There’s this argument out there that atheists aren’t moral. Maybe you’re one of those rare atheists who can manage to restrain yourself from looting and pillaging despite your lack of belief in divine retribution. Maybe you’re even kind and good, and return library books on time. Are you then a moral person?
Not according to the author of this essay: ‘The Lie of Moral Atheism’. See, you’ve rejected God, the source of all goodness and morality. How could anything you do be ethical? What you’re doing must be something else besides ethics.
When secular humanists, agnostics, nontheists, and atheists reject God and yet claim to be moral and ethical, they are first lying to themselves. If they reject the origin of truth, morality and ethics, their version of truth and morality can only be a subjective counterfeit. Trouble is, this brand of moral relativism is being taught wholesale throughout the country. And the atheists are organizing to get more of it. Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” All the more reason the Bible should be used as a textbook in every school.
Buh. Duh. Guh. Must… fight… non sequitur
I’m fine now. They tried to hit me with a Confusion Attack. Good thing I had 20 health and rolled a six, or that could have been serious.
Dear God, please let them not see through the faulty reasoning, at least not until the checks are cashed.
I’ve noticed a strategy that religious belief systems use to survive. They piggyback onto life milestones, and act like they own them. These are:
- birth, which religions co-opt with ceremonies like baptism or blessing
- adulthood (or young adulthood), commemorated in bar mitzvahs and first communions. In LDS culture, this finds expression in priesthood (for boys) and missions (a later adulthood ritual)
- marriage, which serves as a symbol for the beginning of long-term relationships
- death, with its funerals and last rites
And then basic moral goodness, as in our example above.
The ceremonies are usually nice, and people like them. But because religions have set up shop around these basic parts of human life, it becomes difficult for believers to imagine the event occurring (or being done properly) in the absence of the ceremony. Yet parts of the life cycle, like birth, death, mating and the like have been around for as long as there have been organisms. It’s unnecessary for religions to come and claim them with ceremonies. It’s like if I tried to set up a booth at the public library and charge admission.
Seen this way, religious belief systems act as parasites on life’s great moments. Allowing religion to claim them gives it strength that it hasn’t earned. And the parasite will always want more. Let ’em have marriage, and they’ll be claiming honesty and decency, and probably punctuality besides. Let ’em have those, and they’ll be coming for gravity.
11 February 2007 at 5:59 pm
Yet parts of the life cycle, like birth, death, mating and the like have been around for as long as there have been organisms.
You mean for 6,000 years? ;P
Did you catch the video going around from the CNN Paula Zahn Now show? The panel they had discussing atheism was absolutely disgusting. I don’t think I have ever been so offended in my entire life.
I can’t wait to see what happens when they have Dawkins on tomorrow night.
The video is here – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPHnXrU5JzU
17 February 2007 at 12:37 am
If you liked Mr Deity I recommend getting the DVD of Ricky Gervais’ ‘Animals’
18 February 2007 at 6:37 pm
Stay a virgin, go on mission, get married and except for the few like you thats the end of the story because it’s just too damn hard to change after all that investment and a wife and children who expect you NOT to change.
5 March 2007 at 9:39 am
THOSE LYING HYPOCRITICAL SONS OF B****S! they said that christians don’t press their beliefs on others, but history shows that christians have done FAR worse than that, i mean they KILLED people for not believing in their god and if you look closely you will notice many similarities in pagan beliefs and christianity (someone pointed that out can’t remember where but it is quite a read) so they killed people and religions just to preserve and expand theirs (yeah riiight) and I’m not an atheist but my beliefs don’t fall into any religion i know of. and i will NEVER force my belief on someone. and will not right any book on it until i can form into words what i believe clearly (and I just hope others share my beliefs too) and just to clarify things i USED to share the christian belief… until i grew up and read deeper into the writings and found paradoxes, holes, and things that even with the phrase ‘god did it’ where still impossible and read the history if it, so i secretly, from family and friends, began searching for a different religion and no matter how i tried i could not find one so until i turned 15 i was atheist then i realized my beliefs so i tried reviling small bits of it to my mom and showing her the proofs that i believed showed it best… *sigh she laughed at me, she thought i was JOKING!!! it took me a while to recover from that… then i told my dad (or at least he is now) and he just brushed it aside quietly (thankfully) so thanks to them, until i move out i will keep it to myself to prevent the torture that would follow from my EXTREMELY religious aunt, cousins,and grandparents, and semi-religious mom and dad.
wow, i didn’t mean to go on like that, but as i started to say i know how atheists and pagans feel under the crushing might of the christian empire. just don’t give up your beliefs they define you and we are encouraged to be ourselves all our lives… even if, from a christian, it is a hollow phrase.
please send me an email if you agree with what I’m saying… or if you need to rant to someone who won’t spread it around i need a friend after all the internet is the only place i can get a lasting friend who i cant lose contact with no matter how many times i move.
gatekeepers_elite@yahoo.com
and I’m 17 and only want friends 17 and up but you can rant to me no matter your age (just stay anonymous if your younger than 17 or 18) and ill respect your beliefs. just respect mine when i start clarifying things about it in my blog (which won’t be for a while)