It is commonly thought that we need religion to ground our morality. Most Americans will say they would not vote for a political candidate solely on the grounds that he is an Atheist. Presumably, the objection is that he will not have the proper moral values. But consider this question asked by Socrates in The Euthyphro.
"Is what is holy holy because the gods approve it, or do they approve it because it is holy?"
If we take the first answer that what is good is good because God says so, then we have something that is arbitrary. I'll admit it may be wise to obey the whims of an arbitrary God, but suppose he is an evil being. After all, God seems to approve of slaughtering innocents, stoning children, ethnic cleansing and so forth in the Old Testament.
Suppose we take the second answer, that God approves of something because it is independently good and he must approve of the good things. Then what God says is irrelevant to what is good.
When it comes to morality, God is either arbitrary or irrelevant.
Posted by Chris at July 2, 2004 02:36 PM | TrackBackAs an atheist who is more "moral" and ethical than many fundamentalists, I'd have to agree that god is irrelevant. One should be a good person for the sake of being a good person, not because god says so.
Posted by: Mish on July 17, 2004 10:26 AM