ed with religion, and
have ever relied upon religion for support, the cause for speculation
is, not what will happen to the world when religion dies out, but how
human society has managed to flourish while the belief in the Gods
ruled....

"Substantially, we have by searching found out God. We know the origin
and history of one of the greatest delusions that ever possessed the
human mind. God has been found out; analytically and synthetically we
understand the God-idea as previous generations could not understand it.
It has been explained, and the logical consequence of the explanation is
Atheism."

Man is fast attaining a mastery of his environment, and his religious
creeds are becoming as irrational to him as the witchcraft delusion.
Religion with its burden of fear ties him to the dead ages. But
knowledge not only supplies him with power, but also furnishes him with
courage, and that courage will aid him in freeing himself from that
fear--religion. Religion is doomed to occupy the same place in history
as the institution of slavery. Lies and imposture, no matter how
powerfully sustained, can be dispelled by knowledge. The Church will
destroy itself with its own poison. Knowledge and courage spell the doom
of religion.

CHAPTER XX

CONTEMPORARY OPINION

_The Vanguard_

_Let us make no mistake--great minds are skeptical.... The strength
and the freedom which arise from exceptional power of thought
express themselves in skepticism.... A mind which aspires to great
things and is determined to achieve them is of necessity
skeptical_.

NIETZSCHE.

BERTRAND RUSSELL

My own view on religion is that of Lucretius. I regard it as a disease
born of fear and as a source of untold misery to the human race. I
cannot, however, deny that it has made _some_ contributions to
civilization. It helped in early days to fix the calendar, and it caused
Egyptian priests to chronicle eclipses with such care that in time they
became able to predict them. These two services I am prepared to
acknowledge, but I do not know of any others.

MAX CARL OTTO

It is my conviction that the happiest and noblest life attainable by men
and women is jeopardized by reliance upon a superhuman, cosmic being for
guidance and help. I know, of course, that God has been defined in
various terms. I do not choose among them. For it seems to me
indisputable that those who turn to God, however God be defined,