if God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent Him
proverb A sentiment expressed by 18th-century French philosopher Voltaire that emphasizes the human need to believe in a divine being. People can't help it—they need something bigger than themselves to believe in, so if God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent Him. A: "I just don't understand atheists." B: "Me neither. I feel like Voltaire got it right when he said, 'If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent Him.'" If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent Him, to give some sort of order and meaning to the chaos of life.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent Him.
Prov. People need a deity to worship. (This is an English translation of a quote from Voltaire. It is often parodied, using a person's name instead of God and implying that the person is somehow necessary.) The atheist tried to convince Jerry that God does not exist, and that people should not waste their time worshiping Him. "But you can't stop people from worshiping God," Jerry replied. "If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent Him." The unscrupulous mayor was such a convenient scapegoat for the city's problems that if she had not existed, it would have been necessary to invent her.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.