In an earlier post, I wrote of the attempts of some ..... uh ... freethinkers to show that non believers can be compassionate towards their fellow humans, that "you don't need God to be good" and atheists aren't assholes.I tried, in my small way, to show that the atheists' views on "being good" are not based in logic.
"Atheists may think they can be good without God, but if you take their atheism to its logical conclusion, there is absolutely no reason to treat your fellow human any differently than you would an insect." and
"Atheists cannot justify their belief that any particular action is right or wrong using their own belief system and logic."
Of course, they have tried.
From the Council for Secular Humanism website:
"Secular humanists see themselves as undesigned, unintended beings who arose through evolution, possessing unique attributes of self-awareness and moral agency."
We humans have a unique attribute of "moral agency"?
The idea that we humans can develop our own morality because of some attribute of moral agency certainly isn't based on a scientific observation of the facts. We may be capable of incredible acts of altruism but we are also quite capable of horrendous acts of violence.
Also from the site,
"Indeed, say secular humanists, the basic components of effective morality are universally recognized."
Universally recognized? Like our universal agreement on abortion and the value of human life?
The secular humanist says,
"Ethical principles should be evaluated by their consequences for people, not by how well they conform to preconceived ideas of right and wrong."
If anything, in trying to base our society on the values of the secular humanist, we have ignored the consequences. One example of this is the liberal secular humanist's insistence that distribution of condoms is the solution to the problem of HIV/AIDS in Africa, in spite of the scientifically observable fact that living a moral life of faithful monogamy is far more effective.
If we are, as they believe, "undesigned, unintended beings who arose through evolution" then the idea that "secular humanism goes further, challenging humans to develop their own values" contradicts the earlier statement that "the basic components of effective morality are universally recognized."
A cartoon from the same website tries to poke fun at the idea that we who believe in God have a "patent" on values. The easily dissected ideas of the secular humanists show that we, indeed do.
