--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: By disobeying god, we escape from his…" description: "\"By disobeying god, we escape from his totalitarian prison where you cannot ask any questions, where you must never question authority. We become our hu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efa/ann-druyan-13605_authority_by-disobeying-god-we-escape-from-his-tot_3052533.png" --- # By disobeying god, we escape from his totalitarian prison… ![“By disobeying god, we escape from his totalitarian prison where you cannot ask any questions, where you must never question authority. We become our human selves,” quote by Ann Druyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efa/ann-druyan-13605_authority_by-disobeying-god-we-escape-from-his-tot_3052533.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efa/ann-druyan-13605_authority_by-disobeying-god-we-escape-from-his-tot_3052533.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efa/ann-druyan-13605_authority_by-disobeying-god-we-escape-from-his-tot_3052533.png) > “By disobeying god, we escape from his totalitarian prison where you cannot ask any questions, where you must never question authority. We become our human selves,” [Ann Druyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-druyan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Disobeying divine authority frees humanity from oppressive control, allowing authentic selfhood. **In simple terms:** Questioning authority yields freedom. Key Takeaway Cultivate critical thinking. Themes freedom authority humanism Mood provocative inspirational Type philosophical political When to use this quote - political activism - personal development - education reform - spiritual exploration Key Concepts philosophy ethics Questions to Reflect On - Is all authority oppressive? - How to balance freedom and responsibility? A Different Perspective Authority can provide social order. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authority/) [Disobeying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disobeying/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Prison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prison/) [Question Authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/question-authority/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) ## Related quotes > [How far must a Christian go in order to be saved? Only to the Cross. But if I am disobeying God in my life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-redpath/how-far-must-a-christian-go-in-order-to-be-saved-only-to-the-cross/) [Alan Redpath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-redpath/) > [“But he asked himself now if he would not be disobeying God. And does not God permit love, since He surrounds it with such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-de-maupassant/but-he-asked-himself-now-if-he-would-not-be-disobeying-god-and-does/) [Guy de Maupassant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-de-maupassant/) > [If I tell you that I would be disobeying the god and on that account it is impossible for me to keep quiet, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/if-i-tell-you-that-i-would-be-disobeying-the-god-and-on-that-account/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [“My dear sister, you can’t escape God, and you can’t escape your skeletons in the closet. They will always be there until you take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corallie-buchanan/my-dear-sister-you-can-t-escape-god-and-you-can-t-escape-your/) [Corallie Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corallie-buchanan/) > [Man can certainly flee from God... but he cannot escape him. He can certainly hate God and be hateful to God, but he cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-barth/man-can-certainly-flee-from-god-but-he-cannot-escape-him-he-can/) [Karl Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-barth/) > [If we remain in disobedience, knowing we are disobeying God, and not making an honest effort to grow spiritually, then we really do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/innah-delos-angeles/if-we-remain-in-disobedience-knowing-we-are-disobeying-god-and-not/) [Innah Delos Angeles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/innah-delos-angeles/) > [Do not fancy, as too many do, that thou canst praise God by singing hymns to Him in church once a week, and disobeying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/do-not-fancy-as-too-many-do-that-thou-canst-praise-god-by-singing/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [I think we all sin by needlessly disobeying the apostolic injunction to "rejoice" as much as by anything else](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/i-think-we-all-sin-by-needlessly-disobeying-the-apostolic-injunction/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Reason commands us far more imperiously than a master; for in disobeying the one we are unfortunate, and in disobeying the other we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/reason-commands-us-far-more-imperiously-than-a-master-for-in/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [If in the sight of God you cannot say you are sure that you have a special call to stay at home, why are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hudson-taylor/if-in-the-sight-of-god-you-cannot-say-you-are-sure-that-you-have-a/) [Hudson Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hudson-taylor/) > [She is free not by disobeying the rules but by obeying them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-elliot/she-is-free-not-by-disobeying-the-rules-but-by-obeying-them/) [Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/) > [If I lived in a Communist country today where certain principles dear to the Christian faith are suppressed, I believe I would openly advocate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/if-i-lived-in-a-communist-country-today-where-certain-principles-dear/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [When people talk of atoms obeying fixed laws, they are either ascribing some kind of intelligence and free will to atoms or they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-butler/when-people-talk-of-atoms-obeying-fixed-laws-they-are-either/) [Samuel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-butler/) > [“By disobeying immoral orders, that individual preserves the institution's highest rank - dignity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/by-disobeying-immoral-orders-that-individual-preserves-the/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [By pretending that convention is Nature, that disobeying a personal prohibition is a medical illness, they establish themselves as agents of social control and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-szasz/by-pretending-that-convention-is-nature-that-disobeying-a-personal/) [Thomas Szasz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-szasz/) ## More by Ann Druyan > [We are living in a society that is totally dependent on science and high technology, and yet most of us are effectively alienated and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-druyan/we-are-living-in-a-society-that-is-totally-dependent-on-science-and/) [Ann Druyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-druyan/) > [If you have a beating heart, that's good enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-druyan/if-you-have-a-beating-heart-that-s-good-enough/) [Ann Druyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-druyan/) > [“It's not for any one generation to see the completed picture. That's the point. The picture is never completed. There is always so much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-druyan/it-s-not-for-any-one-generation-to-see-the-completed-picture-that-s/) [Ann Druyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-druyan/) > [“Why do we separate the scientific, which is just a way of searching for the truth, from what we hold sacred, which are those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-druyan/why-do-we-separate-the-scientific-which-is-just-a-way-of-searching/) [Ann Druyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-druyan/) > [I believe that we are a story-driven species and that we understand how things are put together, in the context of narrative. It's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-druyan/i-believe-that-we-are-a-story-driven-species-and-that-we-understand/) [Ann Druyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-druyan/) > [The Universe revealed by science is one of far more awesome grandeur than any religion has ever posited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-druyan/the-universe-revealed-by-science-is-one-of-far-more-awesome-grandeur/) [Ann Druyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-druyan/) > [No single step in the persuit of enlightenment should ever be considered sacred; only the search was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-druyan/no-single-step-in-the-persuit-of-enlightenment-should-ever-be/) [Ann Druyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-druyan/) > [People think that if you are a scientist you have to give up that joy of discovery, that passion, that sense of the great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-druyan/people-think-that-if-you-are-a-scientist-you-have-to-give-up-that-joy/) [Ann Druyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-druyan/) > [Carl did not want to believe. He wanted to know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-druyan/carl-did-not-want-to-believe-he-wanted-to-know/) [Ann Druyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-druyan/) > [If you are searching for sacred knowledge and not just a palliative for your fears, then you will train yourself to be a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-druyan/if-you-are-searching-for-sacred-knowledge-and-not-just-a-palliative/) [Ann Druyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-druyan/) > [We smoked the way other American families would have wine with dinner. For us, it was our sacrament. It was something that made a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-druyan/we-smoked-the-way-other-american-families-would-have-wine-with-dinner/) [Ann Druyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-druyan/) > [The greatest thing that science teaches you is the law of unintended consequences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-druyan/the-greatest-thing-that-science-teaches-you-is-the-law-of-unintended/) [Ann Druyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-druyan/) > [For most of the history of our species we were helpless to understand how nature works. We took every storm, drought, illness and comet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-druyan/for-most-of-the-history-of-our-species-we-were-helpless-to-understand/) [Ann Druyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-druyan/) > [Contrary to the fantasies of the fundamentalists, there was no deathbed conversion, no last minute refuge taken in a comforting vision of a heaven…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-druyan/contrary-to-the-fantasies-of-the-fundamentalists-there-was-no/) [Ann Druyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-druyan/) > [The only gratification that science denies to us is deception.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-druyan/the-only-gratification-that-science-denies-to-us-is-deception/) [Ann Druyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-druyan/) [Explore all 49 Ann Druyan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-druyan/) ## More Authority quotes > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. This is insane. 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This delay was due to a desire on the part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/the-execution-was-set-for-the-29th-of-march-at-nine-in-the-morning/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [I started with the belief that every person who came to the laboratory was free to accept or to reject the dictates of authority.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-milgram/i-started-with-the-belief-that-every-person-who-came-to-the/) [Stanley Milgram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-milgram/) > [The rationale which accompanies that imposition of male authority euphemistically referred to as 'the battle of the sexes' bears a certain resemblance to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-millett/the-rationale-which-accompanies-that-imposition-of-male-authority/) [Kate Millett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-millett/) > [“We are at the mercy of whoever wields authority over the things we either desire or detest. 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