I assume my stance, and take back the club, low, slowly; at the top, my eyes fog over, and my joints dip and swirl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-assume-my-stance-and-take-back-the-club-low-slowly-at-the-top-my/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [The New England spirit does not seek solutions in a crowd; raw light and solitariness are less dreaded than welcomed as enhancers of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-new-england-spirit-does-not-seek-solutions-in-a-crowd-raw-light/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I imagine most of that stuff on the information highway is roadkill anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-imagine-most-of-that-stuff-on-the-information-highway-is-roadkill/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Families, doing everything for each other out of imagined obligation and always getting in each other's way, what a tangle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/families-doing-everything-for-each-other-out-of-imagined-obligation/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“The fucking world is running out of gas.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-fucking-world-is-running-out-of-gas/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [The theme of old age doesn't seem to fascinate Hollywood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-theme-of-old-age-doesn-t-seem-to-fascinate-hollywood/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“The mind cannot fall asleep as long as it watches itself. 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