And now take the opposite second option. There is no God, no soul, no eternity; I live once, and my wife and children live once, and all mankind lives once, and ultimately, as science firmly says, humanity, as a species, is mortal. So? Tell me then why I live, what is the meaning of this life and, most importantly, what is it?

"None, just life for life's sake, these people say...

– Well, we have already talked about the process of life itself. We don't know what will happen in the next minute. We don't know; If, of course, we were always in that healthy well-being, healthy physically, socially and financially, then we can still say something. But who guarantees us? Don't we see from our friends, acquaintances, from the press, from television, how everything turns upside down in the blink of an eye? Today he is in glory, tomorrow he is buried in the ground; It's crazy. And if, therefore, there is no meaning in this life, and if my well-being is on the edge of some kind that is about to stick, and I have fallen to no one knows where, shouldn't a person really think: why does all this exist, what is the point? And if he thinks about it – you mentioned God-seekers (and there are really a lot of them who really think about this question) – they come to the same conclusion: either there is a God, or there is nonsense.

By the way, many people for whom this question arose point-blank even committed suicide when they could not be convinced that there is a God. Many came to the conviction of the existence of God and then from personal religious experience became convinced that God is a reality, spiritual life is a reality, and a reality full of goodness, and not of anything else. Well, that's how, in general terms, I could answer such a question.

– That is, if we summarize it in one phrase, it will probably sound like "memory of death"?

–Yes. It can, of course, be different. For an unbeliever, the very memory of death is horror and despair: "I lose everything here and forever." After all, what does atheism say? Believe, man, that eternal death awaits you. Amazingly simple. And there is another understanding of the memory of death – when, from the point of view of understanding that I am mortal, I begin to essentially comprehend and understand my entire life, activities, all moral and immoral actions. I am beginning to understand that conscience is not an abstraction, but really the voice of truth – if you like, as people say, the voice of God.

That is how I think you could respond to questions like this.

– We have received a lot of questions on the air, and we will start with this letter... Alexei Ilyich, I warned you before the broadcast that there are a lot of acute issues. Because those who may be skeptical about the Soyuz TV channel and think that this channel is only for "terrible" believers, so to speak, people – they are actually mistaken. We are watched by a variety of people, including atheists, people who still profess some other religions, and so on.

And here is one of such letters. I will read a long excerpt from it so that you understand: "Dear gentlemen, Valery Alexandrovich is writing to you from St. Petersburg. Here I am sitting at home, not touching anyone, and suddenly Professor Osipov appears on the screen, who begins to read his sermons very actively and not without success among 85-year-old women. But there are other people in our family who have all the attributions of modern science and culture. In this connection, we immediately have a question: what is the difference between your lectures and the editorials of the Central Committee of the CPSU, because they, like you, do not tolerate the slightest doubt about what they are talking about? Therefore, there is no dialogue, but only one-sided sermons. But excuse me, it's not the middle of the century anymore; How long will Russian Orthodoxy be proud of the most outdated conservatism? You even forbid shops for ancient old women in the prayer hall, not to mention a host of other outstanding absurdities. After that, send all your spiritual academics to dig potatoes, at least there will be some benefit. Do you think you will continue to talk nonsense for ancient old women? Well, aren't you tired yet? – Valery Alexandrovich continues his letter, – well, then, first answer a simple question: what is God?

Let's start, Mr. Osipov, with the terms. Who is it: a grandfather in a cassock on a cloud, a demiurge armed with the achievements of modern science and technology, is it a really humanoid person or some kind of fantastic robot? If you define it, then we will talk. And if you leave the dispute right now, then I will provide you with anti-advertising in the widest possible press.

Valery Alexandrovich, independent journalist, St. Petersburg"...

– I like such questions. The first thing I want to say is: don't worry, when I conduct exams, and a student says to me: "Here, the Lord God...", I say: "God? Who is it, tell me? And is He there, what are you talking about such nonsense? Well, please answer me."

I am saying this in relation to the fact that we are simply agitating and do not want to think or make other people think – to think. I want to tell you that religion is precisely that sphere of activity of the human soul that requires absolute freedom of human thought – no violence and, if you like, requires alternative formulations of questions and answers, respectively.

Now, with regard to "what is God," I'll say this. I recall one incident from the history of philosophy, when the notorious Socrates, the sage of Ancient Greece, a philosopher whom everyone knows, asked a sophist (sophist means sage): "Hippias, and Hippias, will you tell me what beauty is?" At the same time, Socrates said: "Hippias, I have heard that you are the wisest man, that you know the answers to all questions." Yes, Hippias had an interesting answer. "By the dog, Socrates, of course you are right, I really know everything, I am a wise man (well, as we can see, a man does not lack humility), well, Socrates, please. Beauty is a beautiful woman." Socrates says: "Hippias, well, I am not asking you about a woman, but about what beauty is. After all, you understand perfectly well that the most magnificent beauty in her beauty is a real monkey in the face of the goddess. You tell me what beauty is, and not a beautiful woman." The answer was: "Well, Socrates, you are asking something that I don't even understand you." And the answer was correct.