--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People who do not know the Bible well…" description: "\"People who do not know the Bible well have been gulled into thinking it is a good guide to morality. This mistaken view may have motivated the milliona..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e9/richard-dawkins-115_bible_people-who-do-not-know-the-bible-well-ha_56508.jpg" --- # People who do not know the Bible well have been gulled… ![“People who do not know the Bible well have been gulled into thinking it is a good guide to morality. This mistaken view may have motivated the millionaire Conservative party donors. I have even heard the cynically misanthropic opinion that, without the Bible as a moral compass, people would have…” quote by Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e9/richard-dawkins-115_bible_people-who-do-not-know-the-bible-well-ha_56508.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e9/richard-dawkins-115_bible_people-who-do-not-know-the-bible-well-ha_56508.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e9/richard-dawkins-115_bible_people-who-do-not-know-the-bible-well-ha_56508.jpg) > “People who do not know the Bible well have been gulled into thinking it is a good guide to morality. This mistaken view may have motivated the millionaire Conservative party donors. I have even heard the cynically misanthropic opinion that, without the Bible as a moral compass, people would have no restraint against murder, theft and mayhem. The surest way to disabuse yourself of this pernicious falsehood is to read the Bible itself.” [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. The quote argues that misunderstanding the Bible leads people to overestimate its moral authority, and that reading it reveals its limitations as an ethical guide. **In simple terms:** Misconception about biblical morality Key Takeaway Read the Bible to assess its moral claims Themes Religion Morality Misinterpretation Political Influence Critical Thinking Mood Skeptical Analytical Provocative Type Opinion Critique Argument When to use this quote - Debates on religion and ethics - Political fundraising contexts - Academic discussions on scripture - Public policy formation Key Concepts Biblical literacy Moral authority Political persuasion Cynicism Practical Applications - Educational curricula on religious texts - Critical media analysis Questions to Reflect On - How does personal familiarity with a text shape its perceived authority? - What alternative sources can inform morality without religious texts? A Different Perspective Some argue that the Bible still provides valuable moral insights despite misinterpretations, so dismissing it entirely may overlook its positive contributions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bible/) [Compass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compass/) [Conservative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conservative/) [Conservative party](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conservative-party/) [Donors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/donors/) [Falsehood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/falsehood/) [Mayhem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mayhem/) [Millionaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/millionaire/) [Misanthropic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misanthropic/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Moral compass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral-compass/) [Morality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morality/) [Murder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/murder/) [Opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion/) [Party](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/party/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Restraint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/restraint/) [Theft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theft/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“She soon reached a point when she could not sit at the table with him and listen to his misbegotten notions and morality with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-stead/she-soon-reached-a-point-when-she-could-not-sit-at-the-table-with-him/) [Christina Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-stead/) > [If the bible were published as fiction, no reviewer would give it a passing grade. There are some vivid scenes and quotable phrases but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/if-the-bible-were-published-as-fiction-no-reviewer-would-give-it-a/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [So what is the difference between someone who willfully indulges in sexual pleasures while ignoring the Bible on moral purity and someone who willfully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-platt/so-what-is-the-difference-between-someone-who-willfully-indulges-in/) [David Platt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-platt/) > [I think that the Bible as a system of moral guidance in the 21st century is insufficient, to put it mildly. I feel quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-thompson/i-think-that-the-bible-as-a-system-of-moral-guidance-in-the-21st/) [Emma Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-thompson/) > [“The lessons of the Bible have a moral and religious influence on the character, as they are brought into the practical life. Timothy”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-g-white/the-lessons-of-the-bible-have-a-moral-and-religious-influence-on-the/) [Ellen G. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-g-white/) > [The God of the Bible is a moral monstrosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/the-god-of-the-bible-is-a-moral-monstrosity/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [“You may plainly perceive the traitor through his mask; he is well-known everywhere in his true colors; his rolling eyes and his honeyed tones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/you-may-plainly-perceive-the-traitor-through-his-mask-he-is-well/) [Molière](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [I have the weirdest job. It's not every day that you get to stand up onstage and unload every ounce of your misanthropic bile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-e-clark/i-have-the-weirdest-job-it-s-not-every-day-that-you-get-to-stand-up/) [Annie E. Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-e-clark/) > [I think people have always misinterpreted my self-destructive nature as nihilistic, because if you don't care about the world, you can't create art. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-manson/i-think-people-have-always-misinterpreted-my-self-destructive-nature/) [Marilyn Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-manson/) > [I mean, sometimes we do do that, The National Anthem was a caustic satire and sometimes that's the way to go with the story…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-brooker/i-mean-sometimes-we-do-do-that-the-national-anthem-was-a-caustic/) [Charlie Brooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-brooker/) > [“I become quite melancholy and deeply grieved to see men behave to each other as they do. Everywhere I find nothing but base flattery,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/i-become-quite-melancholy-and-deeply-grieved-to-see-men-behave-to/) [Molière](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [It is a blessing not yet to have acquired that over-keen, diagnostic, misanthropic eye, and to be able to look at people and things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-zweig/it-is-a-blessing-not-yet-to-have-acquired-that-over-keen-diagnostic/) [Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-zweig/) > [Sometimes with the most intense pain a paralysis of sensibility occurs. The soul disintegrates--hence the deadly frost--the free power of the mind--the shattering, ceaseless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/novalis/sometimes-with-the-most-intense-pain-a-paralysis-of-sensibility/) [Novalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/novalis/) > [For, as when the red-cheeked, dancing girls, April and May, trip home to the wintry, misanthropic woods; even the barest, ruggedest, most thunder-cloven old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/for-as-when-the-red-cheeked-dancing-girls-april-and-may-trip-home-to/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [I don't know whether I'm misanthropic. It seems to me I'm constantly disappointed. I'm very easily disappointed. Disappointed in the things that people do;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/i-don-t-know-whether-i-m-misanthropic-it-seems-to-me-i-m-constantly/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) ## 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 Bible quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [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/) > [“God hates Hell. He hates the idea of people going there. He hates it so much that He was willing to take on human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-minton/god-hates-hell-he-hates-the-idea-of-people-going-there-he-hates-it-so/) [Evan Minton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-minton/) > [“The Devil can cite Scripture for his purpose, Sergeant,’ Anthony Payne replied. ‘That is from The Merchant of Venice, but it holds great truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-arnold/the-devil-can-cite-scripture-for-his-purpose-sergeant-anthony-payne/) Michael Arnold > [When you put your hand on the Bible, you are saying something much stronger than just telling your peers that you're going to tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-greenwood/when-you-put-your-hand-on-the-bible-you-are-saying-something-much/) [Lee Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-greenwood/) > [“Scripture also teaches that human beings are morally responsible creatures”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-peterson/scripture-also-teaches-that-human-beings-are-morally-responsible/) Robert A. Peterson > [“The wife of a junior officer cooped up in a horrible canvas partition in steerage for five months wrote: "I had enjoyed much peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-taylor/the-wife-of-a-junior-officer-cooped-up-in-a-horrible-canvas-partition/) Stephen Taylor > [O Word of God incarnate . . . It is the golden casket Where gems of truth are stored; It is the heaven-drawn picture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walsham-how/o-word-of-god-incarnate-it-is-the-golden-casket-where-gems-of-truth/) Walsham How > [How can I trust that the Bible is reliable?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-horton/how-can-i-trust-that-the-bible-is-reliable/) [Michael Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-horton/) > [Every plant which my heavenly father has not planted with be uprooted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesus-christ/every-plant-which-my-heavenly-father-has-not-planted-with-be-uprooted/) [Jesus Christ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesus-christ/) > [Where I come from you're not raised to think on your own. It's not that you're pushed to read the Bible. The Bible is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abel-ferrara/where-i-come-from-you-re-not-raised-to-think-on-your-own-it-s-not/) [Abel Ferrara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abel-ferrara/) > [“I felt like praying or something, when I was in bed, but I couldn't do it. I can't always pray when I feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/i-felt-like-praying-or-something-when-i-was-in-bed-but-i-couldn-t-do/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [What comes to mind when you think of heaven? Heaven is referred to in fifty-four of the Bible's sixty-six books, and the final two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-jeremiah/what-comes-to-mind-when-you-think-of-heaven-heaven-is-referred-to-in/) [David Jeremiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-jeremiah/) > [“While it is in one sense a result of God’s presence within us, the New Testament also describes a process involved in our “putting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/while-it-is-in-one-sense-a-result-of-god-s-presence-within-us-the-new/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) > [The definition of a Church is crystal clear in the New Testament. We see the picture of it. They came together the first day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-macarthur/the-definition-of-a-church-is-crystal-clear-in-the-new-testament-we/) [John MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-macarthur/) [Browse all 8,465 Bible quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bible/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "People who do not know the Bible well have been gulled into thinking it is a good guide to morality. This mistaken view may have motivated the millionaire Conservative party donors. I have even heard the cynically misanthropic opinion that, without the Bible as a moral compass, people would have no restraint against murder, theft and mayhem. 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