--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: God, the devil, good, evil, it's all in…" description: "\"God, the devil, good, evil, it's all in our heads, not in Heaven or Hell, which we also invented. We do not realize that, having invented God, we immed..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f9/jos-saramago-208_devil_god-the-devil-good-evil-it-s-all-in-our_328308.png" --- # God, the devil, good, evil, it's all in our heads, not in… ![“God, the devil, good, evil, it's all in our heads, not in Heaven or Hell, which we also invented. We do not realize that, having invented God, we immediately became His slaves.” quote by Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f9/jos-saramago-208_devil_god-the-devil-good-evil-it-s-all-in-our_328308.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f9/jos-saramago-208_devil_god-the-devil-good-evil-it-s-all-in-our_328308.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2f9/jos-saramago-208_devil_god-the-devil-good-evil-it-s-all-in-our_328308.png) > “God, the devil, good, evil, it's all in our heads, not in Heaven or Hell, which we also invented. We do not realize that, having invented God, we immediately became His slaves.” [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human constructs of good, evil, and divinity are mental projections that can enslave us. **In simple terms:** Ideas shape our reality and freedom. Key Takeaway Question your beliefs. Themes philosophy religion freedom Mood thought‑provoking critical Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - political discourse - personal reflection - education - media consumption Key Concepts Constructivism psychology existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How do you recognize mental constructs? - What steps free you from ideological slavery? A Different Perspective These concepts can be deeply rooted and resistant to change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Devil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devil/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [God Devil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-devil/) [Good evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-evil/) [Heaven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven/) [Heaven or hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven-or-hell/) [Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) [Hell Invented](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell-invented-3078186/) [Invented God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invented-god-253713/) [Islam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/islam/) [Realizing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realizing/) [Slave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slave/) ## Related quotes > [“Sweetie, this is Hell. We invented paperwork.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-kessler/sweetie-this-is-hell-we-invented-paperwork/) [Jackie Kessler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-kessler/) > [“Good and evil sometimes blur just like black and white, leaving us in the gray. It doesn’t matter if he’s going to heaven or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-l-scott/good-and-evil-sometimes-blur-just-like-black-and-white-leaving-us-in/) [S.L. Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-l-scott/) > [“If human beings had really tried to invent a god, we would never have invented the God of Christianity. He’s just too terrifying. Our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-hahn/if-human-beings-had-really-tried-to-invent-a-god-we-would-never-have/) [Scott Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-hahn/) > [“Wouldn't we all do better not trying to understand, accepting the fact that no human being will ever understand another, not a wife a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/wouldn-t-we-all-do-better-not-trying-to-understand-accepting-the-fact/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“You know, dear boy, there was an old sinner in the eighteenth century who declared that, if there were no God, he would have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/you-know-dear-boy-there-was-an-old-sinner-in-the-eighteenth-century/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [Faith is a very clever concept. We invented God from our imagination and we use faith to justify His absence from reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/faith-is-a-very-clever-concept-we-invented-god-from-our-imagination/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everything that wasn't invented by God is invented by an engineer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince-philip/everything-that-wasn-t-invented-by-god-is-invented-by-an-engineer/) [Prince Philip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince-philip/) > [Time has its revenges, but revenge seems so often sour. Wouldn’t we all do better not trying to understand, accepting the fact that no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/time-has-its-revenges-but-revenge-seems-so-often-sour-wouldn-t-we-all/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [There is no god, there is no god, there is no god at all. He who invented god is a fool. He who propagates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/periyar-e-v-ramasamy/there-is-no-god-there-is-no-god-there-is-no-god-at-all-he-who/) [Periyar E. V. Ramasamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/periyar-e-v-ramasamy/) > [“And man has actually invented God. And what's strange, what would be marvellous, is not that God should really exist; the marvel is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/and-man-has-actually-invented-god-and-what-s-strange-what-would-be/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [There is a very good saying that if triangles invented a god, they would make him three-sided.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-de-montesquieu/there-is-a-very-good-saying-that-if-triangles-invented-a-god-they/) [Baron de Montesquieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-de-montesquieu/) > [“All people have an inborn need to make their ideas and personality known to the world, but as a rule no one is interested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pasi-ilmari-j-skel-inen/all-people-have-an-inborn-need-to-make-their-ideas-and-personality/) [Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pasi-ilmari-j-skel-inen/) > [I'm not a believer, I call myself an atheist. It was man who invented God. I once wrote that there are 15 things I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-reiner/i-m-not-a-believer-i-call-myself-an-atheist-it-was-man-who-invented/) [Carl Reiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-reiner/) > [The very beginning of Genesis tells us that God created man in order to give him dominion over fish and fowl and all creatures.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-very-beginning-of-genesis-tells-us-that-god-created-man-in-order/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“He was a wise man who invented God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/he-was-a-wise-man-who-invented-god/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) ## More by Jose Saramago > [“We are born, and at that moment, it is as if we had signed a pact for the rest of our life, but a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/we-are-born-and-at-that-moment-it-is-as-if-we-had-signed-a-pact-for/) [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [It takes little or nothing to undo reputations, the merest trifle makes and remakes them, it is simply a question of finding the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/it-takes-little-or-nothing-to-undo-reputations-the-merest-trifle/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [One can show no greater respect than to weep for a stranger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/one-can-show-no-greater-respect-than-to-weep-for-a-stranger/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [I am not a prophet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/i-am-not-a-prophet/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [With the passage of time, as well as the social evolution and genetic exchange, we ended up putting our conscience in the color of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/with-the-passage-of-time-as-well-as-the-social-evolution-and-genetic/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [“Al día siguiente no murió nadie.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/al-d-a-siguiente-no-muri-nadie/) [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [“E se as histórias para crianças passassem a ser de leitura obrigatória para os adultos? Seriam eles capazes de aprender realmente o que há…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/e-se-as-hist-rias-para-crian-as-passassem-a-ser-de-leitura-obrigat/) [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [In a king, modesty would be a sign of weakness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/in-a-king-modesty-would-be-a-sign-of-weakness/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [“the inmates of the second ward in the right wing have decided, at long last, to bury their dead, at least we shall be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/the-inmates-of-the-second-ward-in-the-right-wing-have-decided-at-long/) [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [“Stretching one arm behind him, the man passed his hand over the horse's coat, his own skin transformed, or skin which had transformed into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/stretching-one-arm-behind-him-the-man-passed-his-hand-over-the-horse/) [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [I think we are blind. Blind people who can see, but do not see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/i-think-we-are-blind-blind-people-who-can-see-but-do-not-see/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [...you have to leave the island in order to see the island, that we can't see ourselves unless we become free of ourselves, Unless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/you-have-to-leave-the-island-in-order-to-see-the-island-that-we-can-t/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [anyone who gets up early by inclination or has been forced to rise early out of necessity finds it intolerable that others should go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/anyone-who-gets-up-early-by-inclination-or-has-been-forced-to-rise/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [Society has to change, but the political powers we have at the moment are not enough to effect this change. The whole democratic system…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/society-has-to-change-but-the-political-powers-we-have-at-the-moment/) [Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) > [“... aborrece os odores nocturnos, aquelas expansões do corpo a que nem poetas escapam".”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/aborrece-os-odores-nocturnos-aquelas-expans-es-do-corpo-a-que-nem/) [José Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) [Explore all 487 Jose Saramago quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/) ## More Devil quotes > [“The Devil can cite Scripture for his purpose, Sergeant,’ Anthony Payne replied. ‘That is from The Merchant of Venice, but it holds great truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-arnold/the-devil-can-cite-scripture-for-his-purpose-sergeant-anthony-payne/) [Michael Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-arnold/) > [Alimony - the ransom that the happy pay to the devil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/alimony-the-ransom-that-the-happy-pay-to-the-devil/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [“Beauty is not only a terrible thing, it is also a mysterious thing. There God and the Devil strive for mastery, and the battleground…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/beauty-is-not-only-a-terrible-thing-it-is-also-a-mysterious-thing/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [The devil has been defeated, stop trying to defeat him. What we have left is the fight of faith, and it's a good fight!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-oyakhilome/the-devil-has-been-defeated-stop-trying-to-defeat-him-what-we-have/) [Chris Oyakhilome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-oyakhilome/) > [You gonna take the case?" It's not a case. It's a missing person. Sort of." You're gonna have a devil of a time finding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/you-gonna-take-the-case-it-s-not-a-case-it-s-a-missing-person-sort-of/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) > [Your head's like mine, like all our heads; big enough to contain every god and devil there ever was. Big enough to hold the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-morrison/your-head-s-like-mine-like-all-our-heads-big-enough-to-contain-every/) [Grant Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-morrison/) > [And so it is, that both the Devil and the angelic Spirit present us with objects of desire to awaken our power of choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/and-so-it-is-that-both-the-devil-and-the-angelic-spirit-present-us/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Remember that Abraham Lincoln was a Whig far longer than he was a Republican. As a whole, the Whigs looked upon banks and corporations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/remember-that-abraham-lincoln-was-a-whig-far-longer-than-he-was-a/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [Wine is the first weapon that devils use in attacking the young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/wine-is-the-first-weapon-that-devils-use-in-attacking-the-young/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [“I tend to agree with that little devil more and more these days.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elle-casey/i-tend-to-agree-with-that-little-devil-more-and-more-these-days/) [Elle Casey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elle-casey/) > [This is the gift of your species and this is the danger, because you do not choose to control your imaginings. You imagine wonderful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/this-is-the-gift-of-your-species-and-this-is-the-danger-because-you/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [“The devil?” Jason heaved the tick over his shoulder like a collier with his sack. “Satan. The adversary. The enemy of the plan of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/the-devil-jason-heaved-the-tick-over-his-shoulder-like-a-collier-with/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [God never talks. But the devil keeps advertising, Father. The devil does a lot of commercials.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-peter-blatty/god-never-talks-but-the-devil-keeps-advertising-father-the-devil-does/) [William Peter Blatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-peter-blatty/) > [If it was a sin for you to choose me . . . then I would go to the Devil himself and bless him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/if-it-was-a-sin-for-you-to-choose-me-then-i-would-go-to-the-devil/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [“The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist”—Charles Baudelaire “The second greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/the-greatest-trick-the-devil-ever-pulled-was-convincing-the-world-he/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) [Browse all 4,283 Devil quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devil/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "God, the devil, good, evil, it's all in our heads, not in Heaven or Hell, which we also invented. 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