The Twilight of the Idols · Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
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Even he who makes but the most modest claims upon truth, _must_ know at present, that a theologian, a priest, or a pope, not only errs but actually _ties,_ with every word that he utters,—and that he is no longer able to lie from “innocence,” from “ignorance.” Even the priest knows quite as well as everybody else does that there is no longer any “God,” any “sinner” or any “Saviour,” and that “free will,” and “a moral order of the universe” are _lies._ Seriousness, the profound self-conquest of the spirit no longer allows anyone to be _ignorant_ about this.... All the concepts of the Church have been revealed in their true colours—that is to say, as the most vicious frauds on earth, calculated to _depreciate_ nature and all natural values. The priest himself has been recognised as what he is—that is to say, as the most dangerous kind of parasite, as the actual venomous spider of existence.... At present we know, our _conscience_ knows, the real value of the gruesome inventions which the priests and the Church have made, _and what end they served._ By means of them that state of self-profanation on the part of man has been attained, the sight of which makes one heave.
Text from Project Gutenberg, public domain in the United States.