--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The nearest we approach God ...is as…" description: "\"The nearest we approach God ...is as creative beings. The poet, by echoing the primary imagination, recreates. Through his work he forces those who rea..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eea/r-s-thomas-17783_action_the-nearest-we-approach-god-is-as-creati_2203580.png" --- # The nearest we approach God ...is as creative beings. The… ![“The nearest we approach God ...is as creative beings. The poet, by echoing the primary imagination, recreates. Through his work he forces those who read him to do the same, thus bringing them... nearer to the actual being of God as displayed in action.” quote by R. S. Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eea/r-s-thomas-17783_action_the-nearest-we-approach-god-is-as-creati_2203580.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eea/r-s-thomas-17783_action_the-nearest-we-approach-god-is-as-creati_2203580.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eea/r-s-thomas-17783_action_the-nearest-we-approach-god-is-as-creati_2203580.png) > “The nearest we approach God ...is as creative beings. The poet, by echoing the primary imagination, recreates. Through his work he forces those who read him to do the same, thus bringing them... nearer to the actual being of God as displayed in action.” [R. S. Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-s-thomas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Artistic imagination connects humanity to the divine, urging readers to recreate that connection. **In simple terms:** Imagination links us to God. Key Takeaway Use imagination to seek deeper meaning. Themes spirituality creativity connection Mood reflective contemplative Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - reading poetry - creative writing - spiritual reflection Key Concepts theology imagination poetry Questions to Reflect On - How does your art reflect the divine? - Can imagination replace religious practice? A Different Perspective Interpretations of “God” vary, limiting universal applicability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/) [Actual God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actual-god-1347118/) [Approach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approach/) [Approach God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approach-god-316563/) [Bringing Nearer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bringing-nearer-4850287/) [Creative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative/) [Force](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/force/) [God Displayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-displayed-4850286/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Primaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/primaries/) [Primary Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/primary-imagination-811340/) ## Related quotes > [The primary imagination I hold to be the living power and prime agent of all human perception, and as a repetition in the finite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/the-primary-imagination-i-hold-to-be-the-living-power-and-prime-agent/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [God displayed a sense of humor when he configured the region between our legs an entertainment complex built around a sewage system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/god-displayed-a-sense-of-humor-when-he-configured-the-region-between/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [It has always puzzled me that so many people have taken it for granted that God favors those who believe in him. 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Say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-laurie/the-next-time-the-devil-tempts-you-to-think-that-you-are-not-worthy/) [Greg Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-laurie/) > ["The way of Cain" refers to any individual who attempts to approach God on his or her own terms rather than on God's terms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jeffress/the-way-of-cain-refers-to-any-individual-who-attempts-to-approach-god/) [Robert Jeffress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jeffress/) > [Jesus is not one of many ways to approach God, nor is He the best of several ways; He is the only way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/jesus-is-not-one-of-many-ways-to-approach-god-nor-is-he-the-best-of/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [“All the different religion are erally like different paths leading to the same goal. So there is no question of prescribing any rigid set…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kedar-nath-tiwari/all-the-different-religion-are-erally-like-different-paths-leading-to/) [Kedar Nath Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kedar-nath-tiwari/) > [Saints are simply men and women who have fulfilled their natural obligation which is to approach God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/saints-are-simply-men-and-women-who-have-fulfilled-their-natural/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [“Let us keep in mind that we do not have to go to the scriptures inorder to approach God. We do not have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thurman-l-faison/let-us-keep-in-mind-that-we-do-not-have-to-go-to-the-scriptures/) [Thurman L Faison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thurman-l-faison/) ## More by R. S. Thomas > [Is there a place here for the spirit ? Is there time on this brief platform for anything other than mind 's failure to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-s-thomas/is-there-a-place-here-for-the-spirit-is-there-time-on-this-brief/) [R. S. Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-s-thomas/) > [Now the power of the imagination is a unifying power, hence the force of metaphor; and the poet is the supreme manipulator of metaphor...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-s-thomas/now-the-power-of-the-imagination-is-a-unifying-power-hence-the-force/) [R. S. Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-s-thomas/) > [The deep spaces between stars , Fathomless as the cold shadow His mind cast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-s-thomas/the-deep-spaces-between-stars-fathomless-as-the-cold-shadow-his-mind/) [R. S. Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-s-thomas/) > [To live in Wales is to be conscious at dusk of the spilled blood that went into the making of the wild sky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-s-thomas/to-live-in-wales-is-to-be-conscious-at-dusk-of-the-spilled-blood-that/) [R. S. Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-s-thomas/) > [Deliver me from the long drought of the mind. Let leaves from the deciduous Cross fall on us, washing us clean, turning our autumn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-s-thomas/deliver-me-from-the-long-drought-of-the-mind-let-leaves-from-the/) [R. S. Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-s-thomas/) > [Art is recuperation from time. I lie back convalescing upon the prospect of a harvest already at hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-s-thomas/art-is-recuperation-from-time-i-lie-back-convalescing-upon-the/) [R. S. Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-s-thomas/) > [I'm obviously not orthodox, I don't know how many real poets have ever been orthodox.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-s-thomas/i-m-obviously-not-orthodox-i-don-t-know-how-many-real-poets-have-ever/) [R. S. Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-s-thomas/) > [I have been all men known to history, Wondering at the world and at time passing; I have seen evil, and the light blessing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-s-thomas/i-have-been-all-men-known-to-history-wondering-at-the-world-and-at/) [R. S. Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-s-thomas/) > [I have nowhere to go. The swift satellites show The clock of my whole being is slow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-s-thomas/i-have-nowhere-to-go-the-swift-satellites-show-the-clock-of-my-whole/) [R. S. Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-s-thomas/) > [I turn now not to the Bible but to Wallace Stevens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-s-thomas/i-turn-now-not-to-the-bible-but-to-wallace-stevens/) [R. S. Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-s-thomas/) > [Imaginative truth is the most immediate way of presenting ultimate reality to a human being... ultimate reality is what we call God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-s-thomas/imaginative-truth-is-the-most-immediate-way-of-presenting-ultimate/) [R. S. Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-s-thomas/) > [I am left alone on the surface of a turning planet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-s-thomas/i-am-left-alone-on-the-surface-of-a-turning-planet/) [R. S. Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-s-thomas/) > [Poetry is that / which arrives at the intellect / by way of the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-s-thomas/poetry-is-that-which-arrives-at-the-intellect-by-way-of-the-heart/) [R. S. Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-s-thomas/) > [The silence holds with its gloved hand the wild hawk of the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-s-thomas/the-silence-holds-with-its-gloved-hand-the-wild-hawk-of-the-mind/) [R. S. Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-s-thomas/) > [Verse should be as natural As the small tuber that feeds on muck And grows slowly from obtuse soil To the white flower of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-s-thomas/verse-should-be-as-natural-as-the-small-tuber-that-feeds-on-muck-and/) [R. S. Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-s-thomas/) [Explore all 36 R. S. Thomas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-s-thomas/) ## More Action quotes > [I always say there are two things to be successful. 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