--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Almighty can hardly be such a fool as…" description: "\"The Almighty can hardly be such a fool as the churches make out.\" — W. Somerset Maugham" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cf/w-somerset-maugham-237_almighty_the-almighty-can-hardly-be-such-a-fool-a_351948.jpg" --- # The Almighty can hardly be such a fool as the churches… ![“The Almighty can hardly be such a fool as the churches make out.” quote by W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cf/w-somerset-maugham-237_almighty_the-almighty-can-hardly-be-such-a-fool-a_351948.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cf/w-somerset-maugham-237_almighty_the-almighty-can-hardly-be-such-a-fool-a_351948.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cf/w-somerset-maugham-237_almighty_the-almighty-can-hardly-be-such-a-fool-a_351948.jpg) > “The Almighty can hardly be such a fool as the churches make out.” [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests that the divine is not as foolish as religious institutions sometimes portray it. **In simple terms:** God is wiser than churches claim. Key Takeaway Question assumptions about religion. Themes faith criticism authority Mood skeptical contemplative Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - personal reflection - debate - academic study - interfaith dialogue Key Concepts theology institutional critique Questions to Reflect On - How do you distinguish divine wisdom from human error? - What role should institutions play in interpreting faith? A Different Perspective Religious institutions may misinterpret divine intent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Almighty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/almighty/) [Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/) [Fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) ## Related quotes > [The Christian church was designed to make sinners sweat. I have always believed that, and I still believe it. The messages preached in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/the-christian-church-was-designed-to-make-sinners-sweat-i-have-always/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [“Then as to churches, they are good, I suppose, else wouldn't good men uphold' em. But they are not altogether necessary. They call 'em…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenimore-cooper/then-as-to-churches-they-are-good-i-suppose-else-wouldn-t-good-men/) [James Fenimore Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenimore-cooper/) > [Churches that make an impact are more focused on putting boots on the streets than butts in the seats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-mcpherson/churches-that-make-an-impact-are-more-focused-on-putting-boots-on-the/) [Miles McPherson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-mcpherson/) > [Most churches make the mistake of selecting as leaders the confident, the competent, and the successful. But what you most need in a leader…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/most-churches-make-the-mistake-of-selecting-as-leaders-the-confident/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [Much has been said about the meanings we make of illness, but what about the meanings we make out of cure? Cure is complex,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-slater/much-has-been-said-about-the-meanings-we-make-of-illness-but-what/) [Lauren Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-slater/) > [Among the older records, we find chapter after chapter of which we can read the characters, and make out their meaning: and as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-sedgwick/among-the-older-records-we-find-chapter-after-chapter-of-which-we-can/) [Adam Sedgwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-sedgwick/) > [A competitive threat is not the same thing as an antitrust violation… It is difficult to make out FairSearch’s precise antitrust arguments. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-gallagher/a-competitive-threat-is-not-the-same-thing-as-an-antitrust-violation/) [Peter Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-gallagher/) > [Surrealism can only deliver a reactionary judgment; can make out of history only an accumulation of oddities, a joke, a death trip.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/surrealism-can-only-deliver-a-reactionary-judgment-can-make-out-of/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [I'm always surprised when actors say they don't like sex scenes. It's like a freebie. It's fun to make out with someone. So yes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mackenzie-davis/i-m-always-surprised-when-actors-say-they-don-t-like-sex-scenes-it-s/) [Mackenzie Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mackenzie-davis/) > [A gentleman, is a rarer thing than some of us think for. Which of us can point out many such in his circle--men whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/a-gentleman-is-a-rarer-thing-than-some-of-us-think-for-which-of-us/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [On occasions, after drinking a pint of beer at luncheon, there would be a flow into my mind with sudden and unaccountable emotion, sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman/on-occasions-after-drinking-a-pint-of-beer-at-luncheon-there-would-be/) [A. E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman/) > [I fancy you give me credit for being a more systematic sort of cove than I really am in the matter of limits of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-sealy-gosset/i-fancy-you-give-me-credit-for-being-a-more-systematic-sort-of-cove/) William Sealy Gosset > [The only way that Hollywood ever skews toward liberal is because part of what we make out of Hollywood involves writers, actors, directors, musicians,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-mckay/the-only-way-that-hollywood-ever-skews-toward-liberal-is-because-part/) [Adam McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-mckay/) > [I've been known to make out with girls from time to time. Couple drinks involved, you know, it's fun. And who knows, maybe it'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-lambert/i-ve-been-known-to-make-out-with-girls-from-time-to-time-couple/) [Adam Lambert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-lambert/) > [Memories seem to surface in no particular order, with no time attached. Yesterday can seem as distant as last year. My life now consists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-olsson/memories-seem-to-surface-in-no-particular-order-with-no-time-attached/) [Linda Olsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-olsson/) ## More by W. Somerset Maugham > [“A man thinks it quite natural that he should fall out of love with a woman, but it never strikes him for a moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-man-thinks-it-quite-natural-that-he-should-fall-out-of-love-with-a/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“A man's work reveals him. In social intercourse he gives you the surface that he wishes the world to accept, but in his book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-man-s-work-reveals-him-in-social-intercourse-he-gives-you-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Love is only a dirty trick played on us to achieve continuation of the species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/love-is-only-a-dirty-trick-played-on-us-to-achieve-continuation-of/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [The world is hard and cruel. We are here none knows why, and we go none knows whither. We must be very humble. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/the-world-is-hard-and-cruel-we-are-here-none-knows-why-and-we-go-none/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“There is no more merit in having read a thousand books than in having ploughed a thousand fields.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/there-is-no-more-merit-in-having-read-a-thousand-books-than-in-having/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“I wanted to live again and again. I was willing to accept every sort of life, no matter what its pain and sorrow; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-wanted-to-live-again-and-again-i-was-willing-to-accept-every-sort/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [In Hollywood, the women are all peaches. It makes one long for an apple occasionally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/in-hollywood-the-women-are-all-peaches-it-makes-one-long-for-an-apple/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Follow your inclinations with due regard to the policeman round the corner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/follow-your-inclinations-with-due-regard-to-the-policeman-round-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“His love became a prison from which he longed to escape, but he had not the strength merely to open the door-that was all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/his-love-became-a-prison-from-which-he-longed-to-escape-but-he-had/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [I did not believe him capable of love. That is an emotion in which tenderness is an essential part, but Strickland had no tenderness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-did-not-believe-him-capable-of-love-that-is-an-emotion-in-which/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [If only the good were a little less heavy-footed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/if-only-the-good-were-a-little-less-heavy-footed/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Perfection has one grave defect: it is apt to be dull.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/perfection-has-one-grave-defect-it-is-apt-to-be-dull/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“A God that can be understood is no God. Who can explain the Infinite in words?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-god-that-can-be-understood-is-no-god-who-can-explain-the-infinite/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“My dear, you used to be quite a dish; now you're quite a tureen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/my-dear-you-used-to-be-quite-a-dish-now-you-re-quite-a-tureen/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“When people say they do not care what others thing of them, for the most part they deceive themselves”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/when-people-say-they-do-not-care-what-others-thing-of-them-for-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) [Explore all 840 W. Somerset Maugham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) ## More Almighty quotes > [I recognize I am essentially a failed human being in the sense that I can't possibly live up to the expectations of an Almighty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/i-recognize-i-am-essentially-a-failed-human-being-in-the-sense-that-i/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [One of the most powerful concepts, one which is a sure cure for lack of confidence, is the thought that God is with you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/one-of-the-most-powerful-concepts-one-which-is-a-sure-cure-for-lack/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [“The LORD Almighty is our very present helper at all times.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-lord-almighty-is-our-very-present-helper-at-all-times/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [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/) > [I really appreciate leaders from around the globe who have come to share in prayer with us today. It reminds me that the Almighty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/i-really-appreciate-leaders-from-around-the-globe-who-have-come-to/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [Thi is the malady onf the humans, that they can hold on to that which is fleeting and of little consequence and call it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-fabry/thi-is-the-malady-onf-the-humans-that-they-can-hold-on-to-that-which/) [Chris Fabry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-fabry/) > [There is nothing more appalling than the wholesale way in which unthinking people plead to the Almighty the richest and most spiritual of His…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-drummond/there-is-nothing-more-appalling-than-the-wholesale-way-in-which/) [William Henry Drummond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-drummond/) > [And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution, upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salmon-p-chase/and-upon-this-act-sincerely-believed-to-be-an-act-of-justice/) [Salmon P. Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salmon-p-chase/) > [When you hear somebody justifying a war by citing the Almighty, I get a little worried, frankly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-reagan/when-you-hear-somebody-justifying-a-war-by-citing-the-almighty-i-get/) [Ron Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-reagan/) > [My journey deep into coma, outside this lowly physical realm and into the loftiest dwelling place of the almighty Creator, revealed the indescribably immense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eben-alexander/my-journey-deep-into-coma-outside-this-lowly-physical-realm-and-into/) [Eben Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eben-alexander/) > [People of the Philippines: I have returned. By the grace of Almighty God our forces stand again on Philippine soil—soil consecrated in the blood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/people-of-the-philippines-i-have-returned-by-the-grace-of-almighty/) [Douglas MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-macarthur/) > [The First Amendment exists to protect our religious liberty--to ensure that all Americans are able to seek out worship God with all our hearts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/the-first-amendment-exists-to-protect-our-religious-liberty-to-ensure/) [Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/) > [It is mind-boggling to me that the Almighty power created everything I see; the Bible says that God created the entire universe just so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/it-is-mind-boggling-to-me-that-the-almighty-power-created-everything/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [If there is anyone who loves you more than you love yourself are your mother and almighty God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/if-there-is-anyone-who-loves-you-more-than-you-love-yourself-are-your/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [I'm not denyin' the women are foolish. God Almighty made 'em to match the men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/i-m-not-denyin-the-women-are-foolish-god-almighty-made-em-to-match/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) [Browse all 723 Almighty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/almighty/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The Almighty can hardly be such a fool as the churches make out.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "W. 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