--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Atheism is an exercise in intellectual…" description: "\"Atheism is an exercise in intellectual contempt.\" — Ravi Zacharias" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96f/ravi-zacharias-1158_atheism_atheism-is-an-exercise-in-intellectual-c_1167110.png" --- # Atheism is an exercise in intellectual contempt. ![“Atheism is an exercise in intellectual contempt.” quote by Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96f/ravi-zacharias-1158_atheism_atheism-is-an-exercise-in-intellectual-c_1167110.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96f/ravi-zacharias-1158_atheism_atheism-is-an-exercise-in-intellectual-c_1167110.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96f/ravi-zacharias-1158_atheism_atheism-is-an-exercise-in-intellectual-c_1167110.png) > “Atheism is an exercise in intellectual contempt.” [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Atheism often stems from dismissing spiritual perspectives, leading to intellectual arrogance. **In simple terms:** Atheism can become contemptuous of religion. Key Takeaway Respect differing worldviews. Themes faith intellectual humility dialogue atheism Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - interfaith discussions - philosophy classes - public debates Key Concepts contempt intellectual exercise Questions to Reflect On - What drives contempt in belief debates? - Can humility bridge faith gaps? A Different Perspective Some atheists practice humility and openness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) [Atheist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheist/) [Contempt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contempt/) [Exercise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exercise/) [Fitness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/) [Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual/) ## Related quotes > [PASTIME, n. A device for promoting dejection. Gentle exercise for intellectual debility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/pastime-n-a-device-for-promoting-dejection-gentle-exercise-for/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [There is one great advantage to being an academic economist in France: here, economists are not highly respected in the academic and intellectual world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-piketty/there-is-one-great-advantage-to-being-an-academic-economist-in-france/) [Thomas Piketty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-piketty/) > [I have infinite knowledge that there is no being in existence with infinite knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/i-have-infinite-knowledge-that-there-is-no-being-in-existence-with/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [A man rejects God neither because of intellectual demands nor because of the scarcity of evidence. A man rejects God because of a moral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/a-man-rejects-god-neither-because-of-intellectual-demands-nor-because/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [But the lack of faith could just as well be a crutch for non-believers, allowing them to live their lives without any concept of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-coren/but-the-lack-of-faith-could-just-as-well-be-a-crutch-for-non/) [Michael Coren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-coren/) > [According to the teaching of our Lord, what is wrong with the world is precisely that it does not believe in God. Yet it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-baillie/according-to-the-teaching-of-our-lord-what-is-wrong-with-the-world-is/) [John Baillie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-baillie/) > [Christianity also stands in opposition to intellectual, as well as physical, health. To doubt becomes sin. 'Faith means not wanting to know what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-sheaffer/christianity-also-stands-in-opposition-to-intellectual-as-well-as/) [Robert Sheaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-sheaffer/) > [ Again, I hear almost everyday from atheists who write off religion as primitive, premodern nonsense. I summon Aquinas, Augustine, Paul \[of Tarsus\], Teresa of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-barron/again-i-hear-almost-everyday-from-atheists-who-write-off-religion-as/) [Robert Barron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-barron/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [Boasting and bravado may exist in the breast even of the coward, if he is successful through a mere lucky hit; but a just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/boasting-and-bravado-may-exist-in-the-breast-even-of-the-coward-if-he/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [There is no real elevation of mind in a contempt of little things; it is, on the contrary, from too narrow views that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-fenelon/there-is-no-real-elevation-of-mind-in-a-contempt-of-little-things-it/) [Francois Fenelon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-fenelon/) > [Show your contempt for the problem and your concern for the person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/show-your-contempt-for-the-problem-and-your-concern-for-the-person/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [Our security depends on having good relationships with our allies. Donald Trump mainly shows contempt for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-wolfowitz/our-security-depends-on-having-good-relationships-with-our-allies/) [Paul Wolfowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-wolfowitz/) > [The contempt for law and the contempt for the human consequences of lawbreaking go from the bottom to the top of American society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-contempt-for-law-and-the-contempt-for-the-human-consequences-of/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Too much familiarity breeds contempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/too-much-familiarity-breeds-contempt/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) ## More by Ravi Zacharias > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [“How do we build root systems capable of weathering every storm that seeks to draw us into the temporary and the profane?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/how-do-we-build-root-systems-capable-of-weathering-every-storm-that/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [You see misery, you see misfortune, you see pain, you see suffering. It's all part of the fatalistic way of looking at life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/you-see-misery-you-see-misfortune-you-see-pain-you-see-suffering-it-s/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [Truth is not only a matter of offense, in that it makes certain assertions. It is also a matter of defense in that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/truth-is-not-only-a-matter-of-offense-in-that-it-makes-certain/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [“We are his temple. We do not turn in a certain directlon to pray. We are not bound by having to go into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/we-are-his-temple-we-do-not-turn-in-a-certain-directlon-to-pray-we/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [“Sometimes in the shadows of one’s self lie the problems, and in the shadows of one’s shaping lie the answers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/sometimes-in-the-shadows-of-one-s-self-lie-the-problems-and-in-the/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [Years ago I was asked this question: Do terrorists fear anything? I said, 'I suspect they would fear a morally strong America.' They would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/years-ago-i-was-asked-this-question-do-terrorists-fear-anything-i/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [When you come to religion, you come to a place. When you come to Jesus Christ, you come to a person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/when-you-come-to-religion-you-come-to-a-place-when-you-come-to-jesus/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [“Philosophically, you can believe anything, so long as you do not claim it to be true. Morally, you can practice anything, so long as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/philosophically-you-can-believe-anything-so-long-as-you-do-not-claim/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [None of us like the concept of law because none of us like the restraints it puts on us. But when we understand that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/none-of-us-like-the-concept-of-law-because-none-of-us-like-the/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [“That truth, by the way, is why even the horror of hell is more the outcome of a heart that seeks to disown God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/that-truth-by-the-way-is-why-even-the-horror-of-hell-is-more-the/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [But life's joys are only joys if they can be shared.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/but-life-s-joys-are-only-joys-if-they-can-be-shared/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [Having the answers is not essential to living. What is essential is the sense of God's presence during dark seasons of questioning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/having-the-answers-is-not-essential-to-living-what-is-essential-is/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [Only through repentance and faith in Christ can anyone be saved. No religious activity will be sufficient, only true faith in Jesus Christ alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/only-through-repentance-and-faith-in-christ-can-anyone-be-saved-no/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [In naturalism, man is actually very insignificant, but arrogates to himself stupendous power. In Christianity, man is actually the apex of created significance, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/in-naturalism-man-is-actually-very-insignificant-but-arrogates-to/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) [Explore all 279 Ravi Zacharias quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) ## More Atheism 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/) > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [No philosophy, no religion, has ever brought so glad a message to the world as this good news of Atheism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/no-philosophy-no-religion-has-ever-brought-so-glad-a-message-to-the/) [Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [God speaks through me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/god-speaks-through-me/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-knowledge-of-the-existence-of-something-we-cannot-penetrate-of-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [You cannot ... transmute some incoherent mixture of words into sense merely by introducing the three-letter word "God" to be its grammatical subject.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-flew/you-cannot-transmute-some-incoherent-mixture-of-words-into-sense/) [Antony Flew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-flew/) > [Many humanists have argued that happiness involves a combination of hedonism and creative moral development; that an exuberant life fuses excellence and enjoyment, meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/many-humanists-have-argued-that-happiness-involves-a-combination-of/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [If, with all the time at my disposal, with all the wealth of the resources of this vast universe, to do with as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/if-with-all-the-time-at-my-disposal-with-all-the-wealth-of-the/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [Do you think that was kind? Do you think it was godlike? What would you think of a physician, if a woman came to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-h-gardener/do-you-think-that-was-kind-do-you-think-it-was-godlike-what-would-you/) [Helen H. Gardener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-h-gardener/) > [Science can destroy religion by ignoring it as well as by disproving its tenets. No one ever demonstrated, so far as I am aware,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/science-can-destroy-religion-by-ignoring-it-as-well-as-by-disproving/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [Honest investigation is utterly impossible within the pale of any church, for the reason, that if you think the church is right you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/honest-investigation-is-utterly-impossible-within-the-pale-of-any/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) [Browse all 4,769 Atheism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Atheism is an exercise in intellectual contempt.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ravi Zacharias" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/atheism-is-an-exercise-in-intellectual-contempt/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Atheism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/atheism-is-an-exercise-in-intellectual-contempt/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96f/ravi-zacharias-1158_atheism_atheism-is-an-exercise-in-intellectual-c_1167110.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96f/ravi-zacharias-1158_atheism_atheism-is-an-exercise-in-intellectual-c_1167110.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96f/ravi-zacharias-1158_atheism_atheism-is-an-exercise-in-intellectual-c_1167110.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Atheism is an exercise in intellectual contempt.” — Ravi Zacharias", "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": "Ravi Zacharias", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Atheism is an exercise in intellectual...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/atheism-is-an-exercise-in-intellectual-contempt/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/atheism-is-an-exercise-in-intellectual-contempt/#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 } } ] } ```