"In God We Trust," on coins that represent our labor and our endeavor,
is an insult to the intelligence, courage and independence of the
people, and a stinging rebuke to those responsible for our progress.
A motto that more truthfully represents our material progress and
intellectual development would be: "In Science We Trust;" or, "Humanity
and Justice Our Aim."
The more we eliminate God from us, the more we are _one without him_,
the better for us all, the better for humanity, the better for all the
world. The less we "know" of God, the less God that is "in us," the more
_human_ we become.
The greatest, most frightful and destructive wars of all time have been
those which were started in "defense" of God, as if "he" cared what man
says or does.
The most frightful and torturous instruments ever conceived by man are
those that were made to force people to "believe in" God.
The history of religious persecution and torture is the horror of the
world.
May I ask, where was God, and what did he do, to stop this frightful
nightmare of torture committed in "his" name?
And may I answer for you, that he was where Moses was when the light
went out?
Remember this: There will never be a solution to any of our fundamental
problems, and mankind will never, in the full sense of the word, be
free, as long as there exists in the human mind the insanity of
religious belief. As long as God occupies a portion of our thoughts,
mankind must be content to suffer the hatred and antagonism of man.
Let us make up our minds now, let us resolve now, to stop fighting one
another, and fight God by helping one another.
Let us stop fighting our fellow prisoners and fellow sufferers, and
fight God.
Let us help our fellow prisoners and fellow sufferers.
Let us cleanse our minds of this superstitious poison of an "after
life," and work and labor for the good and welfare of Here and Now.
We possess the knowledge and the means and, within the span of only one
day, could bring about the much-longed-for "Brotherhood of Man."
We could eliminate hatred from our hearts, and instill Justice as our
guide. We could eradicate poverty from our midst and bring happiness to
sorrowing mankind. We could blot out tyranny among men and exchange it
for the priceless legacy of freedom and make the relation between man
and man bear some semblance of humanity.
But--and I say this with redoubled conviction, and with all the power,
force, energy and vehemence that I possess--if we are Nature's best
endeavor, if man is Nature's best product, if the Natural world is
incapable of any improvement, and life will forever be made to submit to
the tyrannical conditions of Nature, then it were better ten thousand
times over, that life were never called into existence, and that the
universe were null and void!