--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Socrates reminds us that it is not the…" description: "\"Socrates reminds us that it is not the same thing, but almost the opposite, to understand religion and to accept it.\" — Maurice Merleau-Ponty" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c5/maurice-merleau-ponty-2834_accepting_socrates-reminds-us-that-it-is-not-the-s_685290.jpg" --- # Socrates reminds us that it is not the same thing, but… ![“Socrates reminds us that it is not the same thing, but almost the opposite, to understand religion and to accept it.” quote by Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c5/maurice-merleau-ponty-2834_accepting_socrates-reminds-us-that-it-is-not-the-s_685290.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c5/maurice-merleau-ponty-2834_accepting_socrates-reminds-us-that-it-is-not-the-s_685290.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c5/maurice-merleau-ponty-2834_accepting_socrates-reminds-us-that-it-is-not-the-s_685290.jpg) > “Socrates reminds us that it is not the same thing, but almost the opposite, to understand religion and to accept it.” [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding religion intellectually differs from embracing it emotionally, highlighting a gap between belief and acceptance. **In simple terms:** Knowing about faith isn’t the same as believing. Key Takeaway Recognize the difference between knowledge and belief. Themes faith philosophy belief understanding Mood contemplative thoughtful Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - personal reflection - interfaith dialogue - theological study - spiritual practice Key Concepts epistemology existentialism cognitive dissonance Questions to Reflect On - Do you separate your intellectual view of religion from your personal acceptance? - How does this gap affect your spiritual life? A Different Perspective Faith may be deeply personal, making universal acceptance challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accepting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepting/) [Opposite Understand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposite-understand-5414965/) [Opposites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposites/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religion Accept](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion-accept-812491/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/socrates/) [Socrates Reminds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/socrates-reminds-5414964/) [Understand Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understand-religion-680507/) ## Related quotes > [Religion is a self-conferred intellectual decision; it's not something you get at birth and is unchangeable. 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But it could also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-auditors-had-tried-to-understand-religion-because-so-much-that/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [It is a masterpiece of the devil to make us believe that children cannot understand religion. Would Christ have made a child the standard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-l-moody/it-is-a-masterpiece-of-the-devil-to-make-us-believe-that-children/) [Dwight L. Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-l-moody/) > [“By relegating the things we fear and don't understand to religion, and the things we understand and control to science, we rob science of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/by-relegating-the-things-we-fear-and-don-t-understand-to-religion-and/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) ## More by Maurice Merleau-Ponty > [Science manipulates things and gives up living in them. It makes its own limited models of things; operating upon these indices or variables to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/science-manipulates-things-and-gives-up-living-in-them-it-makes-its/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [“The unfinished nature of phenomenology and the inchoate style in which it proceeds are not the signs of failure; they were inevitable because phenomenology’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/the-unfinished-nature-of-phenomenology-and-the-inchoate-style-in/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [We should be sensitive to the thread of silence from which the tissue of speech is woven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/we-should-be-sensitive-to-the-thread-of-silence-from-which-the-tissue/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [“Man is hidden, well hidden, & this time we must make no mistake about it: this does not mean that he is there beneath…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/man-is-hidden-well-hidden-this-time-we-must-make-no-mistake-about-it/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [“There is no universal clock, but local histories take form beneath our eyes, and begin to regulate themselves, and haltingly are linked to one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/there-is-no-universal-clock-but-local-histories-take-form-beneath-our/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [We know not through our intellect but through our experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/we-know-not-through-our-intellect-but-through-our-experience/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [“There are several ways for a body to be a body, and several ways for consciousness to be consciousness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/there-are-several-ways-for-a-body-to-be-a-body-and-several-ways-for/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [“We do not have the right to level out all experience into a single world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/we-do-not-have-the-right-to-level-out-all-experience-into-a-single/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [“The world and reason are not problems; and though we might call them mysterious, this mystery is essential to them, there can be no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/the-world-and-reason-are-not-problems-and-though-we-might-call-them/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [“Memory is the irruption of other things in us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/memory-is-the-irruption-of-other-things-in-us/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [“Expression is like a step taken in the fog--no one can say where, if anywhere, it will lead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/expression-is-like-a-step-taken-in-the-fog-no-one-can-say-where-if/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [“Any commemoration is also a betrayal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/any-commemoration-is-also-a-betrayal/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [The full meaning of a language is never translatable into another. We may speak several languages but one of them always remains the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/the-full-meaning-of-a-language-is-never-translatable-into-another-we/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [ Our view of man will remain superficial so long as we fail to go back to that origin \[of silence\], so long as we… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/our-view-of-man-will-remain-superficial-so-long-as-we-fail-to-go-back/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [“This is an encounter between the human and the non-human, it is something like a behavior of the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/this-is-an-encounter-between-the-human-and-the-non-human-it-is/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) [Explore all 145 Maurice Merleau-Ponty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) ## More Accepting 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/) > [Laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing! It is the jester! A voice from the Void, to cheer poor Cicero! I accept your gift, dearest Night Mother.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/laughing-laughing-laughing-laughing-it-is-the-jester-a-voice-from-the/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [This duo inside of me causes the perfect opportunity to live and learn twice as fast as those who choose to accept simplicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/this-duo-inside-of-me-causes-the-perfect-opportunity-to-live-and/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. Because how else do we accept His free gift of salvation if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/we-only-enter-into-the-full-life-if-our-faith-gives-thanks-because/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [It takes an unusually philosophic mind to accept that all one’s suffering might be to no end, really, in the larger scheme of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-takes-an-unusually-philosophic-mind-to-accept-that-all-one-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No nation being under another nation can accept gifts, and kick at the responsibility attached to those gifts, imposed by the conquering nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/no-nation-being-under-another-nation-can-accept-gifts-and-kick-at-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Even with clothing naked animals, there were people who wanted to send in money. 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I totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pirjo-honkasalo/as-my-films-are-born-at-the-moment-when-they-are-reflected-into/) [Pirjo Honkasalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pirjo-honkasalo/) [Browse all 6,788 Accepting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepting/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Socrates reminds us that it is not the same thing, but almost the opposite, to understand religion and to accept it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Maurice Merleau-Ponty" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/socrates-reminds-us-that-it-is-not-the-same-thing-but-almost-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Accepting" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/socrates-reminds-us-that-it-is-not-the-same-thing-but-almost-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c5/maurice-merleau-ponty-2834_accepting_socrates-reminds-us-that-it-is-not-the-s_685290.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c5/maurice-merleau-ponty-2834_accepting_socrates-reminds-us-that-it-is-not-the-s_685290.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c5/maurice-merleau-ponty-2834_accepting_socrates-reminds-us-that-it-is-not-the-s_685290.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Socrates reminds us that it is not the same thing, but almost the opposite, to understand religion and to…” — Maurice Merleau-Ponty", "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": "Maurice Merleau-Ponty", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Socrates reminds us that it is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/socrates-reminds-us-that-it-is-not-the-same-thing-but-almost-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/socrates-reminds-us-that-it-is-not-the-same-thing-but-almost-the/#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 } } ] } ```