---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The God that can be named is not God."
description: "\"The God that can be named is not God.\" — Soren Kierkegaard"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69b/soren-kierkegaard-578_god_the-god-that-can-be-named-is-not-god-296_2961730.jpg"
---

#  The God that can be named is not God.

![“The God that can be named is not God.” quote by Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69b/soren-kierkegaard-578_god_the-god-that-can-be-named-is-not-god-296_2961730.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69b/soren-kierkegaard-578_god_the-god-that-can-be-named-is-not-god-296_2961730.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69b/soren-kierkegaard-578_god_the-god-that-can-be-named-is-not-god-296_2961730.jpg)

> “The God that can be named is not God.”

[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.

The ineffable divine transcends naming, suggesting true God is beyond language.

**In simple terms:** God cannot be fully named.

Key Takeaway

Seek beyond labels.

Themes

theology ineffability philosophy spirituality

Mood

contemplative mysterious

Type

philosophical theological

When to use this quote

- personal meditation
- interfaith dialogue
- theological study

Key Concepts

existentialism negative theology

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you experience the divine?
- Can naming limit spirituality?

A Different Perspective

Language limits understanding.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/)

## Related quotes

> [My real name's Rakim - my parents named me after the god MC himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asap-rocky/my-real-name-s-rakim-my-parents-named-me-after-the-god-mc-himself/)

[ASAP Rocky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asap-rocky/)

> [“Whether we choose to acknowledge God as our Creator or not, we are all born with a “God code”—a strand of spiritual DNA that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kasey-van-norman/whether-we-choose-to-acknowledge-god-as-our-creator-or-not-we-are-all/)

[Kasey Van Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kasey-van-norman/)

> [ “the Son, but the Son the visible of the Father. And for this reason all spake with Christ when He was present \[upon earth\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-church-fathers/the-son-but-the-son-the-visible-of-the-father-and-for-this-reason-all/)

The Church Fathers

> [Our starting-point must be the fact that God cannot be named... no mind has yet contained or language embraced God's substance in its fullness.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-of-nazianzus/our-starting-point-must-be-the-fact-that-god-cannot-be-named-no-mind/)

[Gregory of Nazianzus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-of-nazianzus/)

> [For I have shown from the Scriptures, that no one of the sons of Adam is as to everything, and absolutely, called God, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irenaeus-of-lyons/for-i-have-shown-from-the-scriptures-that-no-one-of-the-sons-of-adam/)

[Irenaeus of Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irenaeus-of-lyons/)

> [ George Bush, within a week of this \[the 9/11 attacks\], in a speech, attempting to distinguish US from the Muslim fundamentalists, said Our God… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/george-bush-within-a-week-of-this-the-9-11-attacks-in-a-speech/)

[Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/)

> [“After the 9/11 attacks, when President George W. Bush, in a speech aimed at distinguishing the U.S. from the Muslim fundamentalists, said, "Our God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/after-the-9-11-attacks-when-president-george-w-bush-in-a-speech-aimed/)

[Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/)

> [Dreams like a podcast, Downloading truth in my ears. They tell me cool stuff." "Apollo?" I guess, because I figured nobody else could make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/dreams-like-a-podcast-downloading-truth-in-my-ears-they-tell-me-cool/)

[Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/)

> [Apollo?” I guessed… He put a finger to his lips. “I’m incognito. Call me Fred.” A god named Fred?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/apollo-i-guessed-he-put-a-finger-to-his-lips-i-m-incognito-call-me/)

[Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/)

> [In seventh grade, with some vague sense that I wanted to be a writer, I crouched in the junior high school library stacks to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/in-seventh-grade-with-some-vague-sense-that-i-wanted-to-be-a-writer-i/)

[Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/)

> [I have a band that I started with a buddy of mine, a Vietnam veteran pal named Kimo Williams from Chicago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-sinise/i-have-a-band-that-i-started-with-a-buddy-of-mine-a-vietnam-veteran/)

[Gary Sinise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-sinise/)

> [I'd like an omelet named after me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-sewell/i-d-like-an-omelet-named-after-me/)

[Rufus Sewell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-sewell/)

> [“Language itself is a major resource in the naming of what cannot be named”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-simpson/language-itself-is-a-major-resource-in-the-naming-of-what-cannot-be/)

[David Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-simpson/)

> [“Names I am most commonly called by telemarketers: Simone, Slain, Siobhan, Flo, Stacey, Susan, Slater, Leanne, and Slow (Yes, my parents named me "Slow".…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sloane-crosley/names-i-am-most-commonly-called-by-telemarketers-simone-slain-siobhan/)

[Sloane Crosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sloane-crosley/)

> [Named after my mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-raitt/named-after-my-mother/)

[Bonnie Raitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-raitt/)

## 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 God quotes

> [I don't drink much anymore, but when I traveled with Frank Sinatra, God rest his soul, I used to drink like I could do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-rickles/i-don-t-drink-much-anymore-but-when-i-traveled-with-frank-sinatra-god/)

[Don Rickles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-rickles/)

> [“God hates Hell. He hates the idea of people going there. He hates it so much that He was willing to take on human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-minton/god-hates-hell-he-hates-the-idea-of-people-going-there-he-hates-it-so/)

[Evan Minton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-minton/)

> [“am not suggesting that successes in academics, athletics, or vocation somehow stand outside God’s good plan. Learning and play are joys that God himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-paul-jones/am-not-suggesting-that-successes-in-academics-athletics-or-vocation/)

[Timothy Paul Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-paul-jones/)

> [I pray that wherever we are and whatever duties we have in the priesthood of God, we will be united in the cause to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/i-pray-that-wherever-we-are-and-whatever-duties-we-have-in-the/)

[Henry B. Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/)

> [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/)

[Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/)

> [God's love never fail :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/god-s-love-never-fail/)

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

> [Here's the reality. The image of a white Jesus has been used to justify enslavement, conquest, colonialism, the genocide of indigenous peoples. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/here-s-the-reality-the-image-of-a-white-jesus-has-been-used-to/)

[Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/)

> [The faster you go, the shorter you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-faster-you-go-the-shorter-you-are/)

[Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/)

> [A lot of people have been saying 'The 100' reminds them of 'Lord Of The Flies,' 'Lost' and 'Battlestar Galactica,' and all of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-avgeropoulos/a-lot-of-people-have-been-saying-the-100-reminds-them-of-lord-of-the/)

[Marie Avgeropoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-avgeropoulos/)

> [As we are coming to the end of the year, I want you to forget about the past, the failure, the negative thoughts or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-we-are-coming-to-the-end-of-the-year-i-want-you-to-forget-about/)

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

> [I wonder: when a Jehovah's Witness dies and goes to Heaven, does God hide behind the door and pretend He's not home?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-celio/i-wonder-when-a-jehovah-s-witness-dies-and-goes-to-heaven-does-god/)

[Brian Celio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-celio/)

> [What would God have me do with my life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/what-would-god-have-me-do-with-my-life/)

[Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/)

> [God always gets the glory when Jesus comes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louie-giglio/god-always-gets-the-glory-when-jesus-comes/)

[Louie Giglio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louie-giglio/)

> [“Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/do-all-the-good-you-can-by-all-the-means-you-can-in-all-the-ways-you/)

[Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/)

> [You are a God Act like one!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/you-are-a-god-act-like-one/)

[Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/)

[Browse all 37,707 God quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "The God that can be named is not God.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Soren Kierkegaard"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/the-god-that-can-be-named-is-not-god/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "God"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/the-god-that-can-be-named-is-not-god/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69b/soren-kierkegaard-578_god_the-god-that-can-be-named-is-not-god-296_2961730.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69b/soren-kierkegaard-578_god_the-god-that-can-be-named-is-not-god-296_2961730.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69b/soren-kierkegaard-578_god_the-god-that-can-be-named-is-not-god-296_2961730.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The God that can be named is not God.” — Soren Kierkegaard",
                "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": "Soren Kierkegaard",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "The God that can be named...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/the-god-that-can-be-named-is-not-god/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/the-god-that-can-be-named-is-not-god/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
