The French philosopher Voltaire once said, “If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him.”43 If by that he meant that we need the concept of God to build a coherent, internally consistent worldview, then in my college years I reluctantly came to that same conclusion. I realized that presupposing the existence of God did indeed “solve a lot of philosophical problems.” Yet if Voltaire instead meant that we need to invent the concept of God to cope emotionally—to use religion as an opiate—then I would agree with Professor Krauss. It would be better to face that reality honestly than
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