--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Plain experience and common sense inform…" description: "\"Plain experience and common sense inform us that no abstract Person can have made us as we are without also wishing to delete us and start over (Gen. 8..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b57/paul-f-m-zahl-82973_abstract_plain-experience-and-common-sense-inform_2786483.jpg" --- # Plain experience and common sense inform us that no… ![“Plain experience and common sense inform us that no abstract Person can have made us as we are without also wishing to delete us and start over (Gen. 8:21; Zeph. 1:2). Therefore, the existence of cruel and arbitrary nature, together with the universality of human sin, prevents us from beginning…” quote by Paul F. M. Zahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b57/paul-f-m-zahl-82973_abstract_plain-experience-and-common-sense-inform_2786483.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b57/paul-f-m-zahl-82973_abstract_plain-experience-and-common-sense-inform_2786483.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b57/paul-f-m-zahl-82973_abstract_plain-experience-and-common-sense-inform_2786483.jpg) > “Plain experience and common sense inform us that no abstract Person can have made us as we are without also wishing to delete us and start over (Gen. 8:21; Zeph. 1:2). Therefore, the existence of cruel and arbitrary nature, together with the universality of human sin, prevents us from beginning the theological enterprise with any concept of God that is distinct from revelation. All theologies of a cosmic harmonic principle shipwreck on the truths of tragedy, catastrophe, and injustice.” [Paul F. M. Zahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-f-m-zahl/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human experience and reason show that abstract concepts of God cannot explain existence without also implying destructive intentions, making purely rational theology impossible. **In simple terms:** Reason alone cannot define God without implying harm. Key Takeaway Acknowledge limits of rational theology. Themes theology human nature philosophy Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical theological When to use this quote - academic debate - personal belief - ethical reflection Key Concepts existentialism divine problem tragedy Questions to Reflect On - How do we reconcile reason with faith? - Can theology exist without revelation? A Different Perspective Rational arguments may overlook faith experiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) [Arbitrary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arbitrary/) [Arbitrary Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arbitrary-nature-995651/) [Catastrophe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catastrophe/) [Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common/) [Common sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-sense/) [Concept God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concept-god/) [Concepts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concepts/) [Cosmic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cosmic/) [Enterprise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enterprise/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Injustice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/injustice/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles/) [Revelation Theologies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revelation-theologies-3348585/) [Revelations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revelations/) [Shipwreck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shipwreck/) [Sin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sin/) [Starting over](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/starting-over/) [Theological](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theological/) [Theologies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theologies-955913/) [Theology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theology/) [Together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/together/) [Tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy/) [Universality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universality/) [Universality Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universality-human-2296376/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) ## Related quotes > [It was never the people who complained of the universality of human rights, nor did the people consider human rights as a Western or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/it-was-never-the-people-who-complained-of-the-universality-of-human/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [Racism is an attack on the very notion of the universality of human rights. 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Just as space is blue. And birds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-kennedy/because-there-is-no-meaning-to-be-found-in-the-arbitrary-nature-of/) [Douglas Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-kennedy/) > [We are not living in the same world we were immediately after the Cold War, when there seemed to be a greater belief in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uzodinma-iweala/we-are-not-living-in-the-same-world-we-were-immediately-after-the/) [Uzodinma Iweala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uzodinma-iweala/) > [The notion of a universality of human experience is a confidence trick and the notion of a universality of female experience is a clever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/the-notion-of-a-universality-of-human-experience-is-a-confidence/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [I'm not interested in being an intellectual or in being traditional, conventional. I'm not interested in having great wisdom. I'm not interested in those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-williams/i-m-not-interested-in-being-an-intellectual-or-in-being-traditional/) [Cecil Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-williams/) > [ Like all great theologies, Bill \[O'Reilly\]'s can be boiled down to one sentence: There must be a god, because I don't know how things… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/like-all-great-theologies-bill-o-reilly-s-can-be-boiled-down-to-one/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [I say that creeds, dogmas, and theologies are inventions of the mind. It is the nature of the mind to make sense out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-thurman/i-say-that-creeds-dogmas-and-theologies-are-inventions-of-the-mind-it/) [Howard Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-thurman/) > [“We live in a culture of reductionism. 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Painting operates through signs which are not abstract and incorporeal like words. The signs of painting are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-dubuffet/painting-is-a-richer-language-than-words-painting-operates-through/) [Jean Dubuffet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-dubuffet/) [Browse all 1,403 Abstract quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Plain experience and common sense inform us that no abstract Person can have made us as we are without also wishing to delete us and start over (Gen. 8:21; Zeph. 1:2). Therefore, the existence of cruel and arbitrary nature, together with the universality of human sin, prevents us from beginning the theological enterprise with any concept of God that is distinct from revelation. 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