--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What do believers in the Absolute mean by…" description: "\"What do believers in the Absolute mean by saving that their belief affords them comfort? They mean that since in the Absolute finite evil is ‘overruled..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d4/william-james-228_anon_what-do-believers-in-the-absolute-mean-b_1534784.png" --- # What do believers in the Absolute mean by saving that… ![“What do believers in the Absolute mean by saving that their belief affords them comfort? They mean that since in the Absolute finite evil is ‘overruled’ already, we may, therefore, whenever we wish, treat the temporal as if it were potentially the eternal, be sure that we can trust its outcome…” quote by William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d4/william-james-228_anon_what-do-believers-in-the-absolute-mean-b_1534784.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d4/william-james-228_anon_what-do-believers-in-the-absolute-mean-b_1534784.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d4/william-james-228_anon_what-do-believers-in-the-absolute-mean-b_1534784.png) > “What do believers in the Absolute mean by saving that their belief affords them comfort? They mean that since in the Absolute finite evil is ‘overruled’ already, we may, therefore, whenever we wish, treat the temporal as if it were potentially the eternal, be sure that we can trust its outcome, and, without sin, dismiss our fear and drop the worry of our finite responsibility. In short, they mean that we have a right ever and anon to take a moral holiday, to let the world wag in its own way, feeling that its issues are in better hands than ours and are none of our business.” [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Believers claim that faith offers comfort by treating temporary matters as if they were eternal, allowing moral laxity and reduced anxiety about responsibility. **In simple terms:** Faith can provide comfort by treating temporary matters eternal, reducing moral anxiety. Key Takeaway Recognize comfort may mask avoidance of responsibility. Themes faith comfort responsibility morality Mood reflective cautious Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - personal crises - ethical decision making - spiritual practice - risk assessment Key Concepts existentialism psychology theology Questions to Reflect On - Do you use belief to avoid responsibility? - Is comfort worth moral compromise? A Different Perspective Comfort can lead to neglect of real duties. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anon/) [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Belief Affords](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief-affords-5703280/) [Believer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believer/) [Believers Absolute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believers-absolute-5703278/) [Comfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comfort/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Finite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finite/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Holiday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holiday/) [Issues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/issues/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Mean Absolute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean-absolute-5703279/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Outcomes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outcomes/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) [Saving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saving/) [Saving Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saving-belief-5703277/) [Sin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sin/) [Treats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/treats/) [Wags](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wags/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Worry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worry/) ## Related quotes > [What excites and interests the looker-on at life, what the romances and the statues celebrate, and the grim civic monuments remind us of, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/what-excites-and-interests-the-looker-on-at-life-what-the-romances/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Sir Walter, being strangely surprised and put out of his countenance at so great a table, gives his son a damned blow over the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-aubrey/sir-walter-being-strangely-surprised-and-put-out-of-his-countenance/) [John Aubrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-aubrey/) > [If you want to use a cliche you must take full responsibility for it yourself and not try to fob it off on anon.,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/if-you-want-to-use-a-cliche-you-must-take-full-responsibility-for-it/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [Indeed, I would venture to guess that Anon, who wrote so many poems without signing them, was often a woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/indeed-i-would-venture-to-guess-that-anon-who-wrote-so-many-poems/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [This is a common experience in my traveling. 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I thank everyone for this. It feels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-adler/there-are-so-many-al-anon-fans-and-friends-who-have-shown-me/) [Steven Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-adler/) > [Gun Control: The theory that a woman found dead in an alley, raped and strangled with her panty hose, is somehow morally superior to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinrich-himmler/gun-control-the-theory-that-a-woman-found-dead-in-an-alley-raped-and/) [Heinrich Himmler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinrich-himmler/) > [For ever and anon the soul becomes weary of the conventions that are not of it, and with a single stroke shatters the civilized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/for-ever-and-anon-the-soul-becomes-weary-of-the-conventions-that-are/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [If aught must be lost, ‘twill be my honor for yours. If one must be forsaken, ‘twill be my soul for yours. Should death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/if-aught-must-be-lost-twill-be-my-honor-for-yours-if-one-must-be/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [“I ask Thee for a thoughtful love, Through constant watching wise, To meet the glad with joyful smiles, And to wipe the weeping eyes;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ask-thee-for-a-thoughtful-love-through-constant-watching-wise-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Lat take a cat, and fostre him wel with milk, And tendre flesh, and make his couche of silk, And let him seen a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-chaucer/lat-take-a-cat-and-fostre-him-wel-with-milk-and-tendre-flesh-and-make/) [Geoffrey Chaucer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-chaucer/) > [When, however, one reads of a witch being ducked, of a woman possessed by devils, of a wise woman selling herbs, or even a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/when-however-one-reads-of-a-witch-being-ducked-of-a-woman-possessed/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Other men puffed, snorted, and splashed. 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They may have seen them, may have said them, done them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/most-people-probably-are-in-doubt-about-certain-matters-ascribed-to/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“How soon, indeed, are human things forgotten! As we meet here this morning, the Southern sun is shining on their place of burial, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/how-soon-indeed-are-human-things-forgotten-as-we-meet-here-this/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [There can be no difference anywhere that does not make a difference somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/there-can-be-no-difference-anywhere-that-does-not-make-a-difference/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [It is wrong always, everywhere, and for everyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/it-is-wrong-always-everywhere-and-for-everyone-to-believe-anything/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [The pragmatist turns away from abstraction and insufficiency, from verbal solutions, from bad a priori reasons, from fixed principles, closed systems, and pretended absolutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-pragmatist-turns-away-from-abstraction-and-insufficiency-from/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) [Explore all 854 William James quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) ## More Anon quotes > [Other men puffed, snorted, and splashed. George passed through the ocean with the silent dignity of a torpedo. Other men swallowed water, here a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/other-men-puffed-snorted-and-splashed-george-passed-through-the-ocean/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When, however, one reads of a witch being ducked, of a woman possessed by devils, of a wise woman selling herbs, or even a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/when-however-one-reads-of-a-witch-being-ducked-of-a-woman-possessed/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Lat take a cat, and fostre him wel with milk, And tendre flesh, and make his couche of silk, And let him seen a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-chaucer/lat-take-a-cat-and-fostre-him-wel-with-milk-and-tendre-flesh-and-make/) [Geoffrey Chaucer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-chaucer/) > [“I ask Thee for a thoughtful love, Through constant watching wise, To meet the glad with joyful smiles, And to wipe the weeping eyes;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ask-thee-for-a-thoughtful-love-through-constant-watching-wise-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If aught must be lost, ‘twill be my honor for yours. If one must be forsaken, ‘twill be my soul for yours. 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It feels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-adler/there-are-so-many-al-anon-fans-and-friends-who-have-shown-me/) [Steven Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-adler/) > [I would venture to guess that Anon, who wrote so many poems without signing them, was often a woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/i-would-venture-to-guess-that-anon-who-wrote-so-many-poems-without/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Such sights as youthful poets dream On summer eves by haunted stream. Then to the well-trod stage anon, If Jonson's learned sock be on,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/such-sights-as-youthful-poets-dream-on-summer-eves-by-haunted-stream/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [This is a common experience in my traveling. I plod along, thinking what a miserable world this is and what miserable fellows we that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/this-is-a-common-experience-in-my-traveling-i-plod-along-thinking/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Indeed, I would venture to guess that Anon, who wrote so many poems without signing them, was often a woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/indeed-i-would-venture-to-guess-that-anon-who-wrote-so-many-poems/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [If you want to use a cliche you must take full responsibility for it yourself and not try to fob it off on anon.,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/if-you-want-to-use-a-cliche-you-must-take-full-responsibility-for-it/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [Sir Walter, being strangely surprised and put out of his countenance at so great a table, gives his son a damned blow over the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-aubrey/sir-walter-being-strangely-surprised-and-put-out-of-his-countenance/) [John Aubrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-aubrey/) > [What excites and interests the looker-on at life, what the romances and the statues celebrate, and the grim civic monuments remind us of, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/what-excites-and-interests-the-looker-on-at-life-what-the-romances/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) [Browse all 46 Anon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anon/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What do believers in the Absolute mean by saving that their belief affords them comfort? 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