--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If this had not been the case with…" description: "\"“If this had not been the case with Abraham, then perhaps he might have loved God but not believed; for he who loves God without faith reflects upon hi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fd/kierkegaard-s-ren-57915_existentialism_if-this-had-not-been-the-case-with-abrah_1305772.jpg" --- # If this had not been the case with Abraham, then perhaps… ![“If this had not been the case with Abraham, then perhaps he might have loved God but not believed; for he who loves God without faith reflects upon himself, he who loves God believingly reflects upon God.” quote by Kierkegaard, Søren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fd/kierkegaard-s-ren-57915_existentialism_if-this-had-not-been-the-case-with-abrah_1305772.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fd/kierkegaard-s-ren-57915_existentialism_if-this-had-not-been-the-case-with-abrah_1305772.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fd/kierkegaard-s-ren-57915_existentialism_if-this-had-not-been-the-case-with-abrah_1305772.jpg) > ““If this had not been the case with Abraham, then perhaps he might have loved God but not believed; for he who loves God without faith reflects upon himself, he who loves God believingly reflects upon God.”” [Kierkegaard, Søren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kierkegaard-s-ren/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Faith transforms love for God into a relational trust; without belief, love is self‑centered reflection. **In simple terms:** Love without faith is self‑focused; faith makes love outward. Key Takeaway Cultivate belief to deepen spiritual love. Themes faith love self‑reflection spirituality Mood contemplative serious Type philosophical theological When to use this quote - personal prayer - religious study - ethical decision‑making Key Concepts existentialism theology Questions to Reflect On - How does belief change the way you love? - Can love exist without faith? A Different Perspective Faith alone may not guarantee moral actions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abraham Loved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abraham-loved-3483288/) [Existentialism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existentialism/) [Faith Reflects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith-reflects-4116565/) [Fear-and-trembling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear-and-trembling-62337/) [God Believed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-believed-1010487/) [God Believingly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-believingly-4302809/) [God faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-faith/) ## Related quotes > [For he who loves God without faith reflects on himself, while the person who loves God in faith reflects on God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-he-who-loves-god-without-faith-reflects-on-himself-while-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It is now my intention to draw out from the story of Abraham the dialectical consequences inherent in it, expressing them in the form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kierkegaard-s-ren/it-is-now-my-intention-to-draw-out-from-the-story-of-abraham-the/) [Kierkegaard, Søren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kierkegaard-s-ren/) > [“Religion is inevitably something that demands faith , or belief from us. Given the variety of forms of religion, it is natural that definitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tagawa-shun-ei/religion-is-inevitably-something-that-demands-faith-or-belief-from-us/) [Tagawa Shun'ei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tagawa-shun-ei/) > [“Abraham had eight sons--not one. All eight sons bring something to the table. Abraham loved all of his sons. He was a good father…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ben-zehabe/abraham-had-eight-sons-not-one-all-eight-sons-bring-something-to-the/) [Michael Ben Zehabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ben-zehabe/) > [“God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son on an altar much like this one, to see who it was that Abraham loved more, Isaac…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/god-asked-abraham-to-sacrifice-his-son-on-an-altar-much-like-this-one/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [“Engaging in meditative self-reflection and gaining increased control of inner experiences provides a person with a sense of control over fear and trembling and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kilroy-j-oldster/engaging-in-meditative-self-reflection-and-gaining-increased-control/) [Kilroy J. Oldster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kilroy-j-oldster/) > [“When the child must be weaned, the mother too is not without sorrow at the thought that she and the child are separated more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/when-the-child-must-be-weaned-the-mother-too-is-not-without-sorrow-at/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [I came to think that maybe God was what you believed in because you needed to feel you weren’t alone. Maybe God was simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/i-came-to-think-that-maybe-god-was-what-you-believed-in-because-you/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [“My difficulties lay deeper. It was more than I could believe that Jesus was the only incarnate son of God, and that only he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/my-difficulties-lay-deeper-it-was-more-than-i-could-believe-that/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“I said, "Mary, tell me something. Why do you have that picture from The Wizard of Oz on your wall?" Mary chuckled at my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-lynn-pearson/i-said-mary-tell-me-something-why-do-you-have-that-picture-from-the/) [Carol Lynn Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-lynn-pearson/) > [“Hebrews 3:19 supplies the one-word explanation: “So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.” Unbelief. Oh, they believed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/hebrews-3-19-supplies-the-one-word-explanation-so-we-see-that-they/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [Everyone who understands the nature of God rightly necessarily knows that God is to be believed and hoped in, that he is to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ames/everyone-who-understands-the-nature-of-god-rightly-necessarily-knows/) [William Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ames/) > [“She did believe in God. And she believed that Jane was with him. And suddenly her pain and grief became human and natural. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-penny/she-did-believe-in-god-and-she-believed-that-jane-was-with-him-and/) [Louise Penny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-penny/) > [ I don't know whom or what he was defying. \[...\] \[M\]aybe the God he had never believed in. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/i-don-t-know-whom-or-what-he-was-defying-m-aybe-the-god-he-had-never/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [“even if the people could no longer hear God, he believed that God could still hear them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-batterson/even-if-the-people-could-no-longer-hear-god-he-believed-that-god/) [Mark Batterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-batterson/) ## More by Kierkegaard, Søren > [“What is truth but to live for an idea?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kierkegaard-s-ren/what-is-truth-but-to-live-for-an-idea/) [Kierkegaard, Søren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kierkegaard-s-ren/) > [“If anyone thinks he has faith and yet is indifferent towards this possession, is neither cold nor hot, he can be certain that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kierkegaard-s-ren/if-anyone-thinks-he-has-faith-and-yet-is-indifferent-towards-this/) [Kierkegaard, Søren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kierkegaard-s-ren/) > [“It is now my intention to draw out from the story of Abraham the dialectical consequences inherent in it, expressing them in the form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kierkegaard-s-ren/it-is-now-my-intention-to-draw-out-from-the-story-of-abraham-the/) [Kierkegaard, Søren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kierkegaard-s-ren/) > [ “\[T\]he content of the discourse should be about loving the un-lovable object… The beloved and the friend are the immediate and direct objects of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kierkegaard-s-ren/t-he-content-of-the-discourse-should-be-about-loving-the-un-lovable/) [Kierkegaard, Søren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kierkegaard-s-ren/) > [“It is a question of discovering a truth which is truth for me, of finding the idea for which I am willing to live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kierkegaard-s-ren/it-is-a-question-of-discovering-a-truth-which-is-truth-for-me-of/) [Kierkegaard, Søren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kierkegaard-s-ren/) [Explore all 6 Kierkegaard, Søren quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kierkegaard-s-ren/) ## More Existentialism 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/) > [Even though you can't expect to defeat the absurdity of the world, you must make that attempt. That's morality, that's religion. That's art. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/even-though-you-can-t-expect-to-defeat-the-absurdity-of-the-world-you/) [Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/) > [The Only cure for nihilism is for liberal democratic societies - their electorates, their judiciary, and their political leadership- to insist that force is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/the-only-cure-for-nihilism-is-for-liberal-democratic-societies-their/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [“The mission is, not to replace old world mindlessness with new world mindlessness, but to put an end to all forms of brainless authoritarianism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/the-mission-is-not-to-replace-old-world-mindlessness-with-new-world/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [No shepherd and one herd! Everybody wants the same, everybody is the same: whoever feels different goes voluntarily into a madhouse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/no-shepherd-and-one-herd-everybody-wants-the-same-everybody-is-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [If critics and fanboys weren't suckers for simplistic nihilism and high-pressure marketing, Afterlife would be universally acclaimed as a visionary feat, superior to Inception…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/armond-white/if-critics-and-fanboys-weren-t-suckers-for-simplistic-nihilism-and/) [Armond White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/armond-white/) > [“People may have to die, but morbidity will live forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mara-wilson/people-may-have-to-die-but-morbidity-will-live-forever/) [Mara Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mara-wilson/) > [“There are no greater or truer lords, gods, fathers, sons or holy spirits, than the humans. Humans are the highest beings on earth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/there-are-no-greater-or-truer-lords-gods-fathers-sons-or-holy-spirits/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“To seek out the upright. No fall but preceded by a declination. He took great marching steps into the nothingness, counting them against his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/to-seek-out-the-upright-no-fall-but-preceded-by-a-declination-he-took/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [“An atheist is someone who is disappointed in his search of god. He is a man who strongly needed god but couldn't find him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/an-atheist-is-someone-who-is-disappointed-in-his-search-of-god-he-is/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [What are we doing here, that is the question. And we are blessed in this, that we happen to know the answer. Yes, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/what-are-we-doing-here-that-is-the-question-and-we-are-blessed-in/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [“If we are unable to tolerate ourselves when we are alone, how can we expect anyone else to be enriched by our company? Before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-corey/if-we-are-unable-to-tolerate-ourselves-when-we-are-alone-how-can-we/) [Gerald Corey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-corey/) > [Desire is this absurdity that holds open the infinity of possibility. Ever optimistic, ever resourceful, desire tells us what it sees as it speeds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-farley/desire-is-this-absurdity-that-holds-open-the-infinity-of-possibility/) [Wendy Farley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-farley/) > [When it comes to explaining human thought and behavior, the possibility that heredity plays any role at all still has the power to shock.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/when-it-comes-to-explaining-human-thought-and-behavior-the/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [Life packed a clever one-two punch: cruelty and absurdity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/life-packed-a-clever-one-two-punch-cruelty-and-absurdity/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) [Browse all 984 Existentialism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existentialism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If this had not been the case with Abraham, then perhaps he might have loved God but not believed; for he who loves God without faith reflects upon himself, he who loves God believingly reflects upon God.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kierkegaard, Søren" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kierkegaard-s-ren/if-this-had-not-been-the-case-with-abraham-then-perhaps-he-might-have/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Existentialism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kierkegaard-s-ren/if-this-had-not-been-the-case-with-abraham-then-perhaps-he-might-have/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fd/kierkegaard-s-ren-57915_existentialism_if-this-had-not-been-the-case-with-abrah_1305772.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fd/kierkegaard-s-ren-57915_existentialism_if-this-had-not-been-the-case-with-abrah_1305772.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fd/kierkegaard-s-ren-57915_existentialism_if-this-had-not-been-the-case-with-abrah_1305772.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If this had not been the case with Abraham, then perhaps he might have loved God but not believed; for he…” — Kierkegaard, Søren", "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": "Kierkegaard, Søren", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kierkegaard-s-ren/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“If this had not been the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kierkegaard-s-ren/if-this-had-not-been-the-case-with-abraham-then-perhaps-he-might-have/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kierkegaard-s-ren/if-this-had-not-been-the-case-with-abraham-then-perhaps-he-might-have/#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 } } ] } ```