say to the reader that my book deals with life
philosophically and not individually. It was from the viewpoint of life
in general and the universe as a whole that the sentiments herein were
expressed.

To love God is not the duty of man and one of the most important tasks
to be accomplished for the human race is to destroy the Theistic
conception of Life and the Universe.

The sentiments I expressed at a memorial meeting in honor of Luther
Burbank last May best illustrate my convictions. I said:

"The religious person loves God so vehemently that he has no love left
for Man."

May "The Tyranny of God" do much to accomplish the purpose of its
author.

JOSEPH LEWIS

_January 10, 1928_

INTRODUCTION

_Where did we come from?
What are we doing here?
Whither are we going?_

These questions have puzzled thinking people since consciousness first
dawned in the brain. Many have sought to answer them, so why not
I?--with the hope that the reading of this book will arouse in the minds
of the readers thoughts that will enable them to answer these questions
for themselves.

Were you suddenly to find yourself living on another planet, and you
were a thinking being, one anxious for knowledge, you would naturally
investigate the conditions under which you found yourself, and seek, if
possible, a solution for your existence there. Surely it is equally
appropriate, situated as we are on this earth, endowed with brains and
possessing senses and nerves, to inquire into and investigate the
conditions under which we live, and the purpose, if any, of our
existence here.

The peculiarity of this existence warrants such analysis. It is certain,
from our understanding as well as from all visible scientific facts,
that we did not make ourselves, and that we never had a former
existence; and we are led to conclude, in view of lack of credible
evidence to the contrary, from those who have passed on, that the
future, so far as our individual life is concerned, is an eternal void.

It is also certain, as science has indubitably shown, that we do not
make our offspring, that we are not creators, but are instruments merely
in producing life.

Furthermore, we did not make any portion of the globe which we inhabit
and of which we are a part, and, so far as we are able to determine, all
the natural conditions and "raw materials" of our environment are
something separate and distinct f