From “A Free Man’s Worship” (1903) by Bertrand Russell:
That Man is the product of causes which had no prevision of the end they were achieving; that his origin, his growth, his hopes and fears, his loves and his beliefs, are but the outcome of accidental collocations of atoms; that no fire, no heroism, no intensity of thought and feeling, can preserve an individual life beyond the grave; that all the labours of the ages, all the devotion, all the inspiration, all the noonday brightness of human genius, are destined to extinction in the vast death of the solar system, and that the whole temple of Man’s achievement must inevitably be buried beneath the débris of a universe in ruins—all these things, if not quite beyond dispute, are yet so nearly certain, that no philosophy which rejects them can hope to stand. Only within the scaffolding of these truths, only on the firm foundation of unyielding despair, can the soul’s habitation henceforth be safely built.
Alex Good 
Great review; I’m not sure I’ve seen anything by Bertrand Russell, but I have seen the new Spiderverse animation; here’s my review!
So if BR feels like that, what bother getting out of bed in the morning?
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He was building a new foundation for the soul on a safe foundation! Not the cobwebs of the Spiderverse . . .
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At least he looks his philosophy full in the face and sees the truth of it. Because if man is just an accident, then despair is all you have. And you might as well just kill yourself to spare yourself the pain that life inflicts.
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People can acknowledge they are created in the image of God and that He sent his Son to redeem them. That way lies hope and a fulfilled life.
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He was uncompromising in some ways, but he thought life could still be meaningful and happy:
“I believe that when I die I shall rot, and nothing of my ego will survive. I am not young and I love life. But I should scorn to shiver with terror at the thought of annihilation. Happiness is nonetheless true happiness because it must come to an end, nor do thought and love lose their value because they are not everlasting. Many a man has borne himself proudly on the scaffold; surely the same pride should teach us to think truly about man’s place in the world. Even if the open windows of science at first make us shiver after the cosy indoor warmth of traditional humanizing myths, in the end the fresh air brings vigour, and the great spaces have a splendour of their own.”
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Is that from his review of Red Planet?
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No it’s from the press release kit he did for Pitch Black.
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” Happiness is nonetheless true happiness because it must come to an end, nor do thought and love lose their value because they are not everlasting.” I liked that bit. I think I must have a look for this book.
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The second quote comes from Why I Am Not a Christian: And Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects. The first is from A Free Man’s Worship and Other Essays, which is available online for free. Most of his writing on the subject is in the same vein.
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Cheers.
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