--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The struggle against atheism is foremost…" description: "\"The struggle against atheism is foremost and of necessity a struggle against the inadequacy of our own theism.\" — Karl Rahner" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/496/karl-rahner-22244_atheism_the-struggle-against-atheism-is-foremost_2920328.jpg" --- # The struggle against atheism is foremost and of necessity… ![“The struggle against atheism is foremost and of necessity a struggle against the inadequacy of our own theism.” quote by Karl Rahner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/496/karl-rahner-22244_atheism_the-struggle-against-atheism-is-foremost_2920328.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/496/karl-rahner-22244_atheism_the-struggle-against-atheism-is-foremost_2920328.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/496/karl-rahner-22244_atheism_the-struggle-against-atheism-is-foremost_2920328.jpg) > “The struggle against atheism is foremost and of necessity a struggle against the inadequacy of our own theism.” [Karl Rahner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-rahner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The fight against atheism reveals our own religious shortcomings and need for deeper faith. **In simple terms:** Questioning belief shows our own gaps. Key Takeaway Examine personal faith. Themes faith philosophy self‑reflection Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - personal belief crisis - interfaith dialogue - academic study Key Concepts Theology existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What does your own belief lack? - How can you address those gaps? A Different Perspective It may oversimplify complex belief systems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) [Atheist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheist/) [Inadequacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inadequacy/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) [Theism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theism/) ## Related quotes > [I must hold in balance the sense of the futility of effort and the sense of the necessity to struggle; the conviction of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-must-hold-in-balance-the-sense-of-the-futility-of-effort-and-the/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [I believe in the necessity for struggle by people at the bottom of any society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-fox-piven/i-believe-in-the-necessity-for-struggle-by-people-at-the-bottom-of/) [Frances Fox Piven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-fox-piven/) > [“That was the trouble with California in the 1840's. The life was too easy, there was no necessity for struggle, and men must struggle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-l-amour/that-was-the-trouble-with-california-in-the-1840-s-the-life-was-too/) [Louis L'Amour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-l-amour/) > [The necessity for struggle is one of the clever devices through which nature forces individuals to expand, develop, progress, and become strong through resistance.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/the-necessity-for-struggle-is-one-of-the-clever-devices-through-which/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [ \[Mindfulness\] is not concerned with anything transcendent or divine. It serves as an antidote to theism, a cure for sentimental piety, a scalpel for… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-batchelor/mindfulness-is-not-concerned-with-anything-transcendent-or-divine-it/) [Stephen Batchelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-batchelor/) > [It turns out that the word atheism means much less than I had thought. It is merely the lack of theism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-barker/it-turns-out-that-the-word-atheism-means-much-less-than-i-had-thought/) [Dan Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-barker/) > [“No one commits mass murder in the name of theism or atheism alone. Additional dogmatic principles are needed to justify such grisly outcomes. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/armin-navabi/no-one-commits-mass-murder-in-the-name-of-theism-or-atheism-alone/) [Armin Navabi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/armin-navabi/) > [“Philosophy, that leaned on Heaven before, Shrinks to her second cause, and is no more.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/philosophy-that-leaned-on-heaven-before-shrinks-to-her-second-cause/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [“The wrong approaches to faith and to skepticism are equally detrimental to the path. For the former declares its answers too soon and is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/the-wrong-approaches-to-faith-and-to-skepticism-are-equally/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/with-or-without-religion-you-would-have-good-people-doing-good-things/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) > [It was tremendously exciting to discover that science was not destroying religion, as people popularly believe, but that it could cast light on theism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-howatch/it-was-tremendously-exciting-to-discover-that-science-was-not/) [Susan Howatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-howatch/) > [“God is logic's corpse, a wound in reason, grammar's empty skin. (1998) It is as obvious to my left brain that there is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamey-hecht/god-is-logic-s-corpse-a-wound-in-reason-grammar-s-empty-skin-1998-it/) Jamey Hecht > [Intellect, at its best, can make you agnostic. Being theist or atheist is still a matter of choice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raheel-farooq/intellect-at-its-best-can-make-you-agnostic-being-theist-or-atheist/) [Raheel Farooq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raheel-farooq/) > [The acute experience of great beauty readily evokes a nameless yearning for something more than earth can offer. Elegant splendor reawakens our spirit's aching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-dubay/the-acute-experience-of-great-beauty-readily-evokes-a-nameless/) [Thomas Dubay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-dubay/) > [When life is so harsh that a man loses all hope in himself, then he raises his eyes to a shining rock, worshipping it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/when-life-is-so-harsh-that-a-man-loses-all-hope-in-himself-then-he/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) ## More by Karl Rahner > [What Christ gives us is quite explicit if his own words are interpreted according to their Aramaic meaning. The expression 'This is my Body'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-rahner/what-christ-gives-us-is-quite-explicit-if-his-own-words-are/) [Karl Rahner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-rahner/) > [Knowing God is more important than knowing about God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-rahner/knowing-god-is-more-important-than-knowing-about-god/) [Karl Rahner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-rahner/) > [The number one cause of atheism is Christians. Those who proclaim Him with their mouths and deny Him with their actions is what an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-rahner/the-number-one-cause-of-atheism-is-christians-those-who-proclaim-him/) [Karl Rahner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-rahner/) > [Every year we celebrate the holy season of Advent, O God. Every year we pray those beautiful prayers of longing and waiting, and sing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-rahner/every-year-we-celebrate-the-holy-season-of-advent-o-god-every-year-we/) [Karl Rahner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-rahner/) > [But there is yet another form of this hidden heresy, and, paradoxically, it can affect those who are proudest of their long-standing and unimpeachable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-rahner/but-there-is-yet-another-form-of-this-hidden-heresy-and-paradoxically/) [Karl Rahner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-rahner/) > [In the midst of our lives, of our freedom and our struggles, we have to make a radical, absolute decision. And we never know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-rahner/in-the-midst-of-our-lives-of-our-freedom-and-our-struggles-we-have-to/) [Karl Rahner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-rahner/) > [The dead are silent because they live, just as we chatter so loudly to try to make ourselves forget that we are dying. Their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-rahner/the-dead-are-silent-because-they-live-just-as-we-chatter-so-loudly-to/) [Karl Rahner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-rahner/) > [Emptiness is only a disguise for an intimacy of God's, that God's silence, the eerie stillness, is filled by the Word without words, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-rahner/emptiness-is-only-a-disguise-for-an-intimacy-of-god-s-that-god-s/) [Karl Rahner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-rahner/) > [Learning always involves self-transcendence. Learning calls forth what is in us, helping us to move toward authenticity and wholeness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-rahner/learning-always-involves-self-transcendence-learning-calls-forth-what/) [Karl Rahner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-rahner/) > [Love alone allows man to forget himself... it alone can still redeem even the darkest hours of the past since it alone finds the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-rahner/love-alone-allows-man-to-forget-himself-it-alone-can-still-redeem/) [Karl Rahner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-rahner/) > [Meditating on the nature and dignity of prayer can cause saying at least one thing to God: Lord, teach us to pray!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-rahner/meditating-on-the-nature-and-dignity-of-prayer-can-cause-saying-at/) [Karl Rahner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-rahner/) > [“For a Catholic understanding of the faith there is no reason why the basic concern of Evangelical Christianity as it comes to expression in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-rahner/for-a-catholic-understanding-of-the-faith-there-is-no-reason-why-the/) [Karl Rahner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-rahner/) > [Only in love can I find you, my God. In love the gates of my soul spring open, allowing me to breathe a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-rahner/only-in-love-can-i-find-you-my-god-in-love-the-gates-of-my-soul/) [Karl Rahner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-rahner/) > [Childhood is not a state which only applies to the first phase of our lives in the biological sense. Rather it is a basic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-rahner/childhood-is-not-a-state-which-only-applies-to-the-first-phase-of-our/) [Karl Rahner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-rahner/) > [In the post-Christian world, all Christians will be mystics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-rahner/in-the-post-christian-world-all-christians-will-be-mystics/) [Karl Rahner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-rahner/) [Explore all 27 Karl Rahner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-rahner/) ## More Atheism quotes > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [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/) > [No philosophy, no religion, has ever brought so glad a message to the world as this good news of Atheism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/no-philosophy-no-religion-has-ever-brought-so-glad-a-message-to-the/) [Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [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/) > [God speaks through me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/god-speaks-through-me/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-knowledge-of-the-existence-of-something-we-cannot-penetrate-of-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [You cannot ... transmute some incoherent mixture of words into sense merely by introducing the three-letter word "God" to be its grammatical subject.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-flew/you-cannot-transmute-some-incoherent-mixture-of-words-into-sense/) [Antony Flew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-flew/) > [Many humanists have argued that happiness involves a combination of hedonism and creative moral development; that an exuberant life fuses excellence and enjoyment, meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/many-humanists-have-argued-that-happiness-involves-a-combination-of/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [If, with all the time at my disposal, with all the wealth of the resources of this vast universe, to do with as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/if-with-all-the-time-at-my-disposal-with-all-the-wealth-of-the/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [Do you think that was kind? Do you think it was godlike? What would you think of a physician, if a woman came to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-h-gardener/do-you-think-that-was-kind-do-you-think-it-was-godlike-what-would-you/) [Helen H. Gardener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-h-gardener/) > [Science can destroy religion by ignoring it as well as by disproving its tenets. No one ever demonstrated, so far as I am aware,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/science-can-destroy-religion-by-ignoring-it-as-well-as-by-disproving/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [Honest investigation is utterly impossible within the pale of any church, for the reason, that if you think the church is right you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/honest-investigation-is-utterly-impossible-within-the-pale-of-any/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) [Browse all 4,769 Atheism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The struggle against atheism is foremost and of necessity a struggle against the inadequacy of our own theism.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Karl Rahner" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-rahner/the-struggle-against-atheism-is-foremost-and-of-necessity-a-struggle/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Atheism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-rahner/the-struggle-against-atheism-is-foremost-and-of-necessity-a-struggle/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/496/karl-rahner-22244_atheism_the-struggle-against-atheism-is-foremost_2920328.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/496/karl-rahner-22244_atheism_the-struggle-against-atheism-is-foremost_2920328.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/496/karl-rahner-22244_atheism_the-struggle-against-atheism-is-foremost_2920328.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The struggle against atheism is foremost and of necessity a struggle against the inadequacy of our own theism.” — Karl Rahner", "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": "Karl Rahner", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-rahner/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The struggle against atheism is foremost...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-rahner/the-struggle-against-atheism-is-foremost-and-of-necessity-a-struggle/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-rahner/the-struggle-against-atheism-is-foremost-and-of-necessity-a-struggle/#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 } } ] } ```