--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As long as we have a master in heaven, we…" description: "\"As long as we have a master in heaven, we will be slaves on earth.\" — Mikhail Bakunin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83d/mikhail-bakunin-3075_be-a-slave_as-long-as-we-have-a-master-in-heaven-we_2745591.png" --- # As long as we have a master in heaven, we will be slaves… ![“As long as we have a master in heaven, we will be slaves on earth.” quote by Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83d/mikhail-bakunin-3075_be-a-slave_as-long-as-we-have-a-master-in-heaven-we_2745591.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83d/mikhail-bakunin-3075_be-a-slave_as-long-as-we-have-a-master-in-heaven-we_2745591.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83d/mikhail-bakunin-3075_be-a-slave_as-long-as-we-have-a-master-in-heaven-we_2745591.png) > “As long as we have a master in heaven, we will be slaves on earth.” [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Divine authority leads to earthly oppression; freedom requires rejecting higher masters. **In simple terms:** Believing in a god makes us slaves on earth. Key Takeaway Seek autonomy, question authority. Themes freedom authority spirituality politics Mood provocative philosophical Type political inspirational When to use this quote - personal decision - social movements - education reform Key Concepts Anarchism philosophy theology Questions to Reflect On - What freedoms are lost under divine rule? - Can secular freedom coexist with belief? A Different Perspective May ignore positive aspects of faith. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [Heaven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaven/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Phantoms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phantoms/) [Revolt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolt/) [Slave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slave/) [Slaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slaves/) [Theology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theology/) ## Related quotes > [The first revolt is against the supreme tyranny of theology, of the phantom of God. As long as we have a master in heaven,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/the-first-revolt-is-against-the-supreme-tyranny-of-theology-of-the/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [And ne'er shall the sons of Columbia be slaves, while the earth bears a plant, or the sea rolls its waves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-treat-paine/and-ne-er-shall-the-sons-of-columbia-be-slaves-while-the-earth-bears/) Robert Treat Paine > [“Smartass Disciple: Master, why heaven is up there and hell is down there ? Master of Stupidity: If otherwise, it wouldn't be celebrated as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/smartass-disciple-master-why-heaven-is-up-there-and-hell-is-down/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [Religion! but for thee, prolific fiend, Who peoplest earth with demons, hell with men, And heaven with slaves!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/religion-but-for-thee-prolific-fiend-who-peoplest-earth-with-demons/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [It's horrifying and absurd to think that there are currently more slaves on earth than at any other time in human history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louie-giglio/it-s-horrifying-and-absurd-to-think-that-there-are-currently-more/) [Louie Giglio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louie-giglio/) > [Theology created the fiction of Satan which represents the revolt if an infinite being against the existence of an absolute infinity, against God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/theology-created-the-fiction-of-satan-which-represents-the-revolt-if/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [To revolt is a natural tendency of life. Even a worm turns against the foot that crushes it. In general, the vitality and relative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/to-revolt-is-a-natural-tendency-of-life-even-a-worm-turns-against-the/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/in-giving-freedom-to-the-slave-we-assure-freedom-to-the-free/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Christ preaches only servitude and dependence... True Christians are made to be slaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/christ-preaches-only-servitude-and-dependence-true-christians-are/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [If you're not confident in the authority of the Scriptures, you will be a slave to what sounds right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-chandler/if-you-re-not-confident-in-the-authority-of-the-scriptures-you-will/) [Matt Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-chandler/) > [Abraham Lincoln recognized that we could not survive as a free land when some men could decide that others were not fit to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/abraham-lincoln-recognized-that-we-could-not-survive-as-a-free-land/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Knowledge makes a man unfit to be a slave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/knowledge-makes-a-man-unfit-to-be-a-slave/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [Once a man has tasted freedom he will never be content to be a slave. That is why I believe that this frightfulness we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/once-a-man-has-tasted-freedom-he-will-never-be-content-to-be-a-slave/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Neither should men study war with a view to the enslavement of those who do not deserve to be enslaved; but first of all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/neither-should-men-study-war-with-a-view-to-the-enslavement-of-those/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [“Freedom is for the educated people who fought for it. We were slaves of the English, now we will be slaves of the educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khushwant-singh/freedom-is-for-the-educated-people-who-fought-for-it-we-were-slaves/) [Khushwant Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khushwant-singh/) ## More by Mikhail Bakunin > [It clearly follows that to make men moral it is necessary to make their social environment moral. And that can be done in only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/it-clearly-follows-that-to-make-men-moral-it-is-necessary-to-make/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [There are but three ways for the populace to escape its wretched lot. The first two are by the routes of the wine-shop or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/there-are-but-three-ways-for-the-populace-to-escape-its-wretched-lot/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [Whoever says State necessarily says domination, and, consequently, slavery; a State without slavery, open or concealed, is inconceivable: that is why we are enemies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/whoever-says-state-necessarily-says-domination-and-consequently/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [“Does it follow that I reject all authority? Perish the thought. In the matter of boots, I defer to the authority of the bootmaker;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/does-it-follow-that-i-reject-all-authority-perish-the-thought-in-the/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [I am sure that, on the one hand, the Rothschilds appreciate the merits of Marx, and that on the other hand, Marx feels an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/i-am-sure-that-on-the-one-hand-the-rothschilds-appreciate-the-merits/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [Throw a theory into the fire; it only spoils life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/throw-a-theory-into-the-fire-it-only-spoils-life/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [People go to church for the same reasons they go to a tavern: to stupefy themselves, to forget their misery, to imagine themselves, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/people-go-to-church-for-the-same-reasons-they-go-to-a-tavern-to/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [The privilege of ruling would be in the hands of the skilled and the learned, with a wide scope left for profitable crooked deals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/the-privilege-of-ruling-would-be-in-the-hands-of-the-skilled-and-the/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [I am not myself free or human until or unless I recognize the freedom and humanity of all my fellowmen... I am truly free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/i-am-not-myself-free-or-human-until-or-unless-i-recognize-the-freedom/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [In antiquity slaves were, in all honesty called slaves. In the middle ages, they took the name of serfs. Nowadays they are called wage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/in-antiquity-slaves-were-in-all-honesty-called-slaves-in-the-middle/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [He who desires to worship God must harbor no childish illusions about the matter but bravely renounce his liberty and humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/he-who-desires-to-worship-god-must-harbor-no-childish-illusions-about/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [They maintain that only a dictatorship - their dictatorship, of course - can create the will of the people, while our answer to this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/they-maintain-that-only-a-dictatorship-their-dictatorship-of-course/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [“The masses, on admitting their own incapacity to govern themselves, have elected me as their head By doing so, they have clearly proclaimed their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/the-masses-on-admitting-their-own-incapacity-to-govern-themselves/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [We must overthrow the material and moral conditions of our present-day life. . . . We must first purify our atmosphere and completely transform…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/we-must-overthrow-the-material-and-moral-conditions-of-our-present/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [The right to unite freely and to separate freely is the first and most important of all political rights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/the-right-to-unite-freely-and-to-separate-freely-is-the-first-and/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) [Explore all 140 Mikhail Bakunin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) ## More Be a slave quotes > [“Freedom is for the educated people who fought for it. We were slaves of the English, now we will be slaves of the educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khushwant-singh/freedom-is-for-the-educated-people-who-fought-for-it-we-were-slaves/) [Khushwant Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khushwant-singh/) > [Neither should men study war with a view to the enslavement of those who do not deserve to be enslaved; but first of all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/neither-should-men-study-war-with-a-view-to-the-enslavement-of-those/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Once a man has tasted freedom he will never be content to be a slave. That is why I believe that this frightfulness we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/once-a-man-has-tasted-freedom-he-will-never-be-content-to-be-a-slave/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Knowledge makes a man unfit to be a slave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/knowledge-makes-a-man-unfit-to-be-a-slave/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [Abraham Lincoln recognized that we could not survive as a free land when some men could decide that others were not fit to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/abraham-lincoln-recognized-that-we-could-not-survive-as-a-free-land/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [If you're not confident in the authority of the Scriptures, you will be a slave to what sounds right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-chandler/if-you-re-not-confident-in-the-authority-of-the-scriptures-you-will/) [Matt Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-chandler/) > [Christ preaches only servitude and dependence... True Christians are made to be slaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/christ-preaches-only-servitude-and-dependence-true-christians-are/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/in-giving-freedom-to-the-slave-we-assure-freedom-to-the-free/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Everyone wants a happy life without difficulties or suffering. We create many of the problems we face. No one intentionally creates problems, but we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/everyone-wants-a-happy-life-without-difficulties-or-suffering-we/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [Unless you have found something in life to live for that is more important to you than your own life, you will always be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/unless-you-have-found-something-in-life-to-live-for-that-is-more/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [People allow themselves to be slaves of their bad habits and society's bad habits - but they have free will, and if they wish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peace-pilgrim/people-allow-themselves-to-be-slaves-of-their-bad-habits-and-society/) [Peace Pilgrim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peace-pilgrim/) > [Colonization was the idea that once slavery ended African-Americans should be encouraged - or required, in some people's view - required to leave the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-foner/colonization-was-the-idea-that-once-slavery-ended-african-americans/) [Eric Foner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-foner/) > [The Grecians and Romans were strongly possessed of the spirit of liberty but not the principle, for at the time they were determined not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/the-grecians-and-romans-were-strongly-possessed-of-the-spirit-of/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Every lord's mansion stands on the foundation of your bones, soldier, every field has been saturated with your sweat, and you, peasant, even if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wladyslaw-stanislaw-reymont/every-lord-s-mansion-stands-on-the-foundation-of-your-bones-soldier/) [Wladyslaw Stanislaw Reymont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wladyslaw-stanislaw-reymont/) > [I decided I didn't want to be a slave to any passion any more except for my work, i had too many passions -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omar-sharif/i-decided-i-didn-t-want-to-be-a-slave-to-any-passion-any-more-except/) [Omar Sharif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omar-sharif/) Browse all 130 Be a slave quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "As long as we have a master in heaven, we will be slaves on earth.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mikhail Bakunin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/as-long-as-we-have-a-master-in-heaven-we-will-be-slaves-on-earth/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Be a slave" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/as-long-as-we-have-a-master-in-heaven-we-will-be-slaves-on-earth/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83d/mikhail-bakunin-3075_be-a-slave_as-long-as-we-have-a-master-in-heaven-we_2745591.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83d/mikhail-bakunin-3075_be-a-slave_as-long-as-we-have-a-master-in-heaven-we_2745591.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83d/mikhail-bakunin-3075_be-a-slave_as-long-as-we-have-a-master-in-heaven-we_2745591.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“As long as we have a master in heaven, we will be slaves on earth.” — Mikhail Bakunin", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Mikhail Bakunin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "As long as we have a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/as-long-as-we-have-a-master-in-heaven-we-will-be-slaves-on-earth/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/as-long-as-we-have-a-master-in-heaven-we-will-be-slaves-on-earth/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```