--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If we can truly relate to God as God, in…" description: "\"“If we can truly relate to God as God, in His full transcendence and majesty, then we can relate to humans as humans in all their fallibility.”\" — Jona..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9fc/jonathan-sacks-2788_nature-of-man_if-we-can-truly-relate-to-god-as-god-in_1503795.png" --- # If we can truly relate to God as God, in His full… ![“If we can truly relate to God as God, in His full transcendence and majesty, then we can relate to humans as humans in all their fallibility.” quote by Jonathan Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9fc/jonathan-sacks-2788_nature-of-man_if-we-can-truly-relate-to-god-as-god-in_1503795.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9fc/jonathan-sacks-2788_nature-of-man_if-we-can-truly-relate-to-god-as-god-in_1503795.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9fc/jonathan-sacks-2788_nature-of-man_if-we-can-truly-relate-to-god-as-god-in_1503795.png) > ““If we can truly relate to God as God, in His full transcendence and majesty, then we can relate to humans as humans in all their fallibility.”” [Jonathan Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-sacks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Recognizing God's transcendence helps us see humans as imperfect, fostering humility and compassion. **In simple terms:** Seeing God as supreme makes us treat people kindly. Key Takeaway Treat others with humility and empathy. Themes humility compassion theology Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical spiritual ethical When to use this quote - counseling - interfaith dialogue - leadership - conflict resolution Key Concepts transcendence fallibility anthropology Questions to Reflect On - How does seeing God’s majesty change your view of human error? - What practical steps can you take to embody this humility? A Different Perspective May overlook human agency by over‑emphasizing divine distance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Transcendence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transcendence/) ## Related quotes > [“We must not think of God as highest in an ascending order of beings starting with the single cell, then the fish, then the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-macdonald/we-must-not-think-of-god-as-highest-in-an-ascending-order-of-beings/) [James MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-macdonald/) > [We have domesticated God's transcendence. We often learn about God at about the same time as we are learning about Santa Claus; but our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/we-have-domesticated-god-s-transcendence-we-often-learn-about-god-at/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [“God's holiness is more than just separateness. His holiness is also transcendent. The word transcendence means literally "to climb across." It is defined as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul-2/god-s-holiness-is-more-than-just-separateness-his-holiness-is-also/) [R.C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul-2/) > [“The way we relate with people is the same way we relate with God”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-way-we-relate-with-people-is-the-same-way-we-relate-with-god/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [“When we relate with people, we indirectly relate with God”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/when-we-relate-with-people-we-indirectly-relate-with-god/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [Faith is something a lot of people relate to as a God-thing, but it's also faith in yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-chenoweth/faith-is-something-a-lot-of-people-relate-to-as-a-god-thing-but-it-s/) [Kristin Chenoweth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-chenoweth/) > [“We tell each other things that have no relation to the afternoon’s events or the coming night but that relate to God, to his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-duras/we-tell-each-other-things-that-have-no-relation-to-the-afternoon-s/) [Marguerite Duras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-duras/) > [Most people in the world believe that if there is a God, you relate to God by being good. Most religions are based on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/most-people-in-the-world-believe-that-if-there-is-a-god-you-relate-to/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [“the entirety of human society and moral progress represents an explicit transcendence of what’s “natural.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/the-entirety-of-human-society-and-moral-progress-represents-an/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [Specialness as a primary mode of death transcendence takes a number of other maladaptive forms. The drive for power is not uncommonly motivated by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/specialness-as-a-primary-mode-of-death-transcendence-takes-a-number/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [“More I try to straighten my life, more I'm overcome with the paradox I am. Once the sea attains its vastness, it is impossible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/more-i-try-to-straighten-my-life-more-i-m-overcome-with-the-paradox-i/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [The propensity to intellectualize is itself both essential and dangerous. I think in our modern world we are much more aware of its essential…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talal-asad/the-propensity-to-intellectualize-is-itself-both-essential-and/) [Talal Asad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talal-asad/) > [“You could think that you had won. But I woke up, I came back to myself. You won nothing. I transcended you years ago,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamara-thiel/you-could-think-that-you-had-won-but-i-woke-up-i-came-back-to-myself/) [Tamara Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamara-thiel/) > [Gaia's main problems are not industrialization, ozone depletion, overpopulation, or resource depletion. Gaia's main problem is the lack of mutual understanding and mutual agreement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/gaia-s-main-problems-are-not-industrialization-ozone-depletion/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [What is wrong with looking muscular? Muscles are beautiful. Strength is beautiful. Muscle tissue is beautiful. It is metabolically, medically, and philosophically beautiful. Muscles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-angier/what-is-wrong-with-looking-muscular-muscles-are-beautiful-strength-is/) [Natalie Angier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-angier/) ## More by Jonathan Sacks > [We from every religion feel comfortable in Britain because there is a host. The Church of England is a good host, it has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-sacks/we-from-every-religion-feel-comfortable-in-britain-because-there-is-a/) [Jonathan Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-sacks/) > [Food prices are often kept artificially high. The result is that the Millennium Development Goals set out by the United Nations at the start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-sacks/food-prices-are-often-kept-artificially-high-the-result-is-that-the/) [Jonathan Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-sacks/) > [In her religious role, the Queen is head of the Church of England, but in her civic role she cares for all her subjects,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-sacks/in-her-religious-role-the-queen-is-head-of-the-church-of-england-but/) [Jonathan Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-sacks/) > [The market economy is deeply congruent with the values set out in the Hebrew Bible. Material prosperity is a divine blessing. Poverty crushes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-sacks/the-market-economy-is-deeply-congruent-with-the-values-set-out-in-the/) [Jonathan Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-sacks/) > [Man was not made for the service of economies; economies were made to serve mankind; and men and women were made - so we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-sacks/man-was-not-made-for-the-service-of-economies-economies-were-made-to/) [Jonathan Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-sacks/) > [A perfect storm is in the making: financial uncertainty, economic downturn, government cuts, rising unemployment and a future that looks less clear the more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-sacks/a-perfect-storm-is-in-the-making-financial-uncertainty-economic/) [Jonathan Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-sacks/) > [“To whom is an international corporation answerable? Often they do not employ workers. They outsource manufacturing to places far away. If wages rise in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-sacks/to-whom-is-an-international-corporation-answerable-often-they-do-not/) [Jonathan Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-sacks/) > [A survey carried out across the U.S. between 2004 and 2006 showed that frequent church- or synagogue-goers are more likely to give money to charity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-sacks/a-survey-carried-out-across-the-u-s-between-2004-and-2006-showed-that/) [Jonathan Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-sacks/) > [The Holocaust survivors are among the most inspiring people I have had the privilege to meet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-sacks/the-holocaust-survivors-are-among-the-most-inspiring-people-i-have/) [Jonathan Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-sacks/) > [Jews read the books of Moses not just as history but as divine command. The question to which they are an answer is not,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-sacks/jews-read-the-books-of-moses-not-just-as-history-but-as-divine/) [Jonathan Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-sacks/) > [What I find fascinating about Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights we celebrate at this time of the year, is the way its story…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-sacks/what-i-find-fascinating-about-hanukkah-the-jewish-festival-of-lights/) [Jonathan Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-sacks/) > [Find people not to envy but to admire. Do not the profitable but the admirable deed. Live by ideals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-sacks/find-people-not-to-envy-but-to-admire-do-not-the-profitable-but-the/) [Jonathan Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-sacks/) > [The message of Passover remains as powerful as ever. Freedom is won not on the battlefield but in the classroom and the home. Teach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-sacks/the-message-of-passover-remains-as-powerful-as-ever-freedom-is-won/) [Jonathan Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-sacks/) > [Which European leader today would not relish the wonder-working powers of a Moses? Budget deficit? Unpopular cuts? How about just a little miracle, an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-sacks/which-european-leader-today-would-not-relish-the-wonder-working/) [Jonathan Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-sacks/) > [The twenty-first century is, and will remain, the Age of Insecurity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-sacks/the-twenty-first-century-is-and-will-remain-the-age-of-insecurity/) [Jonathan Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-sacks/) [Explore all 150 Jonathan Sacks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-sacks/) ## More Nature of man quotes > [There is no human nature, since there is no god to conceive it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/there-is-no-human-nature-since-there-is-no-god-to-conceive-it/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [“Probably it goes without saying, but time machine guys don't get a lot of action. Had a one night stand with something cute a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-yu/probably-it-goes-without-saying-but-time-machine-guys-don-t-get-a-lot/) [Charles Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-yu/) > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“We have become human doings more than human beings, and the verb “rest,” as Jesus uses it, is largely foreign to us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/we-have-become-human-doings-more-than-human-beings-and-the-verb-rest/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [“The global population of Earth are involved in the following corporate government experiments: The long term effects of - 1. Nuclear bomb fallout radiation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-global-population-of-earth-are-involved-in-the-following/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) Mak\_786 > [Humans are, as Sartre put it, 'condemned to be free'. To insist that science, or God, objectively defines moral values is to abandon our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenan-malik/humans-are-as-sartre-put-it-condemned-to-be-free-to-insist-that/) Kenan Malik > [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [Every human creates his own problems. Problems are ones private property and we shouldnt meddle into them self-initiatively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruben-papian/every-human-creates-his-own-problems-problems-are-ones-private/) [Ruben Papian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruben-papian/) > [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [“In the United States law, federally designated wilderness is famously defined as 'an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-marris/in-the-united-states-law-federally-designated-wilderness-is-famously/) [Emma Marris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-marris/) > [“For similar reasons, archaic humans did not initiate any revolutions. As far as we can tell, changes in social patterns, the invention of new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/for-similar-reasons-archaic-humans-did-not-initiate-any-revolutions/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) [Browse all 12,662 Nature of man quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If we can truly relate to God as God, in His full transcendence and majesty, then we can relate to humans as humans in all their fallibility.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jonathan Sacks" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-sacks/if-we-can-truly-relate-to-god-as-god-in-his-full-transcendence-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Nature of man" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-sacks/if-we-can-truly-relate-to-god-as-god-in-his-full-transcendence-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9fc/jonathan-sacks-2788_nature-of-man_if-we-can-truly-relate-to-god-as-god-in_1503795.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9fc/jonathan-sacks-2788_nature-of-man_if-we-can-truly-relate-to-god-as-god-in_1503795.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9fc/jonathan-sacks-2788_nature-of-man_if-we-can-truly-relate-to-god-as-god-in_1503795.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If we can truly relate to God as God, in His full transcendence and majesty, then we can relate to humans as…” — Jonathan Sacks", "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": "Jonathan Sacks", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-sacks/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“If we can truly relate to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-sacks/if-we-can-truly-relate-to-god-as-god-in-his-full-transcendence-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-sacks/if-we-can-truly-relate-to-god-as-god-in-his-full-transcendence-and/#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 } } ] } ```