Quote#God & Faith
When we say God is a spirit, we know what we mean, as well as we do…
Quote byJohn Adams · 1735–1826
Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: Letter to Thomas Jefferson (17 January 1820). Often misquoted as "God is an essence that we know nothing of" and attached to a part of his 22 January 1825 letter to Thomas Jefferson..
English (original)
When we say God is a spirit, we know what we mean, as well as we do when we say that the pyramids of Egypt are matter. Let us be content, therefore, to believe him to be a spirit, that is, an essence that we know nothing of, in which originally and necessarily reside all energy, all power, all capacity, all activity, all wisdom, all goodness.
— John Adams
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