I think some of the most difficult beliefs we apostates have to leave behind are those concerning the afterlife.  Hell terrifies people for decades after one becomes an atheist.  The loss of heaven can be mourned like the loss of a close relative.  

So what's the atheist to do with this?  If heaven leaves us, are we without hope?  I think NOT!  I think the only heaven worth wanting is the one we have been charged to create here, in the real world.  Now.

Let's make the awesomesauce we want to see.