--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To say we love God as unseen and at the…" description: "\"To say we love God as unseen and at the same time exercise cruelty toward the least creature moving by His life or by life derived from Him, was a cont..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50e/john-woolman-17424_contradiction_to-say-we-love-god-as-unseen-and-at-the_1118339.jpg" --- # To say we love God as unseen and at the same time exercise… ![“To say we love God as unseen and at the same time exercise cruelty toward the least creature moving by His life or by life derived from Him, was a contradiction in itself.” quote by John Woolman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50e/john-woolman-17424_contradiction_to-say-we-love-god-as-unseen-and-at-the_1118339.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50e/john-woolman-17424_contradiction_to-say-we-love-god-as-unseen-and-at-the_1118339.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50e/john-woolman-17424_contradiction_to-say-we-love-god-as-unseen-and-at-the_1118339.jpg) > “To say we love God as unseen and at the same time exercise cruelty toward the least creature moving by His life or by life derived from Him, was a contradiction in itself.” [John Woolman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-woolman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He points out the moral inconsistency of claiming belief in an unseen God while harming living creatures. **In simple terms:** Being kind to all life aligns with true belief. Key Takeaway Align actions with beliefs. Themes ethics environment spirituality Mood thoughtful serious Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - animal welfare - environmental activism - personal conduct Key Concepts Moral consistency theodicy Questions to Reflect On - What contradictions exist between your beliefs and actions? - How can you reduce harm in daily life? A Different Perspective Human nature often rationalizes harm despite spiritual claims. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Contradiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradiction/) [Creatures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creatures/) [Cruelty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruelty/) [Cruelty Creature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruelty-creature-3012701/) [Derived Contradiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/derived-contradiction-3012702/) [Exercise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exercise/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [God love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-love/) [God Unseen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-unseen-1609333/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Love god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-god/) [Moving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moving/) [Unseen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unseen/) ## Related quotes > [God lives in cozy homes. Happiness, which a cozy home can give you, is so divine on this Earth, you don't need anything more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harbhajan-singh-yogi/god-lives-in-cozy-homes-happiness-which-a-cozy-home-can-give-you-is/) [Harbhajan Singh Yogi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harbhajan-singh-yogi/) > [“Ministers, who now often meet their people to preach to ’em the King eternal, immortal, and invisible, to convince ’em that there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-edwards/ministers-who-now-often-meet-their-people-to-preach-to-em-the-king/) [Jonathan Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-edwards/) > [Dandelion wine. The words were summer on the tongue. The wine was summer caught and stoppered...sealed away for opening on a January day with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/dandelion-wine-the-words-were-summer-on-the-tongue-the-wine-was/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Vanity is often the unseen spur.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/vanity-is-often-the-unseen-spur/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [Full many a flower is born to blush unseen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/full-many-a-flower-is-born-to-blush-unseen/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [Even if all life on our planet is destroyed, there must be other life somewhere which we know nothing of. It is impossible that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/even-if-all-life-on-our-planet-is-destroyed-there-must-be-other-life/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [“But what a feeling can come over a man just from seeing the things he believes in and hopes for symbolized in the concrete…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/but-what-a-feeling-can-come-over-a-man-just-from-seeing-the-things-he/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [The unseen enemy is always the most fearsome.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-unseen-enemy-is-always-the-most-fearsome/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The things that inform student culture are created and controlled by the unseen culture, the sociological aspects of our climbing culture, our 'me' generation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gus-van-sant/the-things-that-inform-student-culture-are-created-and-controlled-by/) [Gus Van Sant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gus-van-sant/) > [Love is an element which though physically unseen is as real as air or water. It is an acting, living, moving force... it moves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prentice-mulford/love-is-an-element-which-though-physically-unseen-is-as-real-as-air/) [Prentice Mulford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prentice-mulford/) > [Suppose that we are wise enough to learn and know-and yet not wise enough to control our learning and knowledge, so that we use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/suppose-that-we-are-wise-enough-to-learn-and-know-and-yet-not-wise/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [Poetical taste is the only magician whose wand is not broken. No hand, except its own, can dissolve the fabric of beauty in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/poetical-taste-is-the-only-magician-whose-wand-is-not-broken-no-hand/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I did not survive everything. No one ever does. Little pieces of you - sometimes the best of you - get lost in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-grace/i-did-not-survive-everything-no-one-ever-does-little-pieces-of-you/) [Carol Grace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-grace/) > [A tree is a self: it is 'unseen shaping' more than it is leaves or bark, roots or cellulose or fruit ... What this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-swimme/a-tree-is-a-self-it-is-unseen-shaping-more-than-it-is-leaves-or-bark/) [Brian Swimme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-swimme/) > [Astronomers have built telescopes which can show myriads of stars unseen before; but when a man looks through a tear in his own eye,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/astronomers-have-built-telescopes-which-can-show-myriads-of-stars/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) ## More by John Woolman > [When men take pleasure in feeling their minds elevated with strong drink, and so indulge their appetite as to disorder their understandings, neglect their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-woolman/when-men-take-pleasure-in-feeling-their-minds-elevated-with-strong/) [John Woolman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-woolman/) > [I then wrought at my trade as a tailor; carefully attended meetings for worship and discipline; and found an enlargement of gospel love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-woolman/i-then-wrought-at-my-trade-as-a-tailor-carefully-attended-meetings/) [John Woolman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-woolman/) > [While I meditate on the gulf towards which I travelled, and reflect on my youthful disobedience, for these things I weep, mine eye runneth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-woolman/while-i-meditate-on-the-gulf-towards-which-i-travelled-and-reflect-on/) [John Woolman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-woolman/) > [If kind parents love their children and delight in their happiness, then he who is perfect goodness in sending abroad mortal contagions doth assuredly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-woolman/if-kind-parents-love-their-children-and-delight-in-their-happiness/) [John Woolman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-woolman/) > [Now to act with integrity, according to that strength of mind and body with which our creator hath endowed each of use, appears necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-woolman/now-to-act-with-integrity-according-to-that-strength-of-mind-and-body/) [John Woolman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-woolman/) > [I saw that a humble man, with the blessing of the Lord, might live on a little; and that where the heart is set…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-woolman/i-saw-that-a-humble-man-with-the-blessing-of-the-lord-might-live-on-a/) [John Woolman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-woolman/) > [May we look upon our treasure, the furniture of our houses, and our garments, and try to discover whether the seeds of war have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-woolman/may-we-look-upon-our-treasure-the-furniture-of-our-houses-and-our/) [John Woolman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-woolman/) > [The Lord had been very gracious, and spoke peace to me in the time of my distress, and I now most ungratefully turned again…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-woolman/the-lord-had-been-very-gracious-and-spoke-peace-to-me-in-the-time-of/) [John Woolman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-woolman/) > [Through the humbling dispensations of Divine Providence, men are sometimes fitted for his service.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-woolman/through-the-humbling-dispensations-of-divine-providence-men-are/) [John Woolman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-woolman/) > [Now I find that in a state of pure obedience the mind learns contentment in appearing weak and foolish to that wisdom which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-woolman/now-i-find-that-in-a-state-of-pure-obedience-the-mind-learns/) [John Woolman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-woolman/) > [I believe that where the love of God is perfected and the true spirit of government watchfully attended to, a tenderness toward all creatures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-woolman/i-believe-that-where-the-love-of-god-is-perfected-and-the-true-spirit/) [John Woolman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-woolman/) > [My own will and desires were now very much broken, and my heart was with much earnestness turned to the Lord, to whom alone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-woolman/my-own-will-and-desires-were-now-very-much-broken-and-my-heart-was/) [John Woolman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-woolman/) > [Thus He whose tender mercies are over all His works hath placed a principle in the human mind, which incites to exercise goodness towards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-woolman/thus-he-whose-tender-mercies-are-over-all-his-works-hath-placed-a/) [John Woolman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-woolman/) > [O, that we who declare war against wars, and acknowledge our trust to be in God only, may walk in the light, and therein…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-woolman/o-that-we-who-declare-war-against-wars-and-acknowledge-our-trust-to/) [John Woolman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-woolman/) > [Now I find that in pure obedience the mind learns contentment, in appearing weak and foolish to the wisdom which is of this World;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-woolman/now-i-find-that-in-pure-obedience-the-mind-learns-contentment-in/) [John Woolman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-woolman/) [Explore all 37 John Woolman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-woolman/) ## More Contradiction quotes > [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of readiness to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/courage-is-almost-a-contradiction-in-terms-it-means-a-strong-desire/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is also plausible that those movements with the greatest inner contradiction and between profession and practice - that is to say with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/it-is-also-plausible-that-those-movements-with-the-greatest-inner/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Contradictions in human character are one of its most consistent notes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-spark/contradictions-in-human-character-are-one-of-its-most-consistent-notes/) [Muriel Spark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-spark/) > [“The tiny features below, taken together with the gentle mass of Montblanc towering above them, the Vanoise glacier almost invisible in the shimmering distance,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald-2/the-tiny-features-below-taken-together-with-the-gentle-mass-of/) [W.G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald-2/) > [I’m a skeptic not because I do not want to believe, but because I want to know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/i-m-a-skeptic-not-because-i-do-not-want-to-believe-but-because-i-want/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [There are evidently limits to the achievements of science; and there are irresolvable contradictions both between prosperity and virtue, and between happiness and ''the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/there-are-evidently-limits-to-the-achievements-of-science-and-there/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [To exist (in mathematics), said Henri Poincaré, is to be free from contradiction. But mere existence does not guarantee survival. To survive in mathematics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kac/to-exist-in-mathematics-said-henri-poincar-is-to-be-free-from/) [Mark Kac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kac/) > [“In these creations, life and symbolic value are not in contradiction: they intensify each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/in-these-creations-life-and-symbolic-value-are-not-in-contradiction/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [I have never agreed with my other self wholly. The truth of the matter seems to lie between us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/i-have-never-agreed-with-my-other-self-wholly-the-truth-of-the-matter/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [“A truth is not necessary, because we negatively are not able to conceive the actual existence of the opposite thereof;but a truth is necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-l-dabney/a-truth-is-not-necessary-because-we-negatively-are-not-able-to/) [R.L. Dabney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-l-dabney/) > [The pictures that were coming from Vietnam were showing us what was really happening on the ground level. It was in contradiction to what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nachtwey/the-pictures-that-were-coming-from-vietnam-were-showing-us-what-was/) [James Nachtwey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nachtwey/) > [Here I encounter the most popular fallacy of our times. 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