--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are gods, but there is no God; and…" description: "\"There are gods, but there is no God; and all gods become devils eventually.\" — Robert Anton Wilson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e15/robert-anton-wilson-1198_devils_there-are-gods-but-there-is-no-god-and-a_1548167.jpg" --- # There are gods, but there is no God; and all gods become… ![“There are gods, but there is no God; and all gods become devils eventually.” quote by Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e15/robert-anton-wilson-1198_devils_there-are-gods-but-there-is-no-god-and-a_1548167.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e15/robert-anton-wilson-1198_devils_there-are-gods-but-there-is-no-god-and-a_1548167.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e15/robert-anton-wilson-1198_devils_there-are-gods-but-there-is-no-god-and-a_1548167.jpg) > “There are gods, but there is no God; and all gods become devils eventually.” [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) ## 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 distinguishes between multiple deities and a singular God, suggesting that all gods eventually become harmful, implying a critique of organized religion or belief systems. **In simple terms:** Many gods exist, but no single God; gods can become harmful. Key Takeaway Question the nature of divine authority. Themes religion philosophy skepticism mythology authority Mood skeptical provocative Type philosophical critical. When to use this quote - spiritual practice - political discourse - personal belief formation Key Concepts theology critical thinking psychology Questions to Reflect On - What makes a belief system constructive? - How do you differentiate divine authority from human authority? A Different Perspective Not all belief systems become harmful; some provide comfort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Devils](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devils/) [Devils Eventually](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devils-eventually-5780940/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [God Gods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-gods-894759/) [Gods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gods/) [Gods Devils](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gods-devils-734542/) [Gods God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gods-god-1403665/) ## Related quotes > [People are gods, God is in each of us, we are all gods as we want to be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miroslav-mircevski-spasov/people-are-gods-god-is-in-each-of-us-we-are-all-gods-as-we-want-to-be/) [Miroslav Mircevski Spasov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miroslav-mircevski-spasov/) > [The devil is not mean, He's not cruel, He just failed, Everyone betrayed, So, we are all little Gods devils](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/birta-bj-rk/the-devil-is-not-mean-he-s-not-cruel-he-just-failed-everyone-betrayed/) [Birta Björk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/birta-bj-rk/) > [Respect the gods and the devils but keep them at a distance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/respect-the-gods-and-the-devils-but-keep-them-at-a-distance/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [The devil and God are components of a Siamese twin. Neither has any existence apart from the other. In denying the existence of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chapman-cohen/the-devil-and-god-are-components-of-a-siamese-twin-neither-has-any/) [Chapman Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chapman-cohen/) > [“reminding him of what he once intended to be before he ate the apple of wisdom and became as the gods and devils.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-livingston-hill/reminding-him-of-what-he-once-intended-to-be-before-he-ate-the-apple/) [Grace Livingston Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-livingston-hill/) > [There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-nicol-gaylor/there-are-no-gods-no-devils-no-angels-no-heaven-or-hell-there-is-only/) [Anne Nicol Gaylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-nicol-gaylor/) > [It could be any of a billion Gods. It could be God of the Martians or of the inhabitants of Alpha Centauri. The chance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/it-could-be-any-of-a-billion-gods-it-could-be-god-of-the-martians-or/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“Gods? There is but one God now, child, and I am no more than a wind through bare branches.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-arden/gods-there-is-but-one-god-now-child-and-i-am-no-more-than-a-wind/) [Katherine Arden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-arden/) > [The god that you believe in, and the god that I believe in, maybe different gods; however, the God that made you, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wallace/the-god-that-you-believe-in-and-the-god-that-i-believe-in-maybe/) [William Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wallace/) > [My god is all gods in one. When I see a beautiful sunset, I worship the god of Nature; when I see a hidden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/my-god-is-all-gods-in-one-when-i-see-a-beautiful-sunset-i-worship-the/) [Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/) > [Oh Lord,You alone are my mother,father,brother,friend,the knowledge and welth. You are everything to me and the God of all gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upanishadic-mantra/oh-lord-you-alone-are-my-mother-father-brother-friend-the-knowledge/) [Upanishadic Mantra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upanishadic-mantra/) > [“Those who erase God…must be gods.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/those-who-erase-god-must-be-gods/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [The Greeks understood perfectly that if there were divine beings they are capricious, unkind, malicious mostly, temperamental, envious and mostly deeply unpleasant because that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/the-greeks-understood-perfectly-that-if-there-were-divine-beings-they/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [God is one; there are not many Gods, one for each tribe among men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sathya-sai-baba/god-is-one-there-are-not-many-gods-one-for-each-tribe-among-men/) [Sathya Sai Baba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sathya-sai-baba/) > [I don't believe in God. I believe gods and devils are within us. It's our own battle. Our life's battle is to appeal to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-izzard/i-don-t-believe-in-god-i-believe-gods-and-devils-are-within-us-it-s/) [Eddie Izzard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-izzard/) ## More by Robert Anton Wilson > [Every fact of science was once Damned. Every invention was considered impossible. Every discovery was a nervous shock to some orthodoxy. Every artistic innovation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/every-fact-of-science-was-once-damned-every-invention-was-considered/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [The only way to stave off boredom, in a complex domesticated primate like humankind, is to increase one's intelligence. This is not appealing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/the-only-way-to-stave-off-boredom-in-a-complex-domesticated-primate/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [Disobedience was man's Original Virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/disobedience-was-man-s-original-virtue/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [In every state of the Union, Fundamentalists still fight to ban all the science they dislike and prosecute all who teach it. To them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/in-every-state-of-the-union-fundamentalists-still-fight-to-ban-all/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [It is a great privilege to be conscious in this universe. Those who understand, shine like stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/it-is-a-great-privilege-to-be-conscious-in-this-universe-those-who/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [I will do anything, including highway robbery and murder, to avoid leaving my children in poverty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/i-will-do-anything-including-highway-robbery-and-murder-to-avoid/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [I see anarchism as the theoretical ideal to which we are all gradually evolving to a point where everybody can tell the truth to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/i-see-anarchism-as-the-theoretical-ideal-to-which-we-are-all/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [“Masturbation is not the happiest form of sexuality, but the most advisable for him who wants to be alone and think. I detect the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/masturbation-is-not-the-happiest-form-of-sexuality-but-the-most/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [I like pacifists and people who have a heavy emotional identification with deathism and war would probably call me a pacifist, but I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/i-like-pacifists-and-people-who-have-a-heavy-emotional-identification/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [Cynics regarded everybody as equally corrupt... Idealists regarded everybody as equally corrupt, except themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/cynics-regarded-everybody-as-equally-corrupt-idealists-regarded/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [The most important truths always appear first as blasphemies or obscenities. That's why every great innovator is persecuted. And the sacraments look obscene, too,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/the-most-important-truths-always-appear-first-as-blasphemies-or/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [“When you're dealing with these forces or powers in a philosophic and scientific way, contemplating them from an armchair, that rationalistic approach is useful.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/when-you-re-dealing-with-these-forces-or-powers-in-a-philosophic-and/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [“And Spaceship Earth, that glorious and bloody circus, continued its four-billion-year-long spiral orbit about the Sun; the engineering, I must admit, was so exquisite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/and-spaceship-earth-that-glorious-and-bloody-circus-continued-its/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [Existence is larger than any model that is not itself the exact size of existence (which has no size).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/existence-is-larger-than-any-model-that-is-not-itself-the-exact-size/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [The totally convinced and the totally stupid have too much in common for the resemblance to be accidental.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/the-totally-convinced-and-the-totally-stupid-have-too-much-in-common/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) [Explore all 274 Robert Anton Wilson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) ## More Devils quotes > [Wine is the first weapon that devils use in attacking the young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/wine-is-the-first-weapon-that-devils-use-in-attacking-the-young/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [“Unfathomable to mere mortals is the lore of fiends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/unfathomable-to-mere-mortals-is-the-lore-of-fiends/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [It's spiritual warfare out here gotta keep the devils up off ya and eyes on the prize.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-spiritual-warfare-out-here-gotta-keep-the-devils-up-off-ya-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [More details, more devils.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/more-details-more-devils/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Tricky devils, these novelists. The ink gets into their heads.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/tricky-devils-these-novelists-the-ink-gets-into-their-heads/) [P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/) > [“Great Light, the Enemy's power is so fragile! The devils can use only what we ourselves will give them. Do you see? Give them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-lawhead/great-light-the-enemy-s-power-is-so-fragile-the-devils-can-use-only/) [Stephen R. Lawhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-lawhead/) > [“When fighting devils, be careful not to become one”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raine-anthony/when-fighting-devils-be-careful-not-to-become-one/) [Raine Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raine-anthony/) > [If my devils are to leave me, I'm afraid my angels will take flight as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/if-my-devils-are-to-leave-me-i-m-afraid-my-angels-will-take-flight-as/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“If you see devils, they lock you up, but in America, if you see angels, they put you on morning TV.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/if-you-see-devils-they-lock-you-up-but-in-america-if-you-see-angels/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [There were distant devils who became angels when we finally became close.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/there-were-distant-devils-who-became-angels-when-we-finally-became/) [Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/) > [Devils soonest tempt, resembling spirits of light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/devils-soonest-tempt-resembling-spirits-of-light/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [ “\[...\] let us go with all our "devils" to the help of our "god"!” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nietzsche-friedrich-wilhelm/let-us-go-with-all-our-devils-to-the-help-of-our-god/) [Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nietzsche-friedrich-wilhelm/) > [We're all playing the same game, different levels. Dealing with the same hell, just different devils.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-re-all-playing-the-same-game-different-levels-dealing-with-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Once upon a time men were possessed by devils. Now they are not less obsessed by ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/once-upon-a-time-men-were-possessed-by-devils-now-they-are-not-less/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [I love demons,devils,vampires because they're super good in hurting people. They're so damn bad until they don't feel and they don't care. They do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farishta/i-love-demons-devils-vampires-because-they-re-super-good-in-hurting/) [Farishta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farishta/) [Browse all 200 Devils quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devils/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There are gods, but there is no God; and all gods become devils eventually.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Anton Wilson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/there-are-gods-but-there-is-no-god-and-all-gods-become-devils/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Devils" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/there-are-gods-but-there-is-no-god-and-all-gods-become-devils/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e15/robert-anton-wilson-1198_devils_there-are-gods-but-there-is-no-god-and-a_1548167.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e15/robert-anton-wilson-1198_devils_there-are-gods-but-there-is-no-god-and-a_1548167.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e15/robert-anton-wilson-1198_devils_there-are-gods-but-there-is-no-god-and-a_1548167.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There are gods, but there is no God; and all gods become devils eventually.” — Robert Anton Wilson", "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 Anton Wilson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There are gods, but there is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/there-are-gods-but-there-is-no-god-and-all-gods-become-devils/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/there-are-gods-but-there-is-no-god-and-all-gods-become-devils/#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 } } ] } ```