Objection: Even if a god exists, objective moral values and duties still do not exist. As it would still merely be Gods subjective opinion whether or not a particular action or behavior is right or wrong, and his opinion may well differ from my own. Response: It is not Gods subjective opinion that some things are good and others evil. Rather, God Himself is the foundation of moral good. Far from being arbitrary or subjective, His commands and moral precepts are rooted in His perfect moral nature. Your picture of God as forming arbitrary moral opinions is just a caricature. Moreover, even many atheists acknowledge that God, if He exists, would provide the necessary ontological foundation for objective moral values and duties. Richard Dawkins writes, It is pretty hard to defend absolutist morals on grounds other than religious ones. What hes acknowledging is that God gives us an ontological foundation for moral realism, whereas atheism does not. We have also quoted Paul Kurtz, who said, The central question about moral and ethical principles concerns their ontological foundation. If they are neither derived from God nor anchored in some transcendent ground, they are purely ephemeral. If God -- whose very nature is perfect goodness -- exists, then objective moral values and duties have a secure ontological foundation rooted in Gods own nature. If God does not exist, then objective moral values and duties do not exist. But objective moral values and duties do exist, and whether youll admit it here or not, I am confident that there have been, and will continue to be, regular times in your life when it becomes apparent to you that you believe in them with far greater certainty than you believe in the reasons for your skepticism.
Posted on: Wed, 28 May 2014 18:23:22 +0000
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