No! And if there were such beings we would be their judges. Any god who existed would be just a thing in our world, which we could decide about. It’s not that God must exist, or might exist, it’s that he can’t exist. We are the source of morality and rational judgement. Once we understand this we can’t believe in gods. We can’t go back once we’ve become rational and free, it’s an irreversible move.

SOCRATES

We are the gods now?

ANTAGORAS

Yes, if you like. The gods were just ideal pictures of us; we have to get rid of them to realise our own possibilities.

SOCRATES

The old philosophers, whom we think of as so wise, I mean like Thales and Heraclitus, saw the whole cosmos as a sort of spiritual being, everything was holy, religion was a harmony with the whole of nature.

ANTAGORAS

Yes, but that was really science. They wanted to find out what the universe was made of, atoms and so on. Myth was mixed up with science in those days. Those were great men in their time but we’ve moved on.

SOCRATES

So religion is magic and primitive science – and primitive morality too? Since we’ve now discovered that we are the only source of value.

ANTAGORAS

Yes, religion has always been concerned with morals and social conduct, that’s why it’s been so important.

SOCRATES

Important?

ANTAGORAS

An important phenomenon. Morality was mixed up with mythology like science was, it was all one big thing, now we cut the thing into three pieces, throw away the mythology, and have a proper science and a proper morality. You must approve of that!

SOCRATES

What’s ‘proper’?

ANTAGORAS

More pure, more true, not mixed up with lies. Now we can separate fact from value, give each its proper place in life, get rid of the supernatural on both sides. Instead of cosmic mythology we have science, instead of picturesque god fables, we have independent moral men making up their minds and choosing their values. We are the lords of meaning, there isn’t any higher meaning set up somewhere else. There’s nothing high, there’s nothing deep, there’s nothing hidden – but that is obvious, it’s what everybody in this room believes.

SOCRATES

Don’t be impatient with me. I am not at all sure what everybody in this room believes. Not all intelligent people think that religion is just superstition. For instance someone might say that the old stories are not literally true, but that they can convey truth – and that there are not many gods but only one, called, perhaps, Zeus, or God, a spiritual power, which is perfectly good –

ANTAGORAS

Whether you call it Zeus or God or anything, it’s still a supernatural person with a name and modern people can’t believe in such a person.

SOCRATES

Can there be religion without gods or a personal god?

ANTAGORAS