--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: God is a metaphor for that which…" description: "\"God is a metaphor for that which transcends all levels of intellectual thought. It's as simple as that.\" — Joseph Campbell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff4/joseph-campbell-300_god_god-is-a-metaphor-for-that-which-transce_3217466.png" --- # God is a metaphor for that which transcends all levels of… ![“God is a metaphor for that which transcends all levels of intellectual thought. It's as simple as that.” quote by Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff4/joseph-campbell-300_god_god-is-a-metaphor-for-that-which-transce_3217466.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff4/joseph-campbell-300_god_god-is-a-metaphor-for-that-which-transce_3217466.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ff4/joseph-campbell-300_god_god-is-a-metaphor-for-that-which-transce_3217466.png) > “God is a metaphor for that which transcends all levels of intellectual thought. It's as simple as that.” [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Divine concepts serve as symbolic bridges that surpass ordinary rational thought, offering a universal language of meaning. **In simple terms:** God is a symbolic metaphor. Key Takeaway Use metaphor to grasp transcendent ideas. Themes myth spirituality abstraction Mood inspirational thought‑provoking Type mythic educational When to use this quote - education - creative writing - therapy - public speaking - interfaith dialogue Key Concepts philosophy religion psychology symbolism Questions to Reflect On - How can metaphor aid understanding? - When might literal interpretation be necessary? A Different Perspective Metaphors may oversimplify complex realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual/) [Metaphor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metaphor/) [Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought/) ## Related quotes > [I don't expect Christians to see God as a metaphor, but that's what he is. Perhaps it might be clearer to call him a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/i-don-t-expect-christians-to-see-god-as-a-metaphor-but-that-s-what-he/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [Physicists use 'God' as a metaphor more often than other scientists-- especially in popular writing, but in the technical literature as well. Of course,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taner-edis/physicists-use-god-as-a-metaphor-more-often-than-other-scientists/) [Taner Edis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taner-edis/) > [God is a metaphor for that which trancends all levels of intellectual thought. It's as simple as that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/god-is-a-metaphor-for-that-which-trancends-all-levels-of-intellectual/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [“There’s only one God—everything else is metaphor.’ Now, strip away all the metaphors, and what is the one single commandment common to every decent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-chercover/there-s-only-one-god-everything-else-is-metaphor-now-strip-away-all/) [Sean Chercover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-chercover/) > [A theology whose god is a metaphor is wasting its time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/a-theology-whose-god-is-a-metaphor-is-wasting-its-time/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [“Many Christians, including BioLogos, like to throw out the "you can't take the Bible literally" argument. They think it is the ultimate zinger that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-m-jackson/many-christians-including-biologos-like-to-throw-out-the-you-can-t/) [G.M. Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-m-jackson/) > [“Remember—there’s only one God, everything else is metaphor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-chercover/remember-there-s-only-one-god-everything-else-is-metaphor/) [Sean Chercover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-chercover/) > [“Every faith in the world is based on fabrication. That is the definition of faith―acceptance of that which we imagine to be true, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/every-faith-in-the-world-is-based-on-fabrication-that-is-the-2/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [Let us not mock God with metaphor, Analogy, sidestepping, transcendence; Making of the event a parable, a sign painted in the Faded credulity of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/let-us-not-mock-god-with-metaphor-analogy-sidestepping-transcendence/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“From The Ghost Wars- on the concept of the Torah as ancient science fiction. “Take the story of the fall of the tower of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cole-j-davis/from-the-ghost-wars-on-the-concept-of-the-torah-as-ancient-science/) Cole J. Davis > [Half the people in the world think that the metaphors of their religious traditions, for example, are facts. And the other half contends that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/half-the-people-in-the-world-think-that-the-metaphors-of-their/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Of course, I don't know everything. Considering the infinite amount of knowledge that one could acquire in a virtually innumerable array of intellectual disciplines,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/of-course-i-don-t-know-everything-considering-the-infinite-amount-of/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [Indian religion has always felt that since the minds, the temperaments and the intellectual affinities of men are unlimited in their variety, a perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-aurobindo/indian-religion-has-always-felt-that-since-the-minds-the-temperaments/) [Sri Aurobindo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-aurobindo/) > [Wherever technology reaches its real fulfillment, it transcends into architecture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-mies-van-der-rohe/wherever-technology-reaches-its-real-fulfillment-it-transcends-into/) [Ludwig Mies van der Rohe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-mies-van-der-rohe/) > [“If life transcends death, then I will seek for you there. If not, then there too.” He”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-s-a-corey/if-life-transcends-death-then-i-will-seek-for-you-there-if-not-then/) [James S.A. Corey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-s-a-corey/) ## More by Joseph Campbell > [If a person does not listen to the demands of their own spiritual and heart life and insists on a certain program, you're going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/if-a-person-does-not-listen-to-the-demands-of-their-own-spiritual-and/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [The last act in the biography of the hero is that of the death or departure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-last-act-in-the-biography-of-the-hero-is-that-of-the-death-or/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-privilege-of-a-lifetime-is-being-who-you-are/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [The eternal principle, which never was born, never will die: it is in all things: it is in you now. You are the wave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-eternal-principle-which-never-was-born-never-will-die-it-is-in/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [How do you find the divine power in yourself? The word enthusiasm means 'filled with a god,' so what makes you enthusiastic? Follow it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/how-do-you-find-the-divine-power-in-yourself-the-word-enthusiasm/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [What we're learning in our schools is not the wisdom of life. We're learning technologies, we're getting information. There's a curious reluctance on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/what-we-re-learning-in-our-schools-is-not-the-wisdom-of-life-we-re/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [ The fall \[of your soul\] from perfection into duality...was naturally followed by the discovery of the duality of good and evil...This is the Biblical… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-fall-of-your-soul-from-perfection-into-duality-was-naturally/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [So that's what destiny is: simply the fulfillment of the potentialites of the energies in your own system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/so-that-s-what-destiny-is-simply-the-fulfillment-of-the-potentialites/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Your ego is your embodiment and your self is your potentiality and that's what you listen to when you listen for the voice of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/your-ego-is-your-embodiment-and-your-self-is-your-potentiality-and/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [When you follow your bliss a kind of track opens up, that's always been there, waiting for you. And the life that you should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/when-you-follow-your-bliss-a-kind-of-track-opens-up-that-s-always/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [The best we can do is lean towards the light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-best-we-can-do-is-lean-towards-the-light/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [I think of mythology as the homeland of the muses, the inspirers of art, the inspirers of poetry. To see life as a poem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/i-think-of-mythology-as-the-homeland-of-the-muses-the-inspirers-of/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [When you are falling --- Dive!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/when-you-are-falling-dive/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [We're all seeking...the rapture of being alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/we-re-all-seeking-the-rapture-of-being-alive/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Both the artist and the lover know that perfection is not loveable. It is the clumsiness of a fault that makes a person lovable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/both-the-artist-and-the-lover-know-that-perfection-is-not-loveable-it/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) [Explore all 711 Joseph Campbell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) ## More God quotes > [I don't drink much anymore, but when I traveled with Frank Sinatra, God rest his soul, I used to drink like I could do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-rickles/i-don-t-drink-much-anymore-but-when-i-traveled-with-frank-sinatra-god/) [Don Rickles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-rickles/) > [“God hates Hell. He hates the idea of people going there. He hates it so much that He was willing to take on human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-minton/god-hates-hell-he-hates-the-idea-of-people-going-there-he-hates-it-so/) [Evan Minton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-minton/) > [“am not suggesting that successes in academics, athletics, or vocation somehow stand outside God’s good plan. Learning and play are joys that God himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-paul-jones/am-not-suggesting-that-successes-in-academics-athletics-or-vocation/) [Timothy Paul Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-paul-jones/) > [I pray that wherever we are and whatever duties we have in the priesthood of God, we will be united in the cause to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/i-pray-that-wherever-we-are-and-whatever-duties-we-have-in-the/) [Henry B. Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [God's love never fail :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/god-s-love-never-fail/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Here's the reality. The image of a white Jesus has been used to justify enslavement, conquest, colonialism, the genocide of indigenous peoples. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/here-s-the-reality-the-image-of-a-white-jesus-has-been-used-to/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [The faster you go, the shorter you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-faster-you-go-the-shorter-you-are/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [A lot of people have been saying 'The 100' reminds them of 'Lord Of The Flies,' 'Lost' and 'Battlestar Galactica,' and all of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-avgeropoulos/a-lot-of-people-have-been-saying-the-100-reminds-them-of-lord-of-the/) [Marie Avgeropoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-avgeropoulos/) > [As we are coming to the end of the year, I want you to forget about the past, the failure, the negative thoughts or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-we-are-coming-to-the-end-of-the-year-i-want-you-to-forget-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I wonder: when a Jehovah's Witness dies and goes to Heaven, does God hide behind the door and pretend He's not home?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-celio/i-wonder-when-a-jehovah-s-witness-dies-and-goes-to-heaven-does-god/) [Brian Celio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-celio/) > [What would God have me do with my life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/what-would-god-have-me-do-with-my-life/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [God always gets the glory when Jesus comes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louie-giglio/god-always-gets-the-glory-when-jesus-comes/) [Louie Giglio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louie-giglio/) > [“Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/do-all-the-good-you-can-by-all-the-means-you-can-in-all-the-ways-you/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [You are a God Act like one!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/you-are-a-god-act-like-one/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) [Browse all 37,707 God quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "God is a metaphor for that which transcends all levels of intellectual thought. 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