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The Perpetual Enemy Of Faith In The True God Is Not Atheism (the Claim That There Is No God), But Rather Gnosticism (the Claim That God Is Known).
-Martin Buber
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The Perpetual Enemy Of

Martin Buber
...
The Perpetual Enemy Of Faith In The True God Is Not Atheism (the Claim That There Is No God), But Rather Gnosticism (the Claim That God Is Known).

Understanding the Quote: "the perpetual enemy of faith in the true god is not atheism..."

This quote by Martin Buber reflects deeply on the theme of gnosticism. It connects to the universal human journey of purpose, motivation, and reflection. Often categorized under Gnosticism, Enemy, Atheism, the quote offers insight, emotional clarity, and intellectual inspiration to readers worldwide.

Whether you’re a student exploring new ideas, a leader trying to motivate your team, or someone seeking direction in life — this quote provides value. It resonates because it’s more than words — it’s a bridge between experience and wisdom. It shows how Martin Buber interprets life's core challenges and triumphs.

Lessons From the Quote

This quote teaches resilience and focus. It reminds readers that no matter where they stand in life, reflection and self-awareness lead to growth. Each word has meaning, and when studied, it becomes clear how impactful thoughtful language can be.

About Martin Buber

Martin Buber is celebrated for insightful thoughts on gnosticism and enemy. Their legacy lives on through writings that guide, comfort, and inspire. Discover more on their profile page.

Actionable Takeaways

  • Reflect on how this quote applies to your current life path.
  • Share the message with someone who needs inspiration.
  • Write your thoughts on this quote in a journal or blog post.
  • Use it as a daily affirmation or reminder.

Closing Thoughts

Quotes like this endure because they capture universal truths. They comfort us in solitude and empower us in groups. Carry this quote forward — live by its wisdom, share its message, and keep its essence alive.

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Topic
Gnosticism
Enemy
Atheism
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One Should Hallow All That One Does In One's Natural Life. One Eats In Holiness, Tastes The Taste Of Food In Holiness, And The Table Becomes An Altar. One Works In Holiness, And Raises Up The Sparks Which Hide Themselves In All Tools. One Walks In Holiness Across The Fields, And The Soft Songs Of All Herbs, Which They Voice To God, Enter Into The Song Of Our Soul.
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In The Beginning Was The Relationship.
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The Prophet Is Appointed To Oppose The Kind, And Even More: History.
Kindness
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Kind
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Tasks
Consecration
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Moses
Said
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War
Fall
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What You Must Do Is Love Your Neighbor As Yourself. There Is No One Who Knows Your Many Faults Better Than You! But You Love Yourself Notwithstanding. And So You Must Love Your Neighbor, No Matter How Many Faults You See In Him.
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Under Stress
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Roaring
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One Who Truly Meets The World Goes Out Also To God.
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An Animal's Eyes Have The Power To Speak A Great Language.
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He Who Loves Brings God And The World Together.
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All Real Living Is Meeting.
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I Have To Tell It Again And Again: I Have No Doctrine. I Only Point Out Something. I Point Out Reality, I Point Out Something In Reality Which Has Not Or Too Little Been Seen. I Take Him Who Listens To Me At His Hand And Lead Him To The Window. I Push Open The Window And Point Outside. I Have No Doctrine, I Carry On A Dialogue.
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In The Ice Of Solitude Man Becomes Most Inexorably A Question To Himself, And Just Because The Question Pitilessly Summons And Draws Into Play His Most Secret Life He Becomes An Experience To Himself.
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What Has To Be Given Up Is Not The I, But That Drive For Self-affirmation Which Impels Man To Flee From The Unreliable, Unsolid, Unlasting, Unpredictable, Dangerous World Of Relation Into The Having Of Things.
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Dangerous World
Love Is Responsibility Of An I For A You: In This Consists What Cannot Consist In Any Feeling - The Equality Of All Lovers.
Responsibility
Love Is
Feelings
The World Is A Spinning Die, And Everything Turns And Changes: Man Is Turned Into Angel, And Angel Into Man, And The Head Into The Foot, And The Foot Into The Head. Thus All Things Turn And Spin And Change, This Into That, And That Into This, The Topmost To The Undermost, And The Undermost To The Topmost. For At The Root All Is One, And Salvation Inheres In The Change And Return Of Things.
Angel
Men
Feet
Greatness By Nature Includes A Power, But Not A Will To Power. ... The Great Man, Whether We Comprehend Him In The Most Intense Activity Of His Work Or In The Restful Equipoise Of His Forces , Is Powerful, Involuntarily And Composedly Powerful, But He Is Not Avid For Power. What He Is Avid For Is The Realization Of What He Has In Mind , The Incarnation Of The Spirit .
Powerful
Greatness
Men
Here Is The Infallible Test. Imagine Yourself In A Situation Where You Are Alone, Wholly Alone On Earth, And You Are Offered One Of The Two, Books Or Men. I Often Hear Men Prizing Their Solitude But That Is Only Because There Are Still Men Somewhere On Earth Even Though In The Far Distance. I Knew Nothing Of Books When I Came Forth From The Womb Of My Mother, And I Shall Die Without Books, With Another Human Hand In My Own. I Do, Indeed, Close My Door At Times And Surrender Myself To A Book, But Only Because I Can Open The Door Again And See A Human Being Looking At Me.
Mother
Distance
Book
The Real Struggle Is Not Between East And West, Or Capitalism And Communism, But Between Education And Propaganda.
Education
Real
Struggle
When A Man Has Made Peace Within Himself, He Will Be Able To Make Peace In The Whole World.
Men
World
Able
All Actual Life Is Encounter.
Empathy
Encounters
Life Is
When People Come To You For Help, Do Not Turn Them Off With Pious Words, Saying, 'have Faith And Take Your Troubles To God.' Act Instead As Though There Were No God, As Though There Were Only One Person In The World Who Could Help -- Only Yourself.
People
World
Have Faith
If We Had The Power Over The Ends Of The Earth, It Would Not Give Us That Fulfillment Of Existence Which A Quiet Devoted Relationship To Nearby Life Can Give Us.
Giving
Earth
Quiet
Every Morning, I Shall Concern Myself Anew About The Boundary, Between The Love-deed-yes And The Power-deed-no, And Pressing Forward Honor Reality. We Cannot Avoid, Using Power, Cannot Escape The Compulsion, To Afflict The World, So Let Us, Cautious In Diction, And Mighty In Contradiction, Love Powerfully.
Life
Morning
Reality
The Future Stands In Need Of You In Order To Be Born.
Order
Needs
Born
The Work Produced Is A Thing Among Things, Able To Be Experienced And Described As A Sum Of Qualities. But From Time To Time It Can Face The Receptive Beholder In Its Whole Embodied Form.
Quality
Able
Faces
Man Wishes To Be Confirmed In His Being By Man, And Wishes To Have A Presence In The Being Of The Other…. Secretly And Bashfully He Watches For A Yes Which Allows Him To Be And Which Can Come To Him Only From One Human Person To Another.
Men
Empathy
Wish
Without Being And Remaining Oneself, There Is No Love.
Oneself
No Love
The Salvation Of Man Does Not Lie In His Holding Himself Far Removed From The Worldly, But In Consecrating It To Holy, To Divine Meaning.
Lying
Men
Doe
To Begin With Oneself But Not To End With Onself. To Start From Oneself But Not To Aim At Oneself.
Ends
Aim
Oneself
Through The Thou A Person Becomes I.
Persons
The Basic Word I-thou Can Be Spoken Only With One's Whole Being. The Concentration And Fusion Into A Whole Being Can Never Be Accomplished By Me, Can Never Be Accomplished Without Me. I Require A Thou To Become; Becoming I, I Say Thou.
Fusion
Becoming
Accomplished
Everyone Must Come Out Of His Exile In His Own Way.
Way
Exile
God Made So Many Different Kinds Of People; Why Would God Allow Only One Way To Worship?
Humility
People
Tolerance
In The Story Of The Creation We Read: ". . . And Behold, It Was Very Good." But, In The Passage Where Moses Reproves Israel, The Verse Says: "see, I Have Set Before Thee This Day Life And Good, And Death And Evil." Where Did The Evil Come From? Evil Too Is Good. It Is The Lowest Rung Of Perfect Goodness. If You Do Good Deeds, Even Evil Will Become Good; But If You Sin, Evil Will Really Become Evil.
Israel
Perfect
Evil
Everything Is Full Of Sacramental Substance, Everything. Each Thing And Each Function Is Ever Ready To Light Up Into A Sacrament.
Light
Substance
Paganism
Every Person Born In This World Represents Something New, Something That Never Existed Before, Something Original And Unique.
Unique
World
Something New
No Limits Are Set To The Ascent Of Man, And To Each And Everyone The Highest Stands Open. Here It Is Only Your Personal Choice That Decides.
Men
Choices
Ascent
I Shall Teach You The Best Way To Say Torah. You Must Cease To Be Aware Of Yourselves. You Must Be Nothing But An Ear That Hears What The Universe Of The Word Is Constantly Saying Within You. The Moment You Start Hearing What You Yourself Are Saying, You Must Stop.
Way
Hearing
Ears
Nothing Can Doom Man But The Belief In Doom, For This Prevents The Movement Of Return.
Men
Negativity
Return
Real Faith Means Holding Ourselves Open To The Unconditional Mystery Which We Encounter In Every Sphere Of Our Life And Which Cannot Be Comprised In Any Formula. Real Faith Means The Ability To Endure Life In The Face Of This Mystery.
Real
Mean
Spheres
All Journeys Have Secret Destinations Of Which The Traveler Is Unaware.
Inspirational
Travel
Freedom
As Long As The Firmament Of The You Is Spread Over Me, The Tempests Of Causality Cower At My Heels, And Whirl Of Doom Congeals.
Long
Causality
Tempest
When A Man Grows Aware Of A New Way In Which To Serve God, He Should Carry It Around With Him Secretly, And Without Uttering It, For Nine Months, As Though He Were Pregnant With It, And Let Others Know Of It Only At The End Of That Time, As Though It Were A Birth.
Men
Nine
Way
You Can Rake The Muck This Way, Rake The Muck That Way-- It Will Always Be Muck. Have I Sinned Or Have I Not Sinned? In The Time I Am Brooding Over It, I Could Be Stringing Pearls For The Delight Of Heaven
Heaven
Rakes
Delight
Human Life And Humanity Come Into Being In Genuine Encounters. The Hope For This Hour Depends Upon The Renewal Of The Immediacy Of Dialogue Among Human Beings.
Humanity
Encounters
Hours
Freedom And Destiny Are Solemnly Promised To One Another And Linked Together In Meaning.
Destiny
Together
Linked
It Is Usual To Think Of Good And Evil As Two Poles, Two Opposite Directions, The Antithesis Of One Another...we Must Begin By Doing Away With This Convention.
Thinking
Opposites
Two
Everyone Has In Him Something Precious That Is In No One Else.
Strength
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