--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: to admit we do not understand a…" description: "\"“to admit we do not understand a phenomenon is not to admit the presence of the miraculous but merely, reasonably, to accept the limitations of human k..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a09/salman-rushdie-153_proof-of-god_to-admit-we-do-not-understand-a-phenomen_2247528.jpg" --- # to admit we do not understand a phenomenon is not to admit… ![“to admit we do not understand a phenomenon is not to admit the presence of the miraculous but merely, reasonably, to accept the limitations of human knowledge. God was invented to explain what our ancestors couldn't comprehend: the radiant mystery of being. The existence of the incomprehensible…” quote by Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a09/salman-rushdie-153_proof-of-god_to-admit-we-do-not-understand-a-phenomen_2247528.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a09/salman-rushdie-153_proof-of-god_to-admit-we-do-not-understand-a-phenomen_2247528.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a09/salman-rushdie-153_proof-of-god_to-admit-we-do-not-understand-a-phenomen_2247528.jpg) > ““to admit we do not understand a phenomenon is not to admit the presence of the miraculous but merely, reasonably, to accept the limitations of human knowledge. God was invented to explain what our ancestors couldn't comprehend: the radiant mystery of being. The existence of the incomprehensible, however, is not a proof of god.”” [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Acknowledging ignorance about a phenomenon does not prove miracles; it simply admits human limits, while the concept of God historically filled those gaps. **In simple terms:** Admitting we don’t understand isn’t proof of God. Key Takeaway Embrace humility about unknowns. Themes knowledge limits humility faith Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical theological When to use this quote - academic debate - personal belief exploration - teaching - public speaking Key Concepts epistemology theology science vs religion Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance scientific humility with spiritual yearning? - What role does mystery play in your life? A Different Perspective The viewpoint may overlook personal experiences that feel transcendent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [God Invented](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-invented/) [Knowledge God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge-god/) [Mystery Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mystery-existence-386721/) [Presence Miraculous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/presence-miraculous-5120458/) [Proof of god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proof-of-god/) [Understand Phenomenon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understand-phenomenon-1722470/) ## Related quotes > [Understand: any phenomenon in the world is by nature complex. The people you deal with are equally complex. Any action sets off a limitless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/understand-any-phenomenon-in-the-world-is-by-nature-complex-the/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [When it comes to the fame side of things. I don't think anybody, whether they're famous or not, could claim to understand that phenomenon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-badgley/when-it-comes-to-the-fame-side-of-things-i-don-t-think-anybody/) [Penn Badgley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-badgley/) > [For me, we're all comfortable, we're all happy, hopefully, but at the same time something will happen and you have to kind of understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-patrick/for-me-we-re-all-comfortable-we-re-all-happy-hopefully-but-at-the/) [Richard Patrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-patrick/) > [“The individual case does not serve only to confirm a law from which practical predictions can be made. Its ideal is rather to understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-georg-gadamer/the-individual-case-does-not-serve-only-to-confirm-a-law-from-which/) [Hans-Georg Gadamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-georg-gadamer/) > [“To understand a phenomenon, we need to make sure we understand the shape of its curve. By assuming we know how a curve continues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-rosling/to-understand-a-phenomenon-we-need-to-make-sure-we-understand-the/) [Hans Rosling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-rosling/) > [“Any thing or behavior too complex to understand becomes a phenomenon that could be termed spiritual or magical.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/any-thing-or-behavior-too-complex-to-understand-becomes-a-phenomenon/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [“To understand the phenomenon of a bad seed is to recognize that we could be someone else’s bad seed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-ambu/to-understand-the-phenomenon-of-a-bad-seed-is-to-recognize-that-we/) [Joan Ambu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-ambu/) > [I believe that there is a fundamental mystery in my existence, transcending any biological account of the development of my body (including my brain)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-eccles/i-believe-that-there-is-a-fundamental-mystery-in-my-existence/) [John Eccles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-eccles/) > [The artist and the fundamentalist both confront the same issue, the mystery of their existence as individuals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/the-artist-and-the-fundamentalist-both-confront-the-same-issue-the-2/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [Who am I? Where have I come from? Where am I going?-are not questions with an answer but questions that open us up to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/who-am-i-where-have-i-come-from-where-am-i-going-are-not-questions/) [Henri Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-nouwen/) > [It was my science that drove me to the conclusion that the world is much more complicated than can be explained by science. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-was-my-science-that-drove-me-to-the-conclusion-that-the-world-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The inner self of every human waits patiently until we are ready to discover it; then it extends an invitation to enter the luminous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/the-inner-self-of-every-human-waits-patiently-until-we-are-ready-to/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Whoever believes in a God at all, believes in an infinite mystery; and if the existence of God is such an infinite mystery, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ichabod-spencer/whoever-believes-in-a-god-at-all-believes-in-an-infinite-mystery-and/) [Ichabod Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ichabod-spencer/) > [What I want to show in my work is the idea which hides itself behind so-called reality. I am seeking for the bridge which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beckmann/what-i-want-to-show-in-my-work-is-the-idea-which-hides-itself-behind/) [Max Beckmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beckmann/) > [“The artist and the fundamentalist both confront the same issue, the mystery of their existence as individuals. Each asks the same questions: Who am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/the-artist-and-the-fundamentalist-both-confront-the-same-issue-the/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) ## More by Salman Rushdie > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [It's a terrible thing that your life turns into a good story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/it-s-a-terrible-thing-that-your-life-turns-into-a-good-story/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Sometimes by a woodland stream he watched the water rush over the pebbled bed, its tiny modulations of bounce and flow. A woman's body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/sometimes-by-a-woodland-stream-he-watched-the-water-rush-over-the/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I want to write novels. I want to write stories. I want to do the stuff that I became a writer to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-want-to-write-novels-i-want-to-write-stories-i-want-to-do-the-stuff/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [If you want to be a serious writer, then you have to write what there is to write about. If you're going to pull…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-you-want-to-be-a-serious-writer-then-you-have-to-write-what-there/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“Después de exigir mi marcha, ya no posees jurisdicción en lo concerniente a mi salud.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/despu-s-de-exigir-mi-marcha-ya-no-posees-jurisdicci-n-en-lo/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [If there is a choice between absolute safety and freedom, then freedom must always prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-there-is-a-choice-between-absolute-safety-and-freedom-then-freedom/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'm not a prophet, but I always thought it was natural for dictatorships to fall. I remember in 1989, two months before the fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-not-a-prophet-but-i-always-thought-it-was-natural-for/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'd wanted to create a storm so that I could become more famous and richer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-d-wanted-to-create-a-storm-so-that-i-could-become-more-famous-and/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Who what am I? My answer: I am the sum total of everything that went before me, of all I have been seen done,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/who-what-am-i-my-answer-i-am-the-sum-total-of-everything-that-went/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“...proving once again that there was no escape from recurrence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/proving-once-again-that-there-was-no-escape-from-recurrence/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“information, in a stream-of-consciousness soliloquy that revealed the extent to which he had internalised the adversarial fragmentation of American culture and made it a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/information-in-a-stream-of-consciousness-soliloquy-that-revealed-the/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [A little bit of one story joins onto an idea from another, and hey presto, . . . not old tales but new ones.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/a-little-bit-of-one-story-joins-onto-an-idea-from-another-and-hey/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'm a novelist. Fortunately I don't have to rule the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-a-novelist-fortunately-i-don-t-have-to-rule-the-world/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [The First Amendment defends all forms of speech including hate speech, which is why groups like Ku Klux Klan are allowed to utter their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/the-first-amendment-defends-all-forms-of-speech-including-hate-speech/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) [Explore all 1,087 Salman Rushdie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) ## More Proof of god quotes > [We desperately need to understand something of the magnitude of sin, of evil, and of gross wickedness in this world if we are to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-hunt/we-desperately-need-to-understand-something-of-the-magnitude-of-sin/) [Dave Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-hunt/) > [I worship nothing. Not a good lie nor a dark one. If nature is proof of God's amazing creation then I have truly seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-numan/i-worship-nothing-not-a-good-lie-nor-a-dark-one-if-nature-is-proof-of/) [Gary Numan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-numan/) > [To suppose that the eye could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest possible degree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/to-suppose-that-the-eye-could-have-been-formed-by-natural-selection/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/my-argument-against-god-was-that-the-universe-seemed-so-cruel-and/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [God's favorites, especially God's favorites, are not immune from the bewildering times when God seems silent. Where there is no longer any opportunity for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tournier/god-s-favorites-especially-god-s-favorites-are-not-immune-from-the/) [Paul Tournier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tournier/) > [Still, even the most admirable of atheists is nothing more than a moral parasite, living his life based on borrowed ethics. This is why,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-beale/still-even-the-most-admirable-of-atheists-is-nothing-more-than-a/) [Theodore Beale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-beale/) > [“I tend to view synchronicities as proof that I am on the right path. It’s like a pat on the back from God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annette-vaillancourt/i-tend-to-view-synchronicities-as-proof-that-i-am-on-the-right-path/) [Annette Vaillancourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annette-vaillancourt/) > [A heathen philosopher once asked a Christian, 'Where is God'? The Christian answered, 'Let me first ask you, Where is He not?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-arrowsmith/a-heathen-philosopher-once-asked-a-christian-where-is-god-the/) [Aaron Arrowsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-arrowsmith/) > [A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/a-man-does-not-call-a-line-crooked-unless-he-has-some-idea-of-a/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [I have never seen the slightest scientific proof of the religious ideas of heaven and hell, of future life for individuals, or of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/i-have-never-seen-the-slightest-scientific-proof-of-the-religious-2/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) > [It is not the objective proof of God's existence that we want but the experience of God's presence. That is the miracle we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/it-is-not-the-objective-proof-of-god-s-existence-that-we-want-but-the/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [Hitler is endless proof of God's love and blessing for which we ever must be grateful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrud-scholtz-klink/hitler-is-endless-proof-of-god-s-love-and-blessing-for-which-we-ever/) [Gertrud Scholtz-Klink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrud-scholtz-klink/) > [Difficulties are God's errands; and when we are sent upon them, we should esteem it a proof of God's confidence,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/difficulties-are-god-s-errands-and-when-we-are-sent-upon-them-we/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [“The only proof of God in the world was color. Everything would have worked the same without it. 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