Skip to content
quotesby

God is imperiled. He is not almighty, that we may cross our hands, waiting for certain victory. He is not all-holy, that we may wait trustingly for him to pity and to save us. Within the province of our ephemeral flesh all of God is imperiled. He cannot be saved unless we save him with our own struggles; nor can we be saved unless he is saved. We are one. From the blind worm in the depths of the ocean to the endless arena of the Galaxy, only one person struggles and is imperiled: You. And within your small and earthen breast only one thing struggles and is imperiled: the Universe.

Nikos Kazantzakis#69

SpiritualityStruggleDivineHumanityResponsibilityEthicsActivismInterdependence

About this quote

What does it mean?
God is vulnerable and must be saved through human struggle; we and God are interdependent.
In plain terms
We must rescue God by struggling, and God saves us by the same.
What can you take from it?
Act with responsibility, knowing your struggle sustains the universe.

Where it applies

  • environmental activism
  • social justice
  • personal discipline

Putting it to work

  • engage in collective action
  • recognize personal impact

Questions to consider

  • How does seeing God as vulnerable affect your actions?
  • What responsibilities arise from this view?

Another view

The framing may be too abstract for practical guidance.

More from Nikos Kazantzakis

  1. I do not care what face other ages and other people have given to the enormous, faceless essence. They have crammed it with human virtues, with rewards and pun…

    Permalink to quote #68
  2. We must understand well that we do not proceed from a unity of God to the same unity of God again. We do not proceed from one chaos to another chaos, neither f…

    Permalink to quote #70
  3. We have seen the highest circle of spiraling powers. We have named this circle God. We might have given it any other name we wished: Abyss, Mystery, Absolute D…

    Permalink to quote #67

Related quotes

  1. Bear it aloft, O roaring flame! Skyward aloft, where all may see. Slaves of the World! Our cause is the same; One is the immemorial shame; One is the struggle,…

    Voltairine de CleyreVoltairine de Cleyre quote #2
  2. Let none turn over books, or roam the stars in quest of God, who sees him not in man.

    Johann Kaspar LavaterJohann Kaspar Lavater quote #8
  3. We must not forget that mankind depends largely on animals, therefore we have a responsibilty for their welfare. If we destroy them - we destroy ourselves.

    Begum Inaara Aga KhanBegum Inaara Aga Khan quote #10