--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He had discovered that there was not just…" description: "\"“He had discovered that there was not just one God but many, and some were more than cruel — they were insane, and that changed all. Cruelty, after all..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aed/stephen-king-13_cruelty_he-had-discovered-that-there-was-not-jus_140309.jpg" --- # He had discovered that there was not just one God but… ![“He had discovered that there was not just one God but many, and some were more than cruel — they were insane, and that changed all. Cruelty, after all, was understandable. With insanity, however, there was no arguing.” quote by Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aed/stephen-king-13_cruelty_he-had-discovered-that-there-was-not-jus_140309.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aed/stephen-king-13_cruelty_he-had-discovered-that-there-was-not-jus_140309.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aed/stephen-king-13_cruelty_he-had-discovered-that-there-was-not-jus_140309.jpg) > ““He had discovered that there was not just one God but many, and some were more than cruel — they were insane, and that changed all. Cruelty, after all, was understandable. With insanity, however, there was no arguing.”” [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Acknowledges multiple deities, some beyond moral comprehension, making cruelty seem rational. **In simple terms:** Many gods exist; some are insane, making cruelty understandable. Key Takeaway Recognize limits of moral reasoning. Themes theology morality psychology Mood dark thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - philosophy - religious debate - psychological analysis - creative writing Key Concepts polytheism insanity ethical relativism Questions to Reflect On - How does belief in many gods affect ethics? - Can cruelty ever be justified? A Different Perspective Risk of oversimplifying complex theological concepts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Changed Cruelty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/changed-cruelty-1588009/) [Cruel Insane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruel-insane-1588012/) [Cruelty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruelty/) [Cruelty Understandable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruelty-understandable-1588010/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [God Cruel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-cruel-895695/) [Insane Changed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insane-changed-1588011/) [Insanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insanity/) ## Related quotes > [Every great man was thought to be insane before he changed the world. Some never changed the world. They were just insane.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/every-great-man-was-thought-to-be-insane-before-he-changed-the-world/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [“God is cruel,” David said in a voice almost too low to hear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/god-is-cruel-david-said-in-a-voice-almost-too-low-to-hear/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [You said 'God is cruel' the way a person who's lived his whole life on Tahiti might say 'Snow is cold'. You knew, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/you-said-god-is-cruel-the-way-a-person-who-s-lived-his-whole-life-on/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [God is cruel. Sometimes he makes you live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/god-is-cruel-sometimes-he-makes-you-live/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“God is not cruel, but He is not lenient. He is true; He is not safe. He is unchanging; therefore we must change. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-cordeiro/god-is-not-cruel-but-he-is-not-lenient-he-is-true-he-is-not-safe-he/) [Wayne Cordeiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-cordeiro/) > [Because God is never cruel, there is a reason for all things. We must know the pain of loss; because if we never knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/because-god-is-never-cruel-there-is-a-reason-for-all-things-we-must/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [Come to think of it, maybe God is a He after all, because only a cruel force would create something this beautiful and make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raquel-cepeda/come-to-think-of-it-maybe-god-is-a-he-after-all-because-only-a-cruel/) [Raquel Cepeda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raquel-cepeda/) > [God is either cruel or incompetent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/god-is-either-cruel-or-incompetent/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [“How could God be so cruel as to create a Muslim woman with so much flesh and so little sex appeal?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/how-could-god-be-so-cruel-as-to-create-a-muslim-woman-with-so-much/) [Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/) > [Ah Fortune, what god is more cruel to us than thou! How thou delightest ever to make sport of human life!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/ah-fortune-what-god-is-more-cruel-to-us-than-thou-how-thou-delightest/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [“How can God be so cruel to grow love in such hopeless places?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-paul/how-can-god-be-so-cruel-to-grow-love-in-such-hopeless-places/) [Fiona Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-paul/) > [But God is never cruel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-girzone/but-god-is-never-cruel/) [Joseph Girzone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-girzone/) > [Burnin' churches, fearin' God, Who can be so cruel, We all ignorant to AIDS, Till it happens to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/burnin-churches-fearin-god-who-can-be-so-cruel-we-all-ignorant-to/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [“God is such a cruel god for making you so wonderful, and for making me so weak.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sade-andria-zabala/god-is-such-a-cruel-god-for-making-you-so-wonderful-and-for-making-me/) [Sade Andria Zabala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sade-andria-zabala/) > [When someone like myself points out the rather obvious and compelling evidence that God is cruel and unjust, because he visits suffering on innocent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/when-someone-like-myself-points-out-the-rather-obvious-and-compelling/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) ## More by Stephen King > [Shall there be truth between us, as two men? Not as friends, but as enemies and equals?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/shall-there-be-truth-between-us-as-two-men-not-as-friends-but-as/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The worst advice? 'Don't listen to the critics.' I think that you really ought to listen to the critics, because sometimes they're telling you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-worst-advice-don-t-listen-to-the-critics-i-think-that-you-really/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“October 3, 2017 The clown, Hagarty said, looked like a cross between Ronald McDonald and that old TV clown, Bozo—or so he thought at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/october-3-2017-the-clown-hagarty-said-looked-like-a-cross-between/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Eddie saw great things and near misses. Albert Einstein as a child, not quite struck by a run-away milk-wagon as he crossed a street.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/eddie-saw-great-things-and-near-misses-albert-einstein-as-a-child-not/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [It hurt, of course, but more often than not the best things do, I've found.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/it-hurt-of-course-but-more-often-than-not-the-best-things-do-i-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“The idea that creative endeavor and mind-altering substances are entwined is one of the great pop-intellectual myths of our time... Creative people probably do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-idea-that-creative-endeavor-and-mind-altering-substances-are/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“The sun had burned through and the day had gone from dull to dazzling, yet in the west blask-satin thunderheads continued to stack up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-sun-had-burned-through-and-the-day-had-gone-from-dull-to-dazzling/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“God, you had enough time to have been through it three times. You've been through my stuff. I bet you over and let one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/god-you-had-enough-time-to-have-been-through-it-three-times-you-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Flakes of snow swirled and danced across the porch. The Overlook faced it as it had for nearly three-quarters of a century, its darkened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/flakes-of-snow-swirled-and-danced-across-the-porch-the-overlook-faced/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“In that instant it all seemed to come clear to him- it came in a grisly flash of light, and he realized that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/in-that-instant-it-all-seemed-to-come-clear-to-him-it-came-in-a/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Who gets to be best-liked in any community? Who is the most trusted? Why, the man who does the dirty job, of course, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/who-gets-to-be-best-liked-in-any-community-who-is-the-most-trusted/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“¿Lo ves, tonto? Volvió a regañarse. Tú lo inventaste todo, gato asustado. No fue más que tu imaginación, gato asustado, gato asustado... No te…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/lo-ves-tonto-volvi-a-rega-arse-t-lo-inventaste-todo-gato-asustado-no/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Death . . . but not for you. That was what Walter, clever as Satan even at the end, had said. A lawyer’s answer . . . so close to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/death-but-not-for-you-that-was-what-walter-clever-as-satan-even-at/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The ghost story movie that scared me the most was The Changeling with George C. Scott. I think that's sometimes overlooked, but it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-ghost-story-movie-that-scared-me-the-most-was-the-changeling-with/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Climb aboard, Jonesy. I'm going to send you up where the air is rare and the view is much more than fair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/climb-aboard-jonesy-i-m-going-to-send-you-up-where-the-air-is-rare/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) [Explore all 3,589 Stephen King quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) ## More Cruelty quotes > [It revealed a cruelty that really made one wonder if the universe was such a good idea after all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-lindsay/it-revealed-a-cruelty-that-really-made-one-wonder-if-the-universe-was/) [Jeff Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-lindsay/) > [Nature is pitiless; she never withdraws her flowers, her music, her fragrance, and her sunlight from before human cruelty or suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/nature-is-pitiless-she-never-withdraws-her-flowers-her-music-her/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [I could not have slept tonight if I had left that helpless little creature to perish on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-could-not-have-slept-tonight-if-i-had-left-that-helpless-little/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [There's a certain edge about cruelty. If you're honest about it, most people wince, but say it had to be said.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-waterman/there-s-a-certain-edge-about-cruelty-if-you-re-honest-about-it-most/) [Pete Waterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-waterman/) > [He lacked tenderness; he was rude; and he had more than a streak of cruelty in him; he was a thief and a liar.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/he-lacked-tenderness-he-was-rude-and-he-had-more-than-a-streak-of/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [There is a spirit which I feel that delights to do no evil, nor to revenge any wrong, but delights to endure all things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nayler/there-is-a-spirit-which-i-feel-that-delights-to-do-no-evil-nor-to/) [James Nayler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nayler/) > [The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-love-for-all-living-creatures-is-the-most-noble-attribute-of-man/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [Regarding lack of vision or disabilities of the organ of sight, it has long been known among researchers that it is the effect of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-heindel/regarding-lack-of-vision-or-disabilities-of-the-organ-of-sight-it-has/) [Max Heindel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-heindel/) > [“When you’re a monster, she thought, you are thanked and praised for not behaving like a monster. She would like to restrain from cruelty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-cashore/when-you-re-a-monster-she-thought-you-are-thanked-and-praised-for-not/) [Kristin Cashore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-cashore/) > [What is it the Bible teaches us? - raping, cruelty, and murder. What is it the New Testament teaches us? - to believe that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/what-is-it-the-bible-teaches-us-raping-cruelty-and-murder-what-is-it/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Music comes from the heart and returns to the heart... music is spontaneous, impulsive expression... its range is without limit... music is forever growing...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leopold-stokowski/music-comes-from-the-heart-and-returns-to-the-heart-music-is/) [Leopold Stokowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leopold-stokowski/) > [The schoolmaster is the person who takes the children off the parents' hands for a consideration. That is to say, he establishes a child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-schoolmaster-is-the-person-who-takes-the-children-off-the-parents/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [You must learn that to endure cruelty is to become cruel yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bleach/you-must-learn-that-to-endure-cruelty-is-to-become-cruel-yourself/) [Bleach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bleach/) > [“in every pleasure, cruelty has its place...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/in-every-pleasure-cruelty-has-its-place/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Old people deserves a medal, a medal of existence which crowns their long-term victory against the cruelty of time and the dangers of this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/old-people-deserves-a-medal-a-medal-of-existence-which-crowns-their/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) [Browse all 1,675 Cruelty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruelty/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He had discovered that there was not just one God but many, and some were more than cruel — they were insane, and that changed all. 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