--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is nothing left worth preserving in…" description: "\"There is nothing left worth preserving in the notions of unseen powers, controlling human destiny, to which obedience and worship are due.\" — John Dewey" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e93/john-dewey-545_atheism_there-is-nothing-left-worth-preserving-i_2588240.png" --- # There is nothing left worth preserving in the notions of… ![“There is nothing left worth preserving in the notions of unseen powers, controlling human destiny, to which obedience and worship are due.” quote by John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e93/john-dewey-545_atheism_there-is-nothing-left-worth-preserving-i_2588240.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e93/john-dewey-545_atheism_there-is-nothing-left-worth-preserving-i_2588240.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e93/john-dewey-545_atheism_there-is-nothing-left-worth-preserving-i_2588240.png) > “There is nothing left worth preserving in the notions of unseen powers, controlling human destiny, to which obedience and worship are due.” [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Obedience to unseen powers is futile; we should question authority and seek rational understanding. **In simple terms:** Question blind obedience. Key Takeaway Promote critical thinking over superstition. Themes education critical thinking skepticism Mood thoughtful challenging Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - classroom debates - science education - public discourse Key Concepts philosophy rationalism humanism Questions to Reflect On - What 'unseen powers' do you doubt? - How can you encourage rational inquiry? A Different Perspective Changing deep‑seated beliefs can be difficult. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) [Destiny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destiny/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Obedience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obedience/) [Positive atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/positive-atheism/) [Worship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worship/) ## Related quotes > [I think there are unseen powers who don't want pop music to be anything other than glorified Madonnas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-think-there-are-unseen-powers-who-don-t-want-pop-music-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Schools still operate as if all knowledge is contained in books, and as if the salient points in books must be stored in each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sugata-mitra/schools-still-operate-as-if-all-knowledge-is-contained-in-books-and/) [Sugata Mitra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sugata-mitra/) > [Women from earliest times have been used as conveniences of communication with unseen, inaccessible powers, but always in the sense that such exposing of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-riding/women-from-earliest-times-have-been-used-as-conveniences-of/) [Laura Riding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-riding/) > [My work is like a dialogue between me and unseen powers, like alchemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cai-guo-qiang/my-work-is-like-a-dialogue-between-me-and-unseen-powers-like-alchemy/) [Cai Guo-Qiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cai-guo-qiang/) > [Note this, I beseech you: in active obedience we worship God by doing what pleases God, but by passive obedience we do as well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremiah-burroughs/note-this-i-beseech-you-in-active-obedience-we-worship-god-by-doing/) [Jeremiah Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremiah-burroughs/) > [“We need both reverence and obedience. If we worship but do not walk in obedience and discipline, we are emotional, lacking self-control and godly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-layne-litzelman/we-need-both-reverence-and-obedience-if-we-worship-but-do-not-walk-in/) [Amy Layne Litzelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-layne-litzelman/) > [Just as worship begins in holy expectancy, it ends in holy obedience. If worship does not propel us into greater obedience, it has not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-j-foster/just-as-worship-begins-in-holy-expectancy-it-ends-in-holy-obedience/) [Richard J. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-j-foster/) > [The essence of knowledge is to know what obedience and worship are -Abu Hamid al](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-ghazali/the-essence-of-knowledge-is-to-know-what-obedience-and-worship-are/) [Al-Ghazali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-ghazali/) > [In a split second of eternity, everything is changed, transfigured. 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