--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How could it occur to anyone to…" description: "\"How could it occur to anyone to demonstrate that God exists unless one has already allowed Himself to ignore Him? A king's existence is demonstrated by..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80d/soren-kierkegaard-578_accomplished_how-could-it-occur-to-anyone-to-demonstr_2937435.jpg" --- # How could it occur to anyone to demonstrate that God… ![“How could it occur to anyone to demonstrate that God exists unless one has already allowed Himself to ignore Him? A king's existence is demonstrated by way of subjection and submissiveness. Do you want to try and demonstrate that the king exists? Will you do so by offering a string of proofs, a…” quote by Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80d/soren-kierkegaard-578_accomplished_how-could-it-occur-to-anyone-to-demonstr_2937435.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80d/soren-kierkegaard-578_accomplished_how-could-it-occur-to-anyone-to-demonstr_2937435.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80d/soren-kierkegaard-578_accomplished_how-could-it-occur-to-anyone-to-demonstr_2937435.jpg) > “How could it occur to anyone to demonstrate that God exists unless one has already allowed Himself to ignore Him? A king's existence is demonstrated by way of subjection and submissiveness. Do you want to try and demonstrate that the king exists? Will you do so by offering a string of proofs, a series of arguments? No. If you are serious, you will demonstrate the king's existence by your submission, by the way you live. And so it is with demonstrating God's existence. It is accomplished not by proofs but by worship. Any other way is but a thinker's pious bungling.” [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. God's existence is shown through lived devotion, not logical proof; worship demonstrates faith more than argument. **In simple terms:** Faith is shown by living, not arguing. Key Takeaway Live your faith to demonstrate belief. Themes faith existence worship Mood contemplative serious Type philosophical theological When to use this quote - personal spirituality - religious practice - philosophical discourse - ethical living Key Concepts existentialism theology Questions to Reflect On - What does worship reveal that arguments cannot? - How can one balance reason and faith? A Different Perspective Proofs can be intellectually satisfying but may miss experiential truth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accomplished](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accomplished/) [Argument](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/argument/) [Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian/) [Demonstrate God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demonstrate-god-1116815/) [Demonstrating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demonstrating/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Existence Demonstrated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence-demonstrated-4362139/) [God exists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-exists/) [God'S Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-s-existence/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [King Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/king-existence-4362138/) [King Exists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/king-exists-4362140/) [Kings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kings/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Offering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/offering/) [Orthodox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/orthodox/) [Orthodox christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/orthodox-christian/) [Pious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pious/) [Proof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proof/) [Series](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/series/) [Serious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/serious/) [Strings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strings/) [Subjection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subjection/) [Submission](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/submission/) [Thinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinker/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Worship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worship/) ## Related quotes > [It is possible to demonstrate God's existence, although not a priori, yet a posteriori from some work of His more surely known to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/it-is-possible-to-demonstrate-god-s-existence-although-not-a-priori/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [It takes so much to be a king that he exists only as such. That extraneous glare that surrounds him hides him and conceals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/it-takes-so-much-to-be-a-king-that-he-exists-only-as-such-that/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [God is the King. In him exists all legal authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-pratt/god-is-the-king-in-him-exists-all-legal-authority/) [Orson Pratt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-pratt/) > [“One of the best ways to demonstrate God's love is to listen to people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-larson/one-of-the-best-ways-to-demonstrate-god-s-love-is-to-listen-to-people/) [Bruce Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-larson/) > [“Once we have broken free of the prejudices of our own provincially limited ecclesiastical, tribal, or national rendition of the world archetypes, it becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/once-we-have-broken-free-of-the-prejudices-of-our-own-provincially/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Whichever way I turn, whatever phase of social life presents itself, the same conviction comes: Independent bread alone can redeem woman from her curse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-b-anthony/whichever-way-i-turn-whatever-phase-of-social-life-presents-itself/) [Susan B. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-b-anthony/) > [No nation keeps another in subjection without herself turning into a subject nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/no-nation-keeps-another-in-subjection-without-herself-turning-into-a/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Civilization involves subjection of force to reason, and the agency of this subjection is law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roscoe-pound/civilization-involves-subjection-of-force-to-reason-and-the-agency-of/) [Roscoe Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roscoe-pound/) > [The woman born to physical subjection and degradation can never seek or use knowledge as her birthright. Never till she holds her sex in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-c-ames/the-woman-born-to-physical-subjection-and-degradation-can-never-seek/) [Mary C. Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-c-ames/) > [The bible teaches that woman brought sin and death into the world, that she precipitated the fall of the race, that she was arraigned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-cady-stanton/the-bible-teaches-that-woman-brought-sin-and-death-into-the-world/) [Elizabeth Cady Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-cady-stanton/) > [There is no heaven and there is no hell. They are not geographical, they are part of your psychology. They are psychological. To live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/there-is-no-heaven-and-there-is-no-hell-they-are-not-geographical/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Americans are so enamored of equality that they would rather be equal in slavery than unequal in freedom… The subjection of individuals will increase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/americans-are-so-enamored-of-equality-that-they-would-rather-be-equal/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Accepting the view that man was prior in the creation, some Scriptural writers say that as the woman was of the man, therefore, her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-cady-stanton/accepting-the-view-that-man-was-prior-in-the-creation-some-scriptural/) [Elizabeth Cady Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-cady-stanton/) > [A woman with cut hair is a filthy spectacle, and much like a monsterit being natural and comely to women to nourish their hair,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-prynne/a-woman-with-cut-hair-is-a-filthy-spectacle-and-much-like-a-monsterit/) [William Prynne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-prynne/) > [Let us ask... how things work at the level of on-going subjugation, at the level of those continuous and uninterrupted processes which subject our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/let-us-ask-how-things-work-at-the-level-of-on-going-subjugation-at/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) ## More by Soren Kierkegaard > [Christianity does not oppose debauchery and uncontrollable passions and the like as much as it opposes... flat mediocrity, this nauseating atmosphere, this homey, civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/christianity-does-not-oppose-debauchery-and-uncontrollable-passions/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Christians remind me of schoolboys who want to look up the answers to their math problems in the back of the book rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/christians-remind-me-of-schoolboys-who-want-to-look-up-the-answers-to/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [People commonly travel the world over to see rivers and mountains, new stars, garish birds, freak fish, grotesque breeds of human; they fall into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/people-commonly-travel-the-world-over-to-see-rivers-and-mountains-new/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [“A strange thing happened to me in my dream. I was rapt into the Seventh Heaven. There sat all the gods assembled. As a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/a-strange-thing-happened-to-me-in-my-dream-i-was-rapt-into-the/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [That which is truly human no generation learns from the one before it. No generation learns from another how to love. No generation has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/that-which-is-truly-human-no-generation-learns-from-the-one-before-it/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [A man may perform astonishing feats and comprehend a vast amount of knowledge, and yet have no understanding of himself. But suffering directs a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/a-man-may-perform-astonishing-feats-and-comprehend-a-vast-amount-of/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Be that self which one truly is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/be-that-self-which-one-truly-is/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [I go fishing for a thousand monsters in the depths of my own self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/i-go-fishing-for-a-thousand-monsters-in-the-depths-of-my-own-self/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [In addition to my other numerous acquaintances, I have one more intimate confidant… My depression is the most faithful mistress I have known —…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/in-addition-to-my-other-numerous-acquaintances-i-have-one-more/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [The greatest danger to Christianity is, I contend, not heresies, not heterodoxies, not atheists, not profane secularism - no, but the kind of orthodoxy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/the-greatest-danger-to-christianity-is-i-contend-not-heresies-not/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Future is everything that past has forgotten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/future-is-everything-that-past-has-forgotten/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Without risk, faith is an impossibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/without-risk-faith-is-an-impossibility/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [I have only one confidant, and that is the silence of night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/i-have-only-one-confidant-and-that-is-the-silence-of-night/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [A road well begun is the battle half won. The important thing is to make a beginning and get under way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/a-road-well-begun-is-the-battle-half-won-the-important-thing-is-to/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [I have, I believe, the courage to doubt everything; I have, I believe, the courage to fight against everything; but I do not have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/i-have-i-believe-the-courage-to-doubt-everything-i-have-i-believe-the/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) [Explore all 462 Soren Kierkegaard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) ## More Accomplished quotes > [I never believed in trying to do anything. Whatever I set out to do I found I had already accomplished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/i-never-believed-in-trying-to-do-anything-whatever-i-set-out-to-do-i/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [This is, for an accomplished Latino, an accomplished African American, an accomplished anyone who disproves stereotypes, it's a constant battle in your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sotomayor/this-is-for-an-accomplished-latino-an-accomplished-african-american/) [Sonia Sotomayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sotomayor/) > [When you have accomplished your goal simply walk away. This is the path way to Heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/when-you-have-accomplished-your-goal-simply-walk-away-this-is-the/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [... even the most sublimely accomplished non-stop talker can't consistently please.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger-2/even-the-most-sublimely-accomplished-non-stop-talker-can-t/) [J. D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger-2/) > [ \[U\]nless oppressed groups stick together, and on alliances of self interest rather than do-goodism; nothing can be accomplished in the long run to dismantle… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shulamith-firestone/u-nless-oppressed-groups-stick-together-and-on-alliances-of-self/) [Shulamith Firestone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shulamith-firestone/) > [Alas, you don't need monsters for monstrous deeds to be accomplished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/alas-you-don-t-need-monsters-for-monstrous-deeds-to-be-accomplished/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [Like all writers, he measured the achievements of others by what they had accomplished, asking of them that they measure him by what he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/like-all-writers-he-measured-the-achievements-of-others-by-what-they/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [I'm proud of what I've accomplished and that is empowering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/violet-chachki/i-m-proud-of-what-i-ve-accomplished-and-that-is-empowering/) [Violet Chachki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/violet-chachki/) > [We do not know today whether we are busy or idle. In times when we thought ourselves indolent, we have afterwards discovered that much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/we-do-not-know-today-whether-we-are-busy-or-idle-in-times-when-we/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I don't know Beyoncé, but I have the impression that she's sincere, that she really is a feminist and wanted to put the word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-don-t-know-beyonc-but-i-have-the-impression-that-she-s-sincere-that/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [The gain in self-confidence of having accomplished a tiresome labour is immense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/the-gain-in-self-confidence-of-having-accomplished-a-tiresome-labour/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) > [With Epcot Center, the Disney corporation has accomplished something I didn't think possible in today's world. They have created a land of make-believe that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/with-epcot-center-the-disney-corporation-has-accomplished-something-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Listing the polar bear under the Endangered Species Act could harm bear conservation efforts by eliminating revenues from the carefully-regulated sport hunting of polar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-ridenour/listing-the-polar-bear-under-the-endangered-species-act-could-harm/) [Amy Ridenour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-ridenour/) > [“Great things can be accomplished, when it doesnt matter who gets the credit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/great-things-can-be-accomplished-when-it-doesnt-matter-who-gets-the/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [If I could inspire you for even a moment to be yourself and love yourself, and not let what anyone has to say hinder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-neal-hartry/if-i-could-inspire-you-for-even-a-moment-to-be-yourself-and-love/) [Joshua Neal Hartry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-neal-hartry/) [Browse all 1,379 Accomplished quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accomplished/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "How could it occur to anyone to demonstrate that God exists unless one has already allowed Himself to ignore Him? A king's existence is demonstrated by way of subjection and submissiveness. Do you want to try and demonstrate that the king exists? Will you do so by offering a string of proofs, a series of arguments? No. If you are serious, you will demonstrate the king's existence by your submission, by the way you live. And so it is with demonstrating God's existence. It is accomplished not by proofs but by worship. 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