--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Faith is, necessary to explain anything…" description: "\"Faith is, necessary to explain anything, and to reconcile the foreknowledge of God with human evil.\" — William Wordsworth" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b63/william-wordsworth-403_evil_faith-is-necessary-to-explain-anything-a_2949639.jpg" --- # Faith is, necessary to explain anything, and to reconcile… ![“Faith is, necessary to explain anything, and to reconcile the foreknowledge of God with human evil.” quote by William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b63/william-wordsworth-403_evil_faith-is-necessary-to-explain-anything-a_2949639.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b63/william-wordsworth-403_evil_faith-is-necessary-to-explain-anything-a_2949639.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b63/william-wordsworth-403_evil_faith-is-necessary-to-explain-anything-a_2949639.jpg) > “Faith is, necessary to explain anything, and to reconcile the foreknowledge of God with human evil.” [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Faith is presented as a necessary framework for making sense of existence and for reconciling divine foreknowledge with human suffering. **In simple terms:** Faith helps explain life and reconcile God's knowledge with evil. Key Takeaway Use faith to seek understanding amid paradox. Themes faith theodicy philosophy Mood contemplative thoughtful Type theological philosophical When to use this quote - personal crisis - theological study - ethical decisionmaking Key Concepts theodicy free will divine omniscience Questions to Reflect On - How does faith influence your view of suffering? - Can belief coexist with doubt? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) ## Related quotes > [God decreed to save and damn certain particular persons. This decree has its foundation in the foreknowledge of God, by which he knew from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacobus-arminius/god-decreed-to-save-and-damn-certain-particular-persons-this-decree/) [Jacobus Arminius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacobus-arminius/) > [“Faith is necessary to men; woe to him who believes in nothing!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/faith-is-necessary-to-men-woe-to-him-who-believes-in-nothing/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [If you think you can achieve something, you have achieved. Faith is necessary for achievement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/if-you-think-you-can-achieve-something-you-have-achieved-faith-is/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [“Doubt is unnecessary; do not carry it. Faith is necessary; it carries you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/doubt-is-unnecessary-do-not-carry-it-faith-is-necessary-it-carries-you/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [“Faithfulness: where faith is full of necessary trusts!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/munia-khan/faithfulness-where-faith-is-full-of-necessary-trusts/) [Munia Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/munia-khan/) > [Faith in the hereafter is as necessary for the intellectual as the moral character; and to the man of letters, as well as to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-southey/faith-in-the-hereafter-is-as-necessary-for-the-intellectual-as-the/) [Robert Southey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-southey/) > [If you think you can win, you can. Faith is necessary to victory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/if-you-think-you-can-win-you-can-faith-is-necessary-to-victory/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [I have discovered that all human evil comes from this, man's being unable to sit still in a room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/i-have-discovered-that-all-human-evil-comes-from-this-man-s-being/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [Faith is necessary to victory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/faith-is-necessary-to-victory/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [If you think you can win, you can win. Faith is necessary to victory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/if-you-think-you-can-win-you-can-win-faith-is-necessary-to-victory/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [“The fact that faith has motivated many people to do good things does not suggest that faith is itself a necessary (or even a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/the-fact-that-faith-has-motivated-many-people-to-do-good-things-does/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [The common trait of all evil is nothing other than egoism... Basically all human evil comes from what we call the selfishness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-steiner/the-common-trait-of-all-evil-is-nothing-other-than-egoism-basically/) [Rudolf Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-steiner/) > [I say that they can be solved; there is no problem that cannot be, but faith is necessary. Think of the faith I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/i-say-that-they-can-be-solved-there-is-no-problem-that-cannot-be-but/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [Let us here observe, that a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things, never has power sufficient to produce the faith…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-us-here-observe-that-a-religion-that-does-not-require-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Even if you may be down to the worst, the best is potentially within you. You only have to find it, release it, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/even-if-you-may-be-down-to-the-worst-the-best-is-potentially-within/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) ## More by William Wordsworth > [Spade! Thou art a tool of honor in my hands. I press thee, through a yielding soil, with pride.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/spade-thou-art-a-tool-of-honor-in-my-hands-i-press-thee-through-a/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [Brothers all In honour, as in one community, Scholars and gentlemen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/brothers-all-in-honour-as-in-one-community-scholars-and-gentlemen/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [The eye— it cannot choose but see; we cannot bid the ear be still; our bodies feel, where'er they be, against or with our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/the-eye-it-cannot-choose-but-see-we-cannot-bid-the-ear-be-still-our/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [“Dreams, books, are each a world; and books, we know, Are a substantial world, both pure and good.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/dreams-books-are-each-a-world-and-books-we-know-are-a-substantial/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [Now when the primrose makes a splendid show, And lilies face the March-winds in full blow, And humbler growths as moved with one desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/now-when-the-primrose-makes-a-splendid-show-and-lilies-face-the-march/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [“Where are your books? - that light bequeathed To beings else forlorn and blind! Up! up! and drink the spirit breathed From dead men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/where-are-your-books-that-light-bequeathed-to-beings-else-forlorn-and/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [Knowledge and increase of enduring joy From the great Nature that exists in works Of mighty Poets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/knowledge-and-increase-of-enduring-joy-from-the-great-nature-that/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [The common growth of Mother Earth Suffices me,-her tears, her mirth, Her humblest mirth and tears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/the-common-growth-of-mother-earth-suffices-me-her-tears-her-mirth-her/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [And he is oft the wisest manWho is not wise at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/and-he-is-oft-the-wisest-manwho-is-not-wise-at-all/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [The oldest man he seemed that ever wore grey hairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/the-oldest-man-he-seemed-that-ever-wore-grey-hairs/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [“She was a Phantom of delight When first she gleam'd upon my sight; A lovely Apparition, sent To be a moment's ornament: Her eyes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/she-was-a-phantom-of-delight-when-first-she-gleam-d-upon-my-sight-a/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [“If the time should ever come when what is now called science, thus familiarised to men, shall be ready to put on, as it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/if-the-time-should-ever-come-when-what-is-now-called-science-thus/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [Truth takes no account of centuries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/truth-takes-no-account-of-centuries/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [I have felt a presence that disturbs me with the joy of elevated thoughts; a sense sublime of something far more deeply interfused, whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/i-have-felt-a-presence-that-disturbs-me-with-the-joy-of-elevated/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [Like thoughts whose very sweetness yielded proof that they were born for immortality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/like-thoughts-whose-very-sweetness-yielded-proof-that-they-were-born/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) [Explore all 587 William Wordsworth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) ## More Evil quotes > [I've always been fascinated by the idea that there's no such thing as evil; it's all in your point of view. To one group…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/i-ve-always-been-fascinated-by-the-idea-that-there-s-no-such-thing-as/) [Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/) > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Every action that helps us manifest our divine nature more and more is good; every action that retards it is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/every-action-that-helps-us-manifest-our-divine-nature-more-and-more/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [I do conscientiously and sincerely believe that the Order of Freemasonry, if not the greatest, is one of the greatest moral and political evils…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/i-do-conscientiously-and-sincerely-believe-that-the-order-of/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [The Republicans do not look on the Democrats as the evil empire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/the-republicans-do-not-look-on-the-democrats-as-the-evil-empire/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [What is done out of love always takes place beyond good and evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-is-done-out-of-love-always-takes-place-beyond-good-and-evil/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ Evil cannot be "treated" -- nor should it be. Evil has to \[be\] confronted and destroyed and it matters not why the evil is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-o-reilly/evil-cannot-be-treated-nor-should-it-be-evil-has-to-be-confronted-and/) [Bill O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-o-reilly/) > [The evil which does me no harm is like the good which in no wise avails me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/the-evil-which-does-me-no-harm-is-like-the-good-which-in-no-wise/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [Attack the evil that is within yourself, rather than attacking the evil that is in others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/attack-the-evil-that-is-within-yourself-rather-than-attacking-the/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Somewhere somebody must have some sense. Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/somewhere-somebody-must-have-some-sense-men-must-see-that-force/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [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 > [The politician attempts to remedy the evil by increasing the very thing that caused the evil in the first place: legal plunder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/the-politician-attempts-to-remedy-the-evil-by-increasing-the-very/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [“Water is so friendly when you have it on your palms, but so evil when they have you on theirs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/water-is-so-friendly-when-you-have-it-on-your-palms-but-so-evil-when/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [THE ART OF PEACE is not easy. It is a fight to the finish, the slaying of evil desires and all falsehood within. On…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morihei-ueshiba/the-art-of-peace-is-not-easy-it-is-a-fight-to-the-finish-the-slaying/) [Morihei Ueshiba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morihei-ueshiba/) [Browse all 11,163 Evil quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Faith is, necessary to explain anything, and to reconcile the foreknowledge of God with human evil.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Wordsworth" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/faith-is-necessary-to-explain-anything-and-to-reconcile-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Evil" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/faith-is-necessary-to-explain-anything-and-to-reconcile-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b63/william-wordsworth-403_evil_faith-is-necessary-to-explain-anything-a_2949639.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b63/william-wordsworth-403_evil_faith-is-necessary-to-explain-anything-a_2949639.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b63/william-wordsworth-403_evil_faith-is-necessary-to-explain-anything-a_2949639.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Faith is, necessary to explain anything, and to reconcile the foreknowledge of God with human evil.” — William Wordsworth", "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": "William Wordsworth", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Faith is, necessary to explain anything,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/faith-is-necessary-to-explain-anything-and-to-reconcile-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/faith-is-necessary-to-explain-anything-and-to-reconcile-the/#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 } } ] } ```