--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We imagine that our…" description: "\"“We imagine that our theological/conceptual systems are the means by which we know God as God is. I truly believe that such postures and perspectives p..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/524/tim-keel-50598_conceptual_we-imagine-that-our-theological-conceptu_541253.jpg" --- # We imagine that our theological/conceptual systems are the… ![“We imagine that our theological/conceptual systems are the means by which we know God as God is. I truly believe that such postures and perspectives put us in danger of conceptual idolatry, worshiping our ideas of and frameworks for God.” quote by Tim Keel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/524/tim-keel-50598_conceptual_we-imagine-that-our-theological-conceptu_541253.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/524/tim-keel-50598_conceptual_we-imagine-that-our-theological-conceptu_541253.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/524/tim-keel-50598_conceptual_we-imagine-that-our-theological-conceptu_541253.jpg) > ““We imagine that our theological/conceptual systems are the means by which we know God as God is. I truly believe that such postures and perspectives put us in danger of conceptual idolatry, worshiping our ideas of and frameworks for God.”” [Tim Keel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-keel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Relying on human concepts to define the divine risks turning ideas into idols, limiting true understanding of God. **In simple terms:** Ideas about God can become idols if we treat them as the only truth. Key Takeaway Guard against treating concepts as the sole path to knowing God. Themes theology humility idolatry Mood reflective cautious Type theological philosophical When to use this quote - preaching - personal meditation - academic study - interfaith dialogue Key Concepts conceptual frameworks divine mystery spiritual discernment Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate between useful concepts and idolatrous ones? - What practices keep you open to mystery? A Different Perspective Human language is limited; concepts may never fully capture the divine. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conceptual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conceptual/) [Conceptual Idolatry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conceptual-idolatry-4525602/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [Imagine Theological](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine-theological-4525604/) [Theological Conceptual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theological-conceptual-4525603/) [Theology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theology/) [Worshiping Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worshiping-ideas-4525605/) ## Related quotes > [In the particular dwells the tawdry. In the conceptual dwells the grand, the transcendent, the everlasting. Earthly countries and single malignant boys can go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/in-the-particular-dwells-the-tawdry-in-the-conceptual-dwells-the/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [What makes something simple or complex? It's not the number of dials or controls or how many features it has: It is whether the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-a-norman/what-makes-something-simple-or-complex-it-s-not-the-number-of-dials/) [Donald A. Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-a-norman/) > [Music bypasses the conceptual mind. Music does not give you food for thought...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/music-bypasses-the-conceptual-mind-music-does-not-give-you-food-for/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Conceptual art became the liberating idea that gave the art of the next 40 years its real impetus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/conceptual-art-became-the-liberating-idea-that-gave-the-art-of-the/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [I had never thought that I would be involved in narrative structures. As a young guy, I was more interested in abstract modeling. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-braxton/i-had-never-thought-that-i-would-be-involved-in-narrative-structures/) [Anthony Braxton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-braxton/) > [Our talk of external things, our very notion of things, is just a conceptual apparatus that helps us to foresee and control the triggerings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-van-orman-quine/our-talk-of-external-things-our-very-notion-of-things-is-just-a/) [Willard Van Orman Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-van-orman-quine/) > [Out of time we cut 'days' and 'nights', 'summers' and 'winters.' We say what, each part of the sensible continuum is, and all these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/out-of-time-we-cut-days-and-nights-summers-and-winters-we-say-what/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“World’s religions are conceptual. There are two parts in these concepts! One is auspicious and the other is inauspicious. World’s religions are into (doing)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/world-s-religions-are-conceptual-there-are-two-parts-in-these/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [I am not really interested in clothing as a conceptual art form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/issey-miyake/i-am-not-really-interested-in-clothing-as-a-conceptual-art-form/) [Issey Miyake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/issey-miyake/) > [I've come up through art school, through painting, through graphic design, through advertising, through TV commercials and music video. I've designed books, built billboards,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kaye/i-ve-come-up-through-art-school-through-painting-through-graphic/) [Tony Kaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kaye/) > [Our concepts structure what we perceive, how we get around in the world and how we relate to other people. Our conceptual system thus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lakoff/our-concepts-structure-what-we-perceive-how-we-get-around-in-the/) [George Lakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lakoff/) > [I doubt there's any government in the world that guides itself primarily by strategy or conceptual documents or worldview. Anybody who has the reins…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barton-gellman/i-doubt-there-s-any-government-in-the-world-that-guides-itself/) [Barton Gellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barton-gellman/) > [When I was starting out, conceptual photography had become something that had to be amateur - like, that had to be black-and-white, or photocopied,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elad-lassry/when-i-was-starting-out-conceptual-photography-had-become-something/) [Elad Lassry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elad-lassry/) > [Conceptual relativism is a heady and exotic doctrine, or would be if we could make good sense of it. The trouble is, as so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-davidson/conceptual-relativism-is-a-heady-and-exotic-doctrine-or-would-be-if/) [Donald Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-davidson/) > [I just happened to start playing music for the conceptual ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-gordon/i-just-happened-to-start-playing-music-for-the-conceptual-ideas/) [Kim Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-gordon/) ## More by Tim Keel > [“Further, in the modern story, reality is that which is observable, measurable, and repeatable - the kinds of phenomena available, accessible, and verifiable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-keel/further-in-the-modern-story-reality-is-that-which-is-observable/) [Tim Keel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-keel/) > [“The loss of connection between churches and neighborhoods creates a corresponding loss of localized imagination and creates an addictive-like dependence on a contextual experts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-keel/the-loss-of-connection-between-churches-and-neighborhoods-creates-a/) [Tim Keel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-keel/) > [“We live in a culture of reductionism. Or better, we are living in the aftermath of a culture of reductionism, and I believe we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-keel/we-live-in-a-culture-of-reductionism-or-better-we-are-living-in-the/) [Tim Keel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-keel/) > [“In post-Christendom, the church is that community of people who look to discover what God is actively doing in the world around them and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-keel/in-post-christendom-the-church-is-that-community-of-people-who-look/) [Tim Keel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-keel/) > [“For better of for worse the church in the West bought modernity's claims. We were baptized in its story (even though it said it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-keel/for-better-of-for-worse-the-church-in-the-west-bought-modernity-s/) [Tim Keel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-keel/) > [“. . . I realized with a growing and startling sense of clarity that the seminary was educating and training me for a world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-keel/i-realized-with-a-growing-and-startling-sense-of-clarity-that-the/) [Tim Keel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-keel/) [Explore all 7 Tim Keel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-keel/) ## More Conceptual quotes > [In the particular dwells the tawdry. In the conceptual dwells the grand, the transcendent, the everlasting. Earthly countries and single malignant boys can go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/in-the-particular-dwells-the-tawdry-in-the-conceptual-dwells-the/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [Conceptual relativism is a heady and exotic doctrine, or would be if we could make good sense of it. The trouble is, as so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-davidson/conceptual-relativism-is-a-heady-and-exotic-doctrine-or-would-be-if/) [Donald Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-davidson/) > [When I was starting out, conceptual photography had become something that had to be amateur - like, that had to be black-and-white, or photocopied,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elad-lassry/when-i-was-starting-out-conceptual-photography-had-become-something/) [Elad Lassry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elad-lassry/) > [I doubt there's any government in the world that guides itself primarily by strategy or conceptual documents or worldview. Anybody who has the reins…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barton-gellman/i-doubt-there-s-any-government-in-the-world-that-guides-itself/) [Barton Gellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barton-gellman/) > [Our concepts structure what we perceive, how we get around in the world and how we relate to other people. Our conceptual system thus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lakoff/our-concepts-structure-what-we-perceive-how-we-get-around-in-the/) [George Lakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lakoff/) > [I've come up through art school, through painting, through graphic design, through advertising, through TV commercials and music video. I've designed books, built billboards,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kaye/i-ve-come-up-through-art-school-through-painting-through-graphic/) [Tony Kaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kaye/) > [I am not really interested in clothing as a conceptual art form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/issey-miyake/i-am-not-really-interested-in-clothing-as-a-conceptual-art-form/) [Issey Miyake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/issey-miyake/) > [“World’s religions are conceptual. There are two parts in these concepts! One is auspicious and the other is inauspicious. World’s religions are into (doing)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/world-s-religions-are-conceptual-there-are-two-parts-in-these/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [Out of time we cut 'days' and 'nights', 'summers' and 'winters.' We say what, each part of the sensible continuum is, and all these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/out-of-time-we-cut-days-and-nights-summers-and-winters-we-say-what/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Our talk of external things, our very notion of things, is just a conceptual apparatus that helps us to foresee and control the triggerings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-van-orman-quine/our-talk-of-external-things-our-very-notion-of-things-is-just-a/) [Willard Van Orman Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-van-orman-quine/) > [I had never thought that I would be involved in narrative structures. As a young guy, I was more interested in abstract modeling. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-braxton/i-had-never-thought-that-i-would-be-involved-in-narrative-structures/) [Anthony Braxton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-braxton/) > [Conceptual art became the liberating idea that gave the art of the next 40 years its real impetus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-lewitt/conceptual-art-became-the-liberating-idea-that-gave-the-art-of-the/) [Sol LeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-lewitt/) > [Music bypasses the conceptual mind. Music does not give you food for thought...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/music-bypasses-the-conceptual-mind-music-does-not-give-you-food-for/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [What makes something simple or complex? It's not the number of dials or controls or how many features it has: It is whether the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-a-norman/what-makes-something-simple-or-complex-it-s-not-the-number-of-dials/) [Donald A. Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-a-norman/) > [I just happened to start playing music for the conceptual ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-gordon/i-just-happened-to-start-playing-music-for-the-conceptual-ideas/) [Kim Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-gordon/) [Browse all 118 Conceptual quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conceptual/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We imagine that our theological/conceptual systems are the means by which we know God as God is. 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