Anselm of Canterbury Quotes

The truths of religion are never so well understood as by those who have lost the power of reason.

He who has religion will speak poetry. But philosophy is the tool with which to seek and discover religion.

Seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand.

For I do not seek to understand in order to believe, but I believe in order to understand. For I believe this: unless I believe, I will not understand.

Science investigates; religion interprets. Science gives man knowledge, which is power; religion gives man wisdom, which is control. Science deals mainly with facts; religion deals mainly with values. The two are not rivals. They are complementary. Science keeps religion from sinking into the valley of crippling irrationalism and paralyzing obscurantism. Religion prevents science from falling into the marsh of obsolete materialism and moral nihilism.

Understanding is the wages of faith.

I believe in order to understand

We don't believe because we understand. We understand because we believe.

The nearest each of us can come to God is by loving the truth.

I believe in order that I may understand.

Seeing is believing and believing is knowing and knowing beats unknowing and the unknown.

We can never know who or what we are till we know at least something of what God is.

We are to find God in what we know, not in what we don't know.

The light of faith makes us see what we believe.

Doubt is the vestibule through which all must pass before they can enter into the temple of wisdom.

Faith is not a rational thing, and yet to understand the universe, rationality alone will not give it to us. Our understanding of the universe must transcend the rational.

First of all it must be known who the God of heaven is, since upon that all the other things depend.

Knowledge is only one half. Faith is the other.

But Charlie, Charlie, how can we ever really know anything? Charlie, what or who is God?

Myths and creeds are heroic struggles to comprehend the truth in the world.

I think that the greatest gift God ever gave man is not the gift of sight but the gift of vision. Sight is a function of the eyes, but vision is a function of the heart.

Religion and science are the two conjugated faces or phases of one and the same complete act of knowledge - the only one which can embrace the past and future of evolution and so contemplate, measure and fulfil them.

We honor revelation too highly to make it the antagonist of reason, or to believe that it calls us to renounce our highest powers.

I believe in God, God. God, I believe in God.

The typical person has no trouble believing without knowing. What people need to realize is simply that you do not need to believe to know.