--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A God who could make good children as…" description: "\"“A God who could make good children as easily a bad, yet preferred to make bad ones; who could have made every one of them happy, yet never made a sing..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d9/mark-twain-22_agnostic_a-god-who-could-make-good-children-as-ea_464407.png" --- # A God who could make good children as easily a bad, yet… ![“A God who could make good children as easily a bad, yet preferred to make bad ones; who could have made every one of them happy, yet never made a single happy one; who made them prize their bitter life, yet stingily cut it short; who gave his angels eternal happiness unearned, yet required his…” quote by Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d9/mark-twain-22_agnostic_a-god-who-could-make-good-children-as-ea_464407.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d9/mark-twain-22_agnostic_a-god-who-could-make-good-children-as-ea_464407.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d9/mark-twain-22_agnostic_a-god-who-could-make-good-children-as-ea_464407.png) > ““A God who could make good children as easily a bad, yet preferred to make bad ones; who could have made every one of them happy, yet never made a single happy one; who made them prize their bitter life, yet stingily cut it short; who gave his angels eternal happiness unearned, yet required his other children to earn it; who gave is angels painless lives, yet cursed his other children with biting miseries and maladies of mind and body; who mouths justice, and invented hell--mouths mercy, and invented hell--mouths Golden Rules and forgiveness multiplied by seventy times seven, and invented hell; who mouths morals to other people, and has none himself; who frowns upon crimes, yet commits them all; who created man without invitation, then tries to shuffle the responsibility for man's acts upon man, instead of honorably placing it where it belongs, upon himself; and finally, with altogether divine obtuseness, invites his poor abused slave to worship him!”” [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage critiques a deity that creates suffering while claiming moral authority, highlighting hypocrisy and the paradox of divine justice. **In simple terms:** It questions a god who creates suffering yet claims fairness. Key Takeaway Question authority that causes suffering. Themes theology hypocrisy justice suffering divine paradox Mood skeptical critical Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - personal belief - social critique - literary analysis - theological debate - psychology Key Concepts moral philosophy religion existentialism ethics authority Questions to Reflect On - What does this say about human suffering? - How do we reconcile divine justice with pain? A Different Perspective It may oversimplify complex theological concepts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Agnostic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agnostic/) [Angels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/angels/) [Atheist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheist/) [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bible/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Created Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/created-man/) [Eternal happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternal-happiness/) [Gave Angels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gave-angels-1015396/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) [Invented Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invented-hell-2769056/) [Jesus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jesus/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Mercy Invented](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mercy-invented-4026694/) [Mind and body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-and-body/) [Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer/) [Single Happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/single-happy/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Worship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worship/) ## Related quotes > [“Strange! that you should not have suspected years ago--centuries, ages, eons, ago!--for you have existed, companionless, through all the eternities. Strange, indeed, that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/strange-that-you-should-not-have-suspected-years-ago-centuries-ages/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“Strange! that you should not have suspected years ago--centuries, ages, eons, ago!--for you have existed, companionless, through all the eternities. Strange, indeed, that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/strange-that-you-should-not-have-suspected-years-ago-centuries-ages-2/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“Who gave his angels eternal happiness unearned, yet required his other children to earn it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/who-gave-his-angels-eternal-happiness-unearned-yet-required-his-other/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“You are not you--you have no body, no blood, no bones, you are but a thought. I myself have no existence; I am but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/you-are-not-you-you-have-no-body-no-blood-no-bones-you-are-but-a/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Strange a God who mouths Golden Rules and forgiveness, then invented hell; who mouths morals to other people and has none Himself; who frowns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/strange-a-god-who-mouths-golden-rules-and-forgiveness-then-invented/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“In time, the Deity perceived that death was a mistake; a mistake, in that it was insufficient; insufficient, for the reason that while it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/in-time-the-deity-perceived-that-death-was-a-mistake-a-mistake-in/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [God gave the Angels wings and humans chocolate. Mrs. Miracle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-macomber/god-gave-the-angels-wings-and-humans-chocolate-mrs-miracle/) [Debbie Macomber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-macomber/) > [“God must have loved the birds, or he would not have given them wings that he gave to his angels.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arash-hejazi/god-must-have-loved-the-birds-or-he-would-not-have-given-them-wings/) [Arash Hejazi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arash-hejazi/) > [If man had created man, he would be ashamed of his performance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-man-had-created-man-he-would-be-ashamed-of-his-performance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If I had been helping the Almighty when he created man, I would have had him begin at the other end, and start human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-i-had-been-helping-the-almighty-when-he-created-man-i-would-have-2/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I wonder if God created man because He was disappointed with the monkey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-wonder-if-god-created-man-because-he-was-disappointed-with-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [ “\[T\]he infliction of cruelty with a good conscience is a delight to moralists. That is why they invented Hell.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/t-he-infliction-of-cruelty-with-a-good-conscience-is-a-delight-to/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Man is the cruelest animal. At tragedies, bullfights, and crucifixions he has so far felt best on earth; and when he invented hell for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/man-is-the-cruelest-animal-at-tragedies-bullfights-and-crucifixions/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Man is the cruelest animal," says Zarathustra. "When gazing at tragedies, bull-fights, crucifixations he hath hitherto felt happier than at any other time on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/man-is-the-cruelest-animal-says-zarathustra-when-gazing-at-tragedies/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“And when he invented his hell, that was his heaven on earth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/and-when-he-invented-his-hell-that-was-his-heaven-on-earth/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) ## More by Mark Twain > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“The Creator sat upon the throne, thinking. Behind him stretched the illimitable continent of heaven, steeped in a glory of light and color; before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-creator-sat-upon-the-throne-thinking-behind-him-stretched-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [It's easy to quit smoking. I've done it hundreds of times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-s-easy-to-quit-smoking-i-ve-done-it-hundreds-of-times/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“It is never wrong to do the right thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-is-never-wrong-to-do-the-right-thing/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A man accustomed to American food and American domestic cookery would not starve to death suddenly in Europe, but I think he would gradually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-man-accustomed-to-american-food-and-american-domestic-cookery-would/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [There is nothing training can't cannot do. Nothing is above its reach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-is-nothing-training-can-t-cannot-do-nothing-is-above-its-reach/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I never write Metropolis for seven cents because I can get the same price for city. I never write policeman because I can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-never-write-metropolis-for-seven-cents-because-i-can-get-the-same/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The higher animals get their teeth without pain or inconvenience. Man gets his through months and months of cruel torture; he will never get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-higher-animals-get-their-teeth-without-pain-or-inconvenience-man/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“As far as I can see, Italy, for fifteen hundred years, has turned all her energies, all her finances, and all her industry to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/as-far-as-i-can-see-italy-for-fifteen-hundred-years-has-turned-all/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Begin with the determination to succeed and the work is half done already.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/begin-with-the-determination-to-succeed-and-the-work-is-half-done/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Many public-school children seem to know only two dates—1492 and 4th of July; and as a rule they don't know what happened on either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/many-public-school-children-seem-to-know-only-two-dates-1492-and-4th/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If we could imagine such a man, that is a man who could invent the fly and send him out on his mission and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-we-could-imagine-such-a-man-that-is-a-man-who-could-invent-the-fly/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [You perceive, now, that these things are all impossible except in a dream. You perceive that they are pure and puerile insanities, the silly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/you-perceive-now-that-these-things-are-all-impossible-except-in-a/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Lord save us all from a hope tree that has lost the faculty of putting out blossoms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/lord-save-us-all-from-a-hope-tree-that-has-lost-the-faculty-of/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Explore all 3,277 Mark Twain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## More Agnostic quotes > [“She herself vacillated when it came to belief. She did not particularly believe in God. Or, rather, she didn't believe in a particular God.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allegra-goodman/she-herself-vacillated-when-it-came-to-belief-she-did-not/) [Allegra Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allegra-goodman/) > [The prayer of the agnostic: "O God, if there is a God, save my soul if I have a soul."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-renan/the-prayer-of-the-agnostic-o-god-if-there-is-a-god-save-my-soul-if-i/) [Ernest Renan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-renan/) > [I'm actually, for the most part, a complete agnostic politically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-witten/i-m-actually-for-the-most-part-a-complete-agnostic-politically/) [Edward Witten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-witten/) > [Even when I was saying I was Agnostic and trying to figure out my thoughts, I felt God was allowing me to do that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfre-woodard/even-when-i-was-saying-i-was-agnostic-and-trying-to-figure-out-my/) [Alfre Woodard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfre-woodard/) > [There is, in fact, nothing about religious opinions that entitles them to any more respect than other opinions get. On the contrary, they tend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/there-is-in-fact-nothing-about-religious-opinions-that-entitles-them/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [“Some people are so stiff and inhumane as the dogma's they believe in”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/some-people-are-so-stiff-and-inhumane-as-the-dogma-s-they-believe-in/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [“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/) > [If a humanist or an atheist or an agnostic says, "We'll bake you a pie," we can go right into the kitchen and bake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madalyn-murray-o-hair/if-a-humanist-or-an-atheist-or-an-agnostic-says-we-ll-bake-you-a-pie/) [Madalyn Murray O'Hair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madalyn-murray-o-hair/) > [I'm agnostic because I went through the usual process of parents insisting you go to church, and yet they didn't. So there's me, sitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ridley-scott/i-m-agnostic-because-i-went-through-the-usual-process-of-parents/) [Ridley Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ridley-scott/) > [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/) > [To be agnostic is to be open-minded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-agnostic-is-to-be-open-minded/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All Gaza's temples are torn down and burned and the city is cleansed of every belief but the Christian faith. The most stubborn opponents,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramsay-macmullen/all-gaza-s-temples-are-torn-down-and-burned-and-the-city-is-cleansed/) [Ramsay MacMullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramsay-macmullen/) > [I'm still agnostic. But in the words of Elton Richards, I'm now a reverant agnostic. Which isn't an oxymoron, I swear. I now believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-still-agnostic-but-in-the-words-of-elton-richards-i-m-now-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I'm agnostic. By definition, I'm unsure of what to believe in, but I'm also borderline-capable of believing in anything and everything, or nothing at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-lola/i-m-agnostic-by-definition-i-m-unsure-of-what-to-believe-in-but-i-m/) [Lauren Lola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-lola/) > [“The Agnostic is one who asserts 'what no one denies' that there are limits to the sphere of human intelligence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-stephen/the-agnostic-is-one-who-asserts-what-no-one-denies-that-there-are/) [Leslie Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-stephen/) [Browse all 492 Agnostic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agnostic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A God who could make good children as easily a bad, yet preferred to make bad ones; who could have made every one of them happy, yet never made a single happy one; who made them prize their bitter life, yet stingily cut it short; who gave his angels eternal happiness unearned, yet required his other children to earn it; who gave is angels painless lives, yet cursed his other children with biting miseries and maladies of mind and body; who mouths justice, and invented hell--mouths mercy, and invented hell--mouths Golden Rules and forgiveness multiplied by seventy times seven, and invented hell; who mouths morals to other people, and has none himself; who frowns upon crimes, yet commits them all; who created man without invitation, then tries to shuffle the responsibility for man's acts upon man, instead of honorably placing it where it belongs, upon himself; and finally, with altogether divine obtuseness, invites his poor abused slave to worship him!”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Twain" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-god-who-could-make-good-children-as-easily-a-bad-yet-preferred-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Agnostic" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-god-who-could-make-good-children-as-easily-a-bad-yet-preferred-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d9/mark-twain-22_agnostic_a-god-who-could-make-good-children-as-ea_464407.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d9/mark-twain-22_agnostic_a-god-who-could-make-good-children-as-ea_464407.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d9/mark-twain-22_agnostic_a-god-who-could-make-good-children-as-ea_464407.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A God who could make good children as easily a bad, yet preferred to make bad ones; who could have made…” — Mark Twain", "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": "Mark Twain", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“A God who could make good...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-god-who-could-make-good-children-as-easily-a-bad-yet-preferred-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-god-who-could-make-good-children-as-easily-a-bad-yet-preferred-to/#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 } } ] } ```