---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Most gods have the morals of a spoiled…"
description: "\"Most gods have the morals of a spoiled child.\" — Robert A. Heinlein"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d5/robert-a-heinlein-209_character_most-gods-have-the-morals-of-a-spoiled-c_200942.jpg"
---

#  Most gods have the morals of a spoiled child.

![“Most gods have the morals of a spoiled child.” quote by Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d5/robert-a-heinlein-209_character_most-gods-have-the-morals-of-a-spoiled-c_200942.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d5/robert-a-heinlein-209_character_most-gods-have-the-morals-of-a-spoiled-c_200942.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d5/robert-a-heinlein-209_character_most-gods-have-the-morals-of-a-spoiled-c_200942.jpg)

> “Most gods have the morals of a spoiled child.”

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Divine beings are portrayed as immature and self‑centered, reflecting human flaws projected onto gods.

**In simple terms:** Gods act childishly.

Key Takeaway

Question authority and seek mature ethics.

Themes

theity human nature power myth criticism

Mood

skeptical critical

Type

philosophical satirical

When to use this quote

- religious discourse
- philosophical debate
- creative writing
- teaching ethics

Key Concepts

Theology psychology literature

Questions to Reflect On

- How do we distinguish divine guidance from human ego?
- What responsibilities do we have toward flawed authority?

A Different Perspective

Divine authority can be misused when unchecked.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Morals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morals/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Spoiled children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spoiled-children/)

## Related quotes

> [Most gods have the manners and morals of a spoiled child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/most-gods-have-the-manners-and-morals-of-a-spoiled-child/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

> [The artist is today and has been for many years, despite his absence of merit, simply a spoiled child. So many honors, so much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/the-artist-is-today-and-has-been-for-many-years-despite-his-absence/)

[Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/)

> [The world knows how to straighten out a spoiled child but never makes it up to a child deprived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/the-world-knows-how-to-straighten-out-a-spoiled-child-but-never-makes/)

[Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/)

> [She said America was a spoiled child ignorant of grief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/she-said-america-was-a-spoiled-child-ignorant-of-grief/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

> [We pamper the present like a spoiled child, obeying its superficial demands but ignoring its real needs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-grudin/we-pamper-the-present-like-a-spoiled-child-obeying-its-superficial/)

[Robert Grudin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-grudin/)

> [Washington, one feels in Washington, is the spoiled child of the republic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/montgomery-schuyler/washington-one-feels-in-washington-is-the-spoiled-child-of-the/)

Montgomery Schuyler

> [The life of our class, of the wealthy and the learned, was not only repulsive to me but had lost all meaning. The sum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-life-of-our-class-of-the-wealthy-and-the-learned-was-not-only/)

[Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/)

> [“Men rarely invent gods superior to themselves. Most gods have the morals and manners of a spoiled child.” -Robert Heinlein”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-roquet/men-rarely-invent-gods-superior-to-themselves-most-gods-have-the/)

[Angela Roquet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-roquet/)

> [ “... for the first time, it occurred to him \[Webern\] that maybe God wasn't an old man with a beard, but just a spoiled child.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chandler-klang-smith/for-the-first-time-it-occurred-to-him-webern-that-maybe-god-wasn-t-an/)

Chandler Klang Smith

> [“Because he's no better than a spoiled child. You were his toy, and even though he's got new toys, it doesn't mean he wants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/because-he-s-no-better-than-a-spoiled-child-you-were-his-toy-and-even/)

[Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/)

> [“The fairy was right. He had the temperament of a spoiled child, and if he ever wanted to become a man of two legs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivienne-savage/the-fairy-was-right-he-had-the-temperament-of-a-spoiled-child-and-if/)

[Vivienne Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivienne-savage/)

> [“I'd spent too many years acting like a spoiled child, and it was finally time to grow up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-lane/i-d-spent-too-many-years-acting-like-a-spoiled-child-and-it-was/)

[Nina Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-lane/)

> [I don't have the desires of a spoiled child. I never did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/princess-stephanie-of-monaco/i-don-t-have-the-desires-of-a-spoiled-child-i-never-did/)

[Princess Stephanie of Monaco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/princess-stephanie-of-monaco/)

> [“What I'm saying is I think life is staggering and we're just used to it. We are all like spoiled children no longer impressed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/what-i-m-saying-is-i-think-life-is-staggering-and-we-re-just-used-to/)

[Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/)

> [This is not a game, ... Debt has become a part of who we are. It's become that spoiled child in the grocery store…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-ramsey/this-is-not-a-game-debt-has-become-a-part-of-who-we-are-it-s-become/)

[Dave Ramsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-ramsey/)

## More by Robert A. Heinlein

> [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

> [My folks tried to make a preacher of me and missed by a narrow margin… I would have made a good one if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/my-folks-tried-to-make-a-preacher-of-me-and-missed-by-a-narrow-margin/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

> [Ninety percent of all human wisdom is the ability to mind your own business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/ninety-percent-of-all-human-wisdom-is-the-ability-to-mind-your-own/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

> [If we blow ourselves up we will do it by misapplication of science; if we manage to keep from blowing ourselves up, it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/if-we-blow-ourselves-up-we-will-do-it-by-misapplication-of-science-if/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

> [Nor would anybody suspect. If was one thing all people took for granted, was conviction that if you feed honest figures into a computer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/nor-would-anybody-suspect-if-was-one-thing-all-people-took-for/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

> [Women will forgive anything. Otherwise, the race would have died out long ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/women-will-forgive-anything-otherwise-the-race-would-have-died-out/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

> [Most neuroses and some psychoses can be traced to the unnecessary and unhealthy habit of daily wallowing in the troubles and sins of five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/most-neuroses-and-some-psychoses-can-be-traced-to-the-unnecessary-and/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

> [No statement should be believed because it is made by an authority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/no-statement-should-be-believed-because-it-is-made-by-an-authority/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

> [“Some people are ants by nature; they have to work, even when it’s useless. Few people have a talent for constructive laziness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/some-people-are-ants-by-nature-they-have-to-work-even-when-it-s/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

> [“The instinct to survive is human nature itself, and every aspect of our personalities derives from it. Anything that conflicts with the survival instinct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/the-instinct-to-survive-is-human-nature-itself-and-every-aspect-of/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

> [“I tried to dig out of the computer a call directory for Luna. But it was still sulking. I could not get it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/i-tried-to-dig-out-of-the-computer-a-call-directory-for-luna-but-it/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

> [“this has more aspects than a cat has hair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/this-has-more-aspects-than-a-cat-has-hair/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

> [Never own more than you can carry in both hands at a dead run.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/never-own-more-than-you-can-carry-in-both-hands-at-a-dead-run/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

> [“In Wilson's scale of evaluations breakfast rated just after life itself and ahead of the chance of immortality." ~ By His Bootstraps / Robert A. Heinlein”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/in-wilson-s-scale-of-evaluations-breakfast-rated-just-after-life/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

> [Ignorance is curable, stupid is forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/ignorance-is-curable-stupid-is-forever/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

[Explore all 888 Robert A. Heinlein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

## More Character quotes

> [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/)

[Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/)

> [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/)

[Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/)

> [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

> [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/)

[Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/)

> [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/)

[Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/)

> [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/)

David Hudgins

> [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/)

[Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/)

> [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/)

[Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/)

> [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/)

[Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/)

> [Your looks don't make you pretty, it's the person inside who makes you pretty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-chan/your-looks-don-t-make-you-pretty-it-s-the-person-inside-who-makes-you/)

[Aaron Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-chan/)

> [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/)

[Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/)

> [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/)

[Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/)

> [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

> [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/)

[Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/)

[Browse all 32,707 Character quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Most gods have the morals of a spoiled child.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Robert A. Heinlein"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/most-gods-have-the-morals-of-a-spoiled-child/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Character"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/most-gods-have-the-morals-of-a-spoiled-child/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d5/robert-a-heinlein-209_character_most-gods-have-the-morals-of-a-spoiled-c_200942.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d5/robert-a-heinlein-209_character_most-gods-have-the-morals-of-a-spoiled-c_200942.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d5/robert-a-heinlein-209_character_most-gods-have-the-morals-of-a-spoiled-c_200942.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Most gods have the morals of a spoiled child.” — Robert A. Heinlein",
                "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": "Robert A. Heinlein",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Most gods have the morals of...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/most-gods-have-the-morals-of-a-spoiled-child/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/most-gods-have-the-morals-of-a-spoiled-child/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
