Still continuing my response to Kolbe19:
God and Morality: Kolbe19 used a quote that's often attributed (mistakenly) to Dostoevsky: "If God does not exist, everything is permissible." Kolbe is proffering the usual false dichotomy the Christian apologists present; namely, that there must either be a Transcendent Absolute Objective Moral Code or complete nihilistic moral relativism. They of course dress it up in theistic clothes, claiming that god is required for there to be any morality at all. If there's no god, they claim, then any moral stance is as good as the next, and we have no basis upon which to deem any action as wrong or evil (and here is another scenario where they can't help but mention Hitler).
If morality is indeed determined by god, then that is a morality that is entirely subjective, for it is determined by nothing more than the will and whim of this being called "god." So if god decides one day that raping children is virtuous, then it must be, if morality is based on god.
Predictably, religionists will argue: "Oh, god would never say that." But why do the religionists need to say this? Is it because they think raping children is wrong, regardless of whether their god agrees? Seems those who believe god is required for morality can't adhere to that belief with consistency.
Those who do adhere to that belief consistently are those whose actions are reminiscent of a modern-day Abraham sacrificing his son Isaac. We hear stories in the news of someone claiming, "God told me to kill my children," and we cringe. What many fail to see is that this is the reductio ad absurdum of religious "morality" - and it can be downright scary.
There are plenty of good reasons to promote and practice morality: survival, happiness, peace. We are all interconnected. We don't live in a vacuum, but rather within a social context in which our actions affect others and ourselves. Promoting goodness is beneficial for everyone. History has shown that a morality based entirely on the "will of god" has led to all sorts of violence and evil - atrocities committed "in the name of" this god or "according to the will of" that god. History shows that religion-based morality is the most subjective morality of them all.
The Euthyphro Dilemma is still a genuine dilemma after all.
Dead-Logic.com
God and Morality (Again)
God and Morality (Again)
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