--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An average Christian, in an average…" description: "\"An average Christian, in an average church, listen to an average Sunday sermon has achieved a level of arrogance simply unimaginable in scientific disc..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1e/sam-harris-457_arrogance_an-average-christian-in-an-average-churc_671953.jpg" --- # An average Christian, in an average church, listen to an… ![“An average Christian, in an average church, listen to an average Sunday sermon has achieved a level of arrogance simply unimaginable in scientific discourse -- and there have been some extraordinary arrogant scientists.” quote by Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1e/sam-harris-457_arrogance_an-average-christian-in-an-average-churc_671953.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1e/sam-harris-457_arrogance_an-average-christian-in-an-average-churc_671953.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1e/sam-harris-457_arrogance_an-average-christian-in-an-average-churc_671953.jpg) > “An average Christian, in an average church, listen to an average Sunday sermon has achieved a level of arrogance simply unimaginable in scientific discourse -- and there have been some extraordinary arrogant scientists.” [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even typical religious followers can develop arrogance that surpasses that of some scientists, showing that confidence can be misplaced across domains. **In simple terms:** Ordinary believers can be overly confident. Key Takeaway Question confidence sources. Themes religion science arrogance humility Mood critical analytical Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - academic debates - faith communities - public discourse Key Concepts cognitive bias epistemic humility social dynamics Questions to Reflect On - What fuels overconfidence? - How can humility be cultivated? A Different Perspective Arrogance can arise anywhere, not just in academia. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arrogance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrogance/) [Arrogant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrogant/) [Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian/) [Christianity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity/) [Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/) [Discourse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discourse/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Scientist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientist/) [Sunday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sunday/) ## Related quotes > [There is no question but that nominally religious scientists like Francis Collins and Kenneth R. 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It's the only area of our lives where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/religious-faith-is-the-only-area-of-discourse-where-immunity-through/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [The idea, therefore, that religious faith is somehow a sacred human convention—distinguished, as it is, both by the extravagance of its claims and by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/the-idea-therefore-that-religious-faith-is-somehow-a-sacred-human/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [We can either have a twenty-first-century conversation about morality and the human well-being - a conversation in which we avail ourselves of all scientific…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/we-can-either-have-a-twenty-first-century-conversation-about-morality/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [“I have been called arrogant myself in my time, and hope to earn the title again, but to claim that I am privy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-have-been-called-arrogant-myself-in-my-time-and-hope-to-earn-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Some say work smarter, not harder, but the wisest are both. Whether you're more of a hard worker or a smart worker, if you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colby-tatem/some-say-work-smarter-not-harder-but-the-wisest-are-both-whether-you/) [Colby Tatem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colby-tatem/) > [It's amusing how arrogant people can be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-amusing-how-arrogant-people-can-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Being humble does not mean denying being great.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/being-humble-does-not-mean-denying-being-great/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [Confidence in a bloke would be arrogance in a woman. 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If you're arrogant and try to subvert your subordinates just remember time changes and you May not be in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/himmilicious/arrogance-never-takes-you-anywhere-if-you-re-arrogant-and-try-to/) Himmilicious > [“I can confidently state that the greatest rescues in my life have occurred when I’ve been saved from myself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/i-can-confidently-state-that-the-greatest-rescues-in-my-life-have/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [The modest man has everything to gain, and the arrogant man everything to lose; for modesty has always to deal with generosity, and arrogance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-rivarol/the-modest-man-has-everything-to-gain-and-the-arrogant-man-everything/) [Antoine Rivarol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-rivarol/) > [“A woman who holds her head up too high, is trying to breathe from her own pollution.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/a-woman-who-holds-her-head-up-too-high-is-trying-to-breathe-from-her/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) ## More by Sam Harris > [“Moderates in every faith are obliged to loosely interpret (or simply ignore) much of their canons in the interests of living in the modern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/moderates-in-every-faith-are-obliged-to-loosely-interpret-or-simply/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [There is no question but that nominally religious scientists like Francis Collins and Kenneth R. Miller are doing lasting harm to our discourse by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/there-is-no-question-but-that-nominally-religious-scientists-like/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [We have Christians against Muslims against Jews, and no matter how liberal your theology, merely identifying yourself as a Christian or a Jew lends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/we-have-christians-against-muslims-against-jews-and-no-matter-how/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [“Your principal concern appears to be that the Creator of the universe will take offense at something people do while naked. This prudery of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/your-principal-concern-appears-to-be-that-the-creator-of-the-universe/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [“As manuals for contemplative understanding, the Bible and the Koran are worse than useless. 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The second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/the-second-commandment-is-thou-shall-not-construct-any-graven-images/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [“But the reality of consciousness appears irreducible. Only consciousness can know itself—and directly, through first-person experience.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/but-the-reality-of-consciousness-appears-irreducible-only/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [“Whether or not one likes Huntington's formulation, one thing is clear: the evil that has finally reached our shores is not merely the evil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/whether-or-not-one-likes-huntington-s-formulation-one-thing-is-clear/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [The problem is that religion tends to give people bad reasons to be good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/the-problem-is-that-religion-tends-to-give-people-bad-reasons-to-be/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [Muslim moderates, wherever they are, must be given every tool necessary to win a war of ideas with their co-religionists. 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And yet, it is obvious that an utter revolution in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/what-could-possibly-cause-billions-of-human-beings-to-reconsider/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) [Explore all 543 Sam Harris quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) ## More Arrogance quotes > [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/) > [wishes for sons by Lucille Clifton i wish them cramps. i wish them a strange town and the last tampon. I wish them no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucille-clifton/wishes-for-sons-by-lucille-clifton-i-wish-them-cramps-i-wish-them-a/) [Lucille Clifton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucille-clifton/) > [The structure of the Swiss ruling class is rock-hard, and unchanged since the time of Napoleon. They sit on their mountains and lecture the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-ziegler/the-structure-of-the-swiss-ruling-class-is-rock-hard-and-unchanged/) [Jean Ziegler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-ziegler/) > [What you see of me on TV and all of that, that is me - that's truly how I feel. I'm just multiplying it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-corbin/what-you-see-of-me-on-tv-and-all-of-that-that-is-me-that-s-truly-how/) [Baron Corbin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-corbin/) > [I don't join the New Atheists. So, for example, I wouldn't have the arrogance to lecture some mother who hopes to see her dying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-don-t-join-the-new-atheists-so-for-example-i-wouldn-t-have-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Never mistake someones quietness for their arrogance as you can surely miss out on an awsome personality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-mistake-someones-quietness-for-their-arrogance-as-you-can/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Most of us think of pride as self-centeredness, conceit, boastfulness, arrogance, or haughtiness. All of these are elements of the sin, but the heart,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/most-of-us-think-of-pride-as-self-centeredness-conceit-boastfulness/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [“I was consumed by a selfishness and arrogance that I didn't dare let go of until I found a new persona to hide behind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-koomson/i-was-consumed-by-a-selfishness-and-arrogance-that-i-didn-t-dare-let/) [Dorothy Koomson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-koomson/) > [Arrogance is the outgrowth of prosperity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/arrogance-is-the-outgrowth-of-prosperity/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [Timing and arrogance are decisive factors in the successful use of talent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-mannes/timing-and-arrogance-are-decisive-factors-in-the-successful-use-of/) [Marya Mannes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-mannes/) > [Some say work smarter, not harder, but the wisest are both. Whether you're more of a hard worker or a smart worker, if you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colby-tatem/some-say-work-smarter-not-harder-but-the-wisest-are-both-whether-you/) [Colby Tatem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colby-tatem/) > [Closed some doors, not because of pride, incapacity or arrogance, but simply because they no longer lead somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frenz-jeffrey/closed-some-doors-not-because-of-pride-incapacity-or-arrogance-but/) [Frenz Jeffrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frenz-jeffrey/) > [My success isn't a result of arrogance - it's a result of belief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-mcgregor/my-success-isn-t-a-result-of-arrogance-it-s-a-result-of-belief/) [Conor McGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-mcgregor/) > [“...a great man who is vicious will only be a great doer of evil, and a rich man who is not liberal will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-cervantes/a-great-man-who-is-vicious-will-only-be-a-great-doer-of-evil-and-a/) Miguel Cervantes > [An increasing number of people are growing uncomfortable with the gulf between the world's rich and the poor. Ostentatiously splashing your money around simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kalle-lasn/an-increasing-number-of-people-are-growing-uncomfortable-with-the/) [Kalle Lasn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kalle-lasn/) [Browse all 1,418 Arrogance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrogance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "An average Christian, in an average church, listen to an average Sunday sermon has achieved a level of arrogance simply unimaginable in scientific discourse -- and there have been some extraordinary arrogant scientists.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sam Harris" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/an-average-christian-in-an-average-church-listen-to-an-average-sunday/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Arrogance" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/an-average-christian-in-an-average-church-listen-to-an-average-sunday/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1e/sam-harris-457_arrogance_an-average-christian-in-an-average-churc_671953.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1e/sam-harris-457_arrogance_an-average-christian-in-an-average-churc_671953.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1e/sam-harris-457_arrogance_an-average-christian-in-an-average-churc_671953.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“An average Christian, in an average church, listen to an average Sunday sermon has achieved a level of…” — Sam Harris", "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": "Sam Harris", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "An average Christian, in an average...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/an-average-christian-in-an-average-church-listen-to-an-average-sunday/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/an-average-christian-in-an-average-church-listen-to-an-average-sunday/#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 } } ] } ```