"It is as impossible for man to demonstrate the existence of God as it would be for even Sherlock Holmes to demonstrate the existence of Arthur Conan Doyle"
- Frederick Buechner
About this Quote
This quote by Frederick Buechner is a comparison between the impossibility of showing the presence of God and the impossibility of demonstrating the existence of Arthur Conan Doyle. Buechner is suggesting that it is impossible to prove the existence of either God or Arthur Conan Doyle. He uses the example of Sherlock Holmes, the imaginary investigator created by Arthur Conan Doyle, to highlight this point. Even the most fantastic detective worldwide, Sherlock Holmes, would be unable to prove the presence of Arthur Conan Doyle. In the very same method, it is impossible for man to prove the existence of God. Buechner's quote is a reminder that faith is an essential part of believing in God, as it is difficult to prove His presence. It likewise serves as a suggestion that the existence of God refers faith, not of proof.
"What is real is not the external form, but the essence of things... it is impossible for anyone to express anything essentially real by imitating its exterior surface"
"The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at and repair"
