--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This contradiction lies here: they wish…" description: "\"This contradiction lies here: they wish God, and they wish humanity. They persist in connecting two terms which, once separated, can come together agai..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d3/mikhail-bakunin-3075_connecting_this-contradiction-lies-here-they-wish-g_822194.png" --- # This contradiction lies here: they wish God, and they wish… ![“This contradiction lies here: they wish God, and they wish humanity. They persist in connecting two terms which, once separated, can come together again only to destroy each other.” quote by Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d3/mikhail-bakunin-3075_connecting_this-contradiction-lies-here-they-wish-g_822194.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d3/mikhail-bakunin-3075_connecting_this-contradiction-lies-here-they-wish-g_822194.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d3/mikhail-bakunin-3075_connecting_this-contradiction-lies-here-they-wish-g_822194.png) > “This contradiction lies here: they wish God, and they wish humanity. They persist in connecting two terms which, once separated, can come together again only to destroy each other.” [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote highlights the paradox of desiring both divine authority and human autonomy, which inevitably clash and lead to mutual destruction when forced together. **In simple terms:** Wanting God and humanity together creates conflict. Key Takeaway Recognize and separate conflicting ideals. Themes conflict authority humanism Mood tense reflective Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - political movements - religious debates - personal belief systems - social reforms Key Concepts anarchism theology paradox Questions to Reflect On - How do you reconcile divine aspirations with human agency? - Can opposing ideals coexist peacefully? A Different Perspective Balancing spiritual and secular goals is often impossible without compromise. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Connecting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/connecting/) [Contradiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradiction/) [God Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-wish-481948/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Humanity Persist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity-persist-481947/) [Persist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persist/) [Together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/together/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) [Wish God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish-god/) [Wish Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish-humanity-396956/) ## Related quotes > [My wish for humanity is to invent a way to communicate between us and whatever comes next. And in the end that we the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sugata-mitra/my-wish-for-humanity-is-to-invent-a-way-to-communicate-between-us-and/) [Sugata Mitra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sugata-mitra/) > [My one wish for humanity is that everyone can become the person they were meant to be - what are the barriers to that?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-morello/my-one-wish-for-humanity-is-that-everyone-can-become-the-person-they/) [Tom Morello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-morello/) > [I don't understand why so many people who are sophisticated in science go on believing in God. I wish I did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-don-t-understand-why-so-many-people-who-are-sophisticated-in/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The saved are few, but we must live with the few if we would be saved with the few. 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This word is all that we yearn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/our-life-is-a-gymnasium-of-desire-when-christians-say-god-what-do-we/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [“Yes, you are. God, I wish you could just see how much you matter…to me…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-sorensen/yes-you-are-god-i-wish-you-could-just-see-how-much-you-matter-to-me/) [Jessica Sorensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-sorensen/) > [I was at a picnic, and there were a lot of songwriters. 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And that can be done in only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/it-clearly-follows-that-to-make-men-moral-it-is-necessary-to-make/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [There are but three ways for the populace to escape its wretched lot. The first two are by the routes of the wine-shop or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/there-are-but-three-ways-for-the-populace-to-escape-its-wretched-lot/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [Whoever says State necessarily says domination, and, consequently, slavery; a State without slavery, open or concealed, is inconceivable: that is why we are enemies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/whoever-says-state-necessarily-says-domination-and-consequently/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [“Does it follow that I reject all authority? Perish the thought. 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I am truly free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/i-am-not-myself-free-or-human-until-or-unless-i-recognize-the-freedom/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [In antiquity slaves were, in all honesty called slaves. In the middle ages, they took the name of serfs. Nowadays they are called wage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/in-antiquity-slaves-were-in-all-honesty-called-slaves-in-the-middle/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [He who desires to worship God must harbor no childish illusions about the matter but bravely renounce his liberty and humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/he-who-desires-to-worship-god-must-harbor-no-childish-illusions-about/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [They maintain that only a dictatorship - their dictatorship, of course - can create the will of the people, while our answer to this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/they-maintain-that-only-a-dictatorship-their-dictatorship-of-course/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [“The masses, on admitting their own incapacity to govern themselves, have elected me as their head By doing so, they have clearly proclaimed their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/the-masses-on-admitting-their-own-incapacity-to-govern-themselves/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [We must overthrow the material and moral conditions of our present-day life. . . . 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