“It is beyond my power to induce in you a belief in God. There are certain things which are self proved and certain which are not proved at all. The existence of God is like a geometrical axiom. It may be beyond our heart grasp. I shall not talk of an intellectual grasp. Intellectual attempts are more or less failures, as a rational explanation cannot give you the faith in a living God. For it is a thing beyond the grasp of reason. It transcends reason. There are numerous phenomena from which you can reason out the existence of God, but I shall not insult your intelligence by offering you a rational explanation of that type. I would have you brush aside all rational explanations and begin with a simple childlike faith in God. If I exist, God exists. With me it is a necessity of my being as it is with millions. They may not be able to talk about it, but from their life you can see that it is a part of their life. I am only asking you to restore the belief that has been undermined. In order to do so, you have to unlearn a lot of literature that dazzles your intelligence and throws you off your feet. Start with the faith which is also a token of humility and an admission that we know nothing, that we are less than atoms in this universe. We are less than atoms, I say, because the atom obeys the law of its being, whereas we in the insolence of our ignorance deny the law of nature. But I have no argument to address to those who have no faith.”
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About this quote
Some convictions can't be argued into being — piling up clever proofs tends to talk a person out of them rather than in. What's asked instead is the humility to admit how little we truly grasp, and to hold a belief the way a child does, without first demanding it pass an intellectual exam.
When to use it
- A student who insists on proving every premise before trusting a mentor never actually gets started learning.
- Trusting a longtime friend's good intent isn't something you deduce; you extend it first and then see.
- Someone facing deep uncertainty accepts they can't reason out every outcome and acts on quiet conviction.

