Atheism's New Idea

"Hopefully we’ve learned from the atheist Stalin that there is no need to destroy everything in order to start again. The only thing that needs to be destroyed is man’s idea of God - that would be the way to start and Dawkins and Harris understand this. Destroy man’s idea of God and we’d achieve our goal! Once every member of the human race discards the idea of God (and I believe that such an era will come, like some new geological age) the old world-view will collapse by itself without recourse to violence. And the first thing to disintegrate will be the old morality, for everything will be new and different. Men will unite their efforts to get everything out of life that it can offer them, but only for joy and happiness in this world. Man will be exalted spiritually with a divine, titanic pride and the man-god will come into being. Extending his conquest over nature beyond all bounds through his will and his science, man will constantly experience such great joy that it will replace for him his former anticipation of the pleasures that await him in heaven. Everyone will know that he is mortal, that there is no resurrection for him, and will accept his death with calm and dignity. He will understand, out of sheer pride, that there is no point in protesting that life lasts only a fleeting moment, so he will love brother man without expecting any reward for it. Love satisfies only a moment in life, but the very momentary nature will concentrate its flames which before were diffused and made pale by the anticipation of eternal life beyond the grave. Although because people are so stupid this will all take too long to achieve. So long that even now, every man who recognises the truth should arrange his life as he pleases in accordance with the new principles, without waiting. We must jump without scruple over every barrier of the old moral code devised for the man-slave. Without God everything is permitted and that is all there is to it!"

Yours truly, the devil by Dostoevski