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general::
Phrase(s): 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.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs