--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If it suits [God] to be a deity that we…" description: "\"If it suits [God] to be a deity that we must seek without being forced to, would it not have been sensible for him to use the mechanism of evolution wi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68e/richard-dawkins-115_creation_if-it-suits-god-to-be-a-deity-that-we-mu_970190.jpg" --- # If it suits \[God\] to be a deity that we must seek without… ![“If it suits [God] to be a deity that we must seek without being forced to, would it not have been sensible for him to use the mechanism of evolution without posting obvious road signs to reveal his role in creation?” quote by Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68e/richard-dawkins-115_creation_if-it-suits-god-to-be-a-deity-that-we-mu_970190.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68e/richard-dawkins-115_creation_if-it-suits-god-to-be-a-deity-that-we-mu_970190.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68e/richard-dawkins-115_creation_if-it-suits-god-to-be-a-deity-that-we-mu_970190.jpg) > “If it suits \[God\] to be a deity that we must seek without being forced to, would it not have been sensible for him to use the mechanism of evolution without posting obvious road signs to reveal his role in creation?” [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. If God were a deity, using evolution without obvious signs would be a subtle method of creation, avoiding direct evidence of divine intervention. **In simple terms:** A hidden deity might use evolution without clear signs. Key Takeaway Consider subtlety in creation narratives. Themes theology evolution design Mood skeptical analytical Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - science education - philosophical debate - theological discourse - public policy Key Concepts deistic hypothesis naturalistic explanation Questions to Reflect On - Is subtle design plausible? - How does this view affect faith? A Different Perspective Assumes a deity's intent without evidence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creation/) [Deities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deities/) [Deity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deity/) [Deity Seek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deity-seek-1857818/) [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [Evolution Posting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution-posting-1857819/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Mechanism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mechanism/) [Obvious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obvious/) [Road sign](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/road-sign/) [Roles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roles/) [Sensible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sensible/) [Suits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suits/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) ## Related quotes > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [There are many things akin to highest deity that are still obscure. Some may be too subtle for our powers of comprehension, others imperceptible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/there-are-many-things-akin-to-highest-deity-that-are-still-obscure/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [There Is No God. This negation must be understood solely to affect a creative Deity. The hypothesis of a pervading Spirit co-eternal with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/there-is-no-god-this-negation-must-be-understood-solely-to-affect-a/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [For the alchemist the one primarily in need of redemption is not man, but the deity who is lost and sleeping in matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/for-the-alchemist-the-one-primarily-in-need-of-redemption-is-not-man/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [The world, and whatever that be which we call the heavens, by the vault of which all things are enclosed, we must conceive to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pliny-the-elder/the-world-and-whatever-that-be-which-we-call-the-heavens-by-the-vault/) [Pliny the Elder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pliny-the-elder/) > [Nature is saturated with Deity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/nature-is-saturated-with-deity/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The scientific mind is atrophied, and suffers under inherited cerebral weakness, when it comes in contact with the eternal woman--Astarte, Isis, Demeter, Aphrodite, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/the-scientific-mind-is-atrophied-and-suffers-under-inherited-cerebral/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [Man, like Deity, creates in his own image.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/man-like-deity-creates-in-his-own-image/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [Becoming is the mode of activity of the uncreate deity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/becoming-is-the-mode-of-activity-of-the-uncreate-deity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [As high as mind stands above nature, so high does the state stand above physical life. Man must therefore venerate the state as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/as-high-as-mind-stands-above-nature-so-high-does-the-state-stand/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [If there's a god, it knows exactly what it would take to convince me and has refused to provide it. In fact, it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-g-mcafee/if-there-s-a-god-it-knows-exactly-what-it-would-take-to-convince-me/) [David G. McAfee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-g-mcafee/) > [A supreme deity would no more gift us with intellect and expect us to forsake it in moments of bafflement, than He would fashion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terryl-l-givens/a-supreme-deity-would-no-more-gift-us-with-intellect-and-expect-us-to/) [Terryl L. Givens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terryl-l-givens/) > [Death is the inseparable antecedent of life; the seed dies in order to produce the plant, and earth itself is rent asunder and dies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-pike/death-is-the-inseparable-antecedent-of-life-the-seed-dies-in-order-to/) [Albert Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-pike/) > [When you enter a grove peopled with ancient trees, higher than the ordinary, and shutting out the sky with their thickly inter-twined branches, do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-enter-a-grove-peopled-with-ancient-trees-higher-than-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A belief in God is vitally important, not just in show business, but stability in life. You know, to recognize deity is the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donny-osmond/a-belief-in-god-is-vitally-important-not-just-in-show-business-but/) [Donny Osmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donny-osmond/) ## More by Richard Dawkins > [At the deepest level, all living things that have ever been looked at have the same DNA code. And many of the same genes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/at-the-deepest-level-all-living-things-that-have-ever-been-looked-at/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The word 'mundane' has come to mean 'boring' and 'dull', and it really shouldn't - it should mean the opposite. Because it comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-word-mundane-has-come-to-mean-boring-and-dull-and-it-really/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [We animals are the most complicated things in the known universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-animals-are-the-most-complicated-things-in-the-known-universe/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“The fundamentalist Kurt Wise proclaims that all the evidence in the universe would not change his mind. The true scientist, however passionately he may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-fundamentalist-kurt-wise-proclaims-that-all-the-evidence-in-the/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“I have found it an amusing strategy, when asked whether I am an atheist, to point out that the questioner is also an atheist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-have-found-it-an-amusing-strategy-when-asked-whether-i-am-an/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Religions do make claims about the universe--the same kinds of claims that scientists make, except they're usually false.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/religions-do-make-claims-about-the-universe-the-same-kinds-of-claims/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“much of the Bible is not systematically evil but just plain weird, as you would expect of a chaotically cobbled-together anthology of disjointed documents,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/much-of-the-bible-is-not-systematically-evil-but-just-plain-weird-as/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The recurrent laryngeal nerve - which runs from the head to the voice box - goes all the way down into the chest, loops…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-recurrent-laryngeal-nerve-which-runs-from-the-head-to-the-voice/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The Roman Catholic Church is an institution for whose gains the phrase "ill-gotten" might have been specially invented. And of all its money-making rip-offs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-roman-catholic-church-is-an-institution-for-whose-gains-the/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Let us understand what our own selfish genes are up to because we may then at least have the chance to upset their designs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/let-us-understand-what-our-own-selfish-genes-are-up-to-because-we-may/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [What's going to happen when I die? I may be buried, or I may be cremated, I may give my body to science. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/what-s-going-to-happen-when-i-die-i-may-be-buried-or-i-may-be/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Or why it is acceptable to train fast runners and high jumpers but not to breed them. I can think of some answers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/or-why-it-is-acceptable-to-train-fast-runners-and-high-jumpers-but/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [We have seen that living things are too improbable and too beautifully 'designed' to have come into existence by chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-have-seen-that-living-things-are-too-improbable-and-too/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“We will not go quietly away. If in the future that requires violence”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-will-not-go-quietly-away-if-in-the-future-that-requires-violence/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [It's a truly disgusting idea that the creator of the universe - capable of inventing the laws of physics and designing the evolutionary process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/it-s-a-truly-disgusting-idea-that-the-creator-of-the-universe-capable/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) [Explore all 1,239 Richard Dawkins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) ## More Creation quotes > [“am not suggesting that successes in academics, athletics, or vocation somehow stand outside God’s good plan. Learning and play are joys that God himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-paul-jones/am-not-suggesting-that-successes-in-academics-athletics-or-vocation/) [Timothy Paul Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-paul-jones/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [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/) > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [Like many other scientists who hold the Catholic faith, I see the Creator's plan and purpose fulfilled in our universe. I see a planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/like-many-other-scientists-who-hold-the-catholic-faith-i-see-the/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) > [And wheresoever, in his rich creation, Sweet music breathes--in wave, or bird, or soul-- 'Tis but the faint and far reverberation Of that great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-sargent-osgood/and-wheresoever-in-his-rich-creation-sweet-music-breathes-in-wave-or/) [Frances Sargent Osgood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-sargent-osgood/) > [I believe if there is a creator it will basically ask me two questions, how well did you enjoy my creation and what did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-victor-paskavich/i-believe-if-there-is-a-creator-it-will-basically-ask-me-two/) [Stanley Victor Paskavich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-victor-paskavich/) > [With no other choices open to us, we'd turned our gaze seaward. The oceans were our America: they reached farther than any prairie, untamed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carsten-jensen/with-no-other-choices-open-to-us-we-d-turned-our-gaze-seaward-the/) [Carsten Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carsten-jensen/) > [In the quiet moments of your day, what do you think and do? When you are with your Self and no one else, how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/in-the-quiet-moments-of-your-day-what-do-you-think-and-do-when-you/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [The creation lives as genesis beneath the visible surface of the work. All intelligent people see this after the fact, but only the creative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/the-creation-lives-as-genesis-beneath-the-visible-surface-of-the-work/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) > [When I was in my teens I had a series of intensely religious experiences. They deepened my sense of God as the creator of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-linzey/when-i-was-in-my-teens-i-had-a-series-of-intensely-religious/) [Andrew Linzey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-linzey/) > [If you are trying to live a life in accordance with the Bible, the concept and call to justice are inescapable. We do justice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/if-you-are-trying-to-live-a-life-in-accordance-with-the-bible-the/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [I think that storytelling and creation are very close to what the center of what magic is about. I think not just for me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/i-think-that-storytelling-and-creation-are-very-close-to-what-the/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [To be part of the creation, I must act humbly. I'll take that over a goddess any day!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-o-hara/to-be-part-of-the-creation-i-must-act-humbly-i-ll-take-that-over-a/) [Maureen O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-o-hara/) > [The country of Iraq is somewhat of an artificial creation going back to colonial days. And so you have the Kurds and then the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-clapper/the-country-of-iraq-is-somewhat-of-an-artificial-creation-going-back/) [James Clapper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-clapper/) [Browse all 5,225 Creation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If it suits [God] to be a deity that we must seek without being forced to, would it not have been sensible for him to use the mechanism of evolution without posting obvious road signs to reveal his role in creation?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard Dawkins" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/if-it-suits-god-to-be-a-deity-that-we-must-seek-without-being-forced/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Creation" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/if-it-suits-god-to-be-a-deity-that-we-must-seek-without-being-forced/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68e/richard-dawkins-115_creation_if-it-suits-god-to-be-a-deity-that-we-mu_970190.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68e/richard-dawkins-115_creation_if-it-suits-god-to-be-a-deity-that-we-mu_970190.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68e/richard-dawkins-115_creation_if-it-suits-god-to-be-a-deity-that-we-mu_970190.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If it suits [God] to be a deity that we must seek without being forced to, would it not have been sensible…” — Richard Dawkins", "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": "Richard Dawkins", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If it suits [God] to be...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/if-it-suits-god-to-be-a-deity-that-we-must-seek-without-being-forced/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/if-it-suits-god-to-be-a-deity-that-we-must-seek-without-being-forced/#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 } } ] } ```