If There Is No God, Murder Isn't Wrong

Part I: Dennis Prager

An argument I'm beginning to hear a lot by Christian theists/apologists, is the suggestion that since atheists don't murder, they're not really atheists. Recently these arguments have been popularized by conservative/political figures such as Dennis Prager and Jordan Peterson. This post will be focusing on the arguments made by the former.

In his video "If there is no God, murder isn't wrong", Prager takes aim at atheists, and asks a simple question, "If murder is wrong, how do you know?"

He then proceeds to claim that all morality comes from God, and that any morality not derived from God is subjective.


Subjective God
First of all, any honest person should know that no one speaks for God. So every time you hear the word 'God' you should instinctively tell yourself to add possession before the noun (ie 'his God/her God').

Read this way, the title for this video is more accurately translated, "If my God doesn't exist, murder isn't wrong'. Does that sound a bit more absurd? It should. Christians and Christian apologists alike fail to include in their evaluations the fact that they don't speak for theists, they only speak on behalf of their God. Since they don't speak on behalf of God, and only on behalf of their God, we can conclude that whatever opinions they have on morality are entirely subjective, because it requires subjectivity to accept their version of God in the first place. This is equivalent to the transitive property in math (if A = B, and B = C, then A = C). In other words, if I subjectively choose a God to believe in, and then claim that he's the moral authority on earth, I haven't actually established objective morality. I've done little else than add a middle-man to subjectivity.

(It should also be noted, that regardless of God being true or not has no relation to objective morality. If morality is objective, it exists regardless of its acceptance by any God. Believing in something simply because a being (God or not) tells you it's true, is by definition 'subjective'. God would be held to the same standard we are, and would have to prove its objectivity.)


Is the Christian God moral?
When asking 'how do atheists know what is moral?', Prager provides murder, rape and slavery as ethical subjects, and claims that without (his) God, atheists have no authority to claim that these are immoral. An odd stance to take, given facts about his own God.

Murder in the Bible -
In the famous story of Exodus, the spirit of God crawls throughout the city killing the first-born of every family in Egypt who doesn't have lambs blood above their door. Even though the feud is between God and the pharaoh, God decides to kill innocent men, women and children.

Rape in the Bible -
In Deuteronomy 22:28-29 God commands that if a man rape, he should have to pay the father (who apparently is the real victim of the rape) and then marry the girl. Apparently if you sexually violate another woman, Judeo-Christians would have you believe that objective morality demands that the raped woman be married to her assailant.

Prager is suggesting that morality comes from his God. So I'll pose the question - does a rape victim being forced to marry her assailant sound objectively moral to you? If you answered, 'No' - then regardless of you being a Christian or not, it is abundantly apparent that your morality is not derived from the Christian God, as is there is not a single scripture that admonishes such behavior. For all intents and purposes, as far as the Christian God is concerned, you are actually rewarded for committing rape (if you nail her, you get to keep her) - and what's more - if you find this morally reprehensible (as any moral person should), you're not getting your morals from Christianity.

Slavery -
Prager then rightly claims that Western civilization was the first to abolish slavery. But again, there is no scripture suggesting slavery is wrong. In fact, just the opposite occurs multiple times where God demands that slaves 'obey your masters'. So if you disagree with slavery, then your disagreement (and therefore morality) stems from some other source than the Judeo-Christian God.


The moral code of atheism:
I don't pretend to know from where people get their morality, and I don't speak for all atheists. I do know that Western Civilization has been heavily influenced by Christian morality. But I also know that Christian morality was heavily influenced by Buddhism.
I also know that the influence of Christian morality has had a positive and negative effect on society. Equal rights for gays, and blacks would be just one example of the negative effects of their influence.

While many atheists believe that morality is subjective, or a social construct, I tend to lean more towards Sam Harris's view that morality is objective, we merely need to discovery ways to frame arguments and find the proper evidence (which is no easy task).
What code of ethics do I use, or how do I discover what is objectively moral?

There are any number of variables that go into ethics that would require an entire book to give the subject any justice. Thoughts on pain, unnecessary pain/torture are easy examples but can create hypothetical questions I don't care to answer here. I could say that the happiness of others indirectly influences my own happiness, and therefore the golden rule is a good rule to follow (Note: The golden rule derives from Buddhism, NOT Christianity). I could talk about how unity and support creates strength, and point to the myriad of examples of kings and tyrants dying or being overthrown, because the hostile environments they create collapse on themselves, showing themselves to be weak and unstable systems, unfit to provide the security and well-being that humans and animals alike crave for them and their families.

To end I'll say this. It is not hard to find a reason to feel compassion towards others. To know that every person I ever met, talked to, liked, loved, valued - to know that all of these people one day will watch their friends and loved ones die - to know that they too will die - and to know that I too will someday be forced to say goodbye to every person I ever loved, gives me great reverence and respect for the emotions and experiences that others go through.

So it's okay if we don't know 'how' or 'why' our moral compass is set to what it is, just have compassion for others and stop worrying about 'why' you should.