---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People think of faith as being something…"
description: "\"People think of faith as being something that you don't really believe, a device in helping you believe simply it. Of course that is quite wrong. As Pa..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82a/malcolm-muggeridge-2370_believe_people-think-of-faith-as-being-something_1648510.png"
---

#  People think of faith as being something that you don't…

![“People think of faith as being something that you don't really believe, a device in helping you believe simply it. Of course that is quite wrong. As Pascal says, faith is a gift of God. It is different from the proof of it. It is the kind of faith God himself places in the heart, of which the…” quote by Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82a/malcolm-muggeridge-2370_believe_people-think-of-faith-as-being-something_1648510.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82a/malcolm-muggeridge-2370_believe_people-think-of-faith-as-being-something_1648510.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82a/malcolm-muggeridge-2370_believe_people-think-of-faith-as-being-something_1648510.png)

> “People think of faith as being something that you don't really believe, a device in helping you believe simply it. Of course that is quite wrong. As Pascal says, faith is a gift of God. It is different from the proof of it. It is the kind of faith God himself places in the heart, of which the proof is often the instrument... He says of it, too, that it is the heart which is aware of God, and not reason. That is what faith is: God perceived by the heart, not be reason.”

[Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Faith is described as a divine gift perceived by the heart rather than rational proof, emphasizing personal experience over logical argument.

**In simple terms:** Faith is a heart‑felt gift, not a logical proof.

Key Takeaway

Cultivate heartfelt belief beyond reason.

Themes

faith spirituality intuition

Mood

contemplative inspirational

Type

theological philosophical

When to use this quote

- personal prayer
- spiritual counseling
- religious education
- interfaith dialogue

Key Concepts

theology philosophy psychology

Questions to Reflect On

- How does heart‑based faith affect decision‑making?
- Can faith and reason coexist peacefully?

A Different Perspective

May conflict with evidence‑based reasoning.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Devices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devices/) [Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Faith God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith-god/) [Gift from god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gift-from-god/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Helping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/helping/) [Instruments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instruments/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pascal/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Proof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proof/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Reason Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason-faith/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Says Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/says-faith-630267/) [Think Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-faith/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/)

## Related quotes

> [I think faith helps me a lot. God wants you to be where He wants you to be, and that's where I want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-dolley/i-think-faith-helps-me-a-lot-god-wants-you-to-be-where-he-wants-you/)

[Jason Dolley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-dolley/)

> [It is the heart which perceives God and not the reason. That is what faith is: God perceived by the heart, not by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/it-is-the-heart-which-perceives-god-and-not-the-reason-that-is-what/)

[Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/)

> [They say everything happens for a reason and even though we may not know that reason we have to have faith that god knows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-rowe/they-say-everything-happens-for-a-reason-and-even-though-we-may-not/)

[Rashida Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-rowe/)

> [It is the heart which experiences God, and not the reason. This, then, is faith: God felt by the heart, not by the reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/it-is-the-heart-which-experiences-god-and-not-the-reason-this-then-is/)

[Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/)

> [Is there any reason why you should not have faith in God? Has God ever broken one of His promises? I defy any infidel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-l-moody/is-there-any-reason-why-you-should-not-have-faith-in-god-has-god-ever/)

[Dwight L. Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-l-moody/)

> [“Pascal, Faith is God made sensible to the heart, then”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/pascal-faith-is-god-made-sensible-to-the-heart-then/)

[Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/)

> [It is only possible to succeed at second-rate pursuits - like becoming a millionaire or a prime minister, winning a war, seducing beautiful women,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/it-is-only-possible-to-succeed-at-second-rate-pursuits-like-becoming/)

[Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/)

> [When I look back on my life nowadays, which I sometimes do, what strikes me most forcibly about it is that what seemed at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/when-i-look-back-on-my-life-nowadays-which-i-sometimes-do-what-2/)

[Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/)

> [In retrospect, all these exercises in self-gratification seem pure fantasy, what Pascal called, licking the earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/in-retrospect-all-these-exercises-in-self-gratification-seem-pure/)

[Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/)

> [I suppose that every age has its own particular fantasy: ours is science. A seventeenth-century man like Blaise Pascal, who thought himself a mathematician…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/i-suppose-that-every-age-has-its-own-particular-fantasy-ours-is/)

[Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/)

> [ \[Pascal\] was the first and perhaps is still the most effective voice to be raised in warning of the consequences of the enthronement of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/pascal-was-the-first-and-perhaps-is-still-the-most-effective-voice-to/)

[Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/)

> [“These three people, Pascal, Blake, and Dostoyevsky, illustrate perfectly what I have long believed to be the case, that history consists of parables whereby…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/these-three-people-pascal-blake-and-dostoyevsky-illustrate-perfectly/)

[Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/)

> [What brings us to perfection? An ingrained faith in God, the 'faith that makes real the things for which we hope' (Heb. 11:1), the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niketas-stethatos/what-brings-us-to-perfection-an-ingrained-faith-in-god-the-faith-that/)

[Niketas Stethatos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niketas-stethatos/)

> [Saving faith is the faith of God's elect; the special gift of God to them, wrought in them by his Spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-boston/saving-faith-is-the-faith-of-god-s-elect-the-special-gift-of-god-to/)

[Thomas Boston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-boston/)

> [No matter how much you've sinned, no matter how much you've stumbled, no matter how much you fall, no matter how far you've got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-cash/no-matter-how-much-you-ve-sinned-no-matter-how-much-you-ve-stumbled/)

[Johnny Cash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-cash/)

## More by Malcolm Muggeridge

> [It is only possible to succeed at second-rate pursuitslikebecoming a millionaire or a prime minister, winning a war, seducing beautiful women, flying thought the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/it-is-only-possible-to-succeed-at-second-rate-pursuitslikebecoming-a/)

[Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/)

> [He was not only a bore; he bored for England.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/he-was-not-only-a-bore-he-bored-for-england/)

[Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/)

> [The orgasm has replaced the Cross as the focus of longing and the image of fulfillment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/the-orgasm-has-replaced-the-cross-as-the-focus-of-longing-and-the/)

[Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/)

> [Posterity will surely be amazed, and I hope vastly amused, that such slipshod and unconvincing theorizing should have so easily captivated twentieth-century minds and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/posterity-will-surely-be-amazed-and-i-hope-vastly-amused-that-such/)

[Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/)

> [In politics, as in womanizing, failure is decisive. It sheds its retrospective gloom on earlier endeavor which at the time seemed full of promise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/in-politics-as-in-womanizing-failure-is-decisive-it-sheds-its/)

[Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/)

> [Marx and Freud are the two great destroyers of Christian civilization, the first replacing the gospel of love by the gospel of hate, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/marx-and-freud-are-the-two-great-destroyers-of-christian-civilization/)

[Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/)

> [I wouldn't have said that Anthony Eden was equipped by nature to deal with the situation in the world today. I would have said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/i-wouldn-t-have-said-that-anthony-eden-was-equipped-by-nature-to-deal/)

[Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/)

> [God, stay with me, let no word cross my lips that is not your word, no thoughts enter my mind that are not your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/god-stay-with-me-let-no-word-cross-my-lips-that-is-not-your-word-no/)

[Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/)

> [The monarchical institution in England is immensely valuable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/the-monarchical-institution-in-england-is-immensely-valuable/)

[Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/)

> [Education, the great mumbo jumbo and fraud of the age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/education-the-great-mumbo-jumbo-and-fraud-of-the-age/)

[Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/)

> [This life in us; however low it flickers or fiercely burns, is still a divine flame which no man dare presume to put out,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/this-life-in-us-however-low-it-flickers-or-fiercely-burns-is-still-a/)

[Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/)

> [As Man alone, Jesus could not have saved us; As God alone, He would not; Made flesh, He could and did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/as-man-alone-jesus-could-not-have-saved-us-as-god-alone-he-would-not/)

[Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/)

> [ I think it \[presidency of Dwight Eisenhower\] came too late and I think that he is not on the wavelength of this dreadful time… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/i-think-it-presidency-of-dwight-eisenhower-came-too-late-and-i-think/)

[Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/)

> [Future historians will surely see us as having created in the media a Frankenstein monster whom no one knows how to control ordirect, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/future-historians-will-surely-see-us-as-having-created-in-the-media-a/)

[Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/)

> [ I think that President \[Dwight\] Eisenhower was... did the most marvelous job in the war, not really a military job: a public relations job,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/i-think-that-president-dwight-eisenhower-was-did-the-most-marvelous/)

[Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/)

[Explore all 168 Malcolm Muggeridge quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/)

## More Believe quotes

> [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/)

[Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/)

> [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/)

[Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/)

> [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/)

[Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/)

> [Resist discouragement by speaking His Word over your future. Keep standing. Keep hoping; keep believing because He is working behind the scenes. He's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/resist-discouragement-by-speaking-his-word-over-your-future-keep/)

[Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/)

> [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/)

[Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/)

> [There is no such word as item girl in the dictionary. People have created this word and I don't believe that I am an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shefali-zariwala/there-is-no-such-word-as-item-girl-in-the-dictionary-people-have/)

[Shefali Zariwala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shefali-zariwala/)

> [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/)

[Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/)

> [I don't really like too much credit. I know nobody's going to believe this, but I'd rather be able to score goals and nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-wright-phillips/i-don-t-really-like-too-much-credit-i-know-nobody-s-going-to-believe/)

[Bradley Wright-Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradley-wright-phillips/)

> [“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/)

> [Bush reiterated his stand to conservatives opposing his decision on stem cell research. He said today he believes life begins at conception and ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/bush-reiterated-his-stand-to-conservatives-opposing-his-decision-on/)

[Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/)

> [Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-human-mind-to-believe-what-it/)

[Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/)

> [To believe in love, to be ready to give up anything for it, to be willing to risk your life for it, is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/to-believe-in-love-to-be-ready-to-give-up-anything-for-it-to-be/)

[Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/)

> [That's why I don't generally talk about endorsements because I don't believe we have to tell people who to vote for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-iii/that-s-why-i-don-t-generally-talk-about-endorsements-because-i-don-t/)

[Martin Luther King III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-iii/)

> [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/)

> [We instantly believe everything we think. Isn't that insane? It's good for us to explore the depravity of our minds, so we know we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krishna-das/we-instantly-believe-everything-we-think-isn-t-that-insane-it-s-good/)

[Krishna Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krishna-das/)

[Browse all 47,704 Believe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "People think of faith as being something that you don't really believe, a device in helping you believe simply it. Of course that is quite wrong. As Pascal says, faith is a gift of God. It is different from the proof of it. It is the kind of faith God himself places in the heart, of which the proof is often the instrument... He says of it, too, that it is the heart which is aware of God, and not reason. That is what faith is: God perceived by the heart, not be reason.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Malcolm Muggeridge"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/people-think-of-faith-as-being-something-that-you-don-t-really/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Believe"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/people-think-of-faith-as-being-something-that-you-don-t-really/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82a/malcolm-muggeridge-2370_believe_people-think-of-faith-as-being-something_1648510.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82a/malcolm-muggeridge-2370_believe_people-think-of-faith-as-being-something_1648510.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82a/malcolm-muggeridge-2370_believe_people-think-of-faith-as-being-something_1648510.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“People think of faith as being something that you don't really believe, a device in helping you believe…” — Malcolm Muggeridge",
                "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": "Malcolm Muggeridge",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "People think of faith as being...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/people-think-of-faith-as-being-something-that-you-don-t-really/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/people-think-of-faith-as-being-something-that-you-don-t-really/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
