Moral Argument For God

This argument states that a higher entity must exist for the following reasons:

1. Morality exists; 2. God is a better explanation for morality than any alternative; 3. the existence of God is therefore more likely than the opposite.

Unfortunately for theists, scientifically speaking, the moral argument is completely and utterly invalid. First of all, the argument that morality flows from faith is easily countered. Organised religions – as a cultural phenomenon – are responsible for quite a lot of harm and terror in the world. For instance, the suicide-bombing community is entirely faith-based, the genital mutilation community is entirely faith-based, et cetera.

“Name me an ethical statement made or an action performed by a believer [theist, deist, etc.] that could not have been made or performed by a non-believer [atheist].” – Christopher Hitchens

Not only that, the moral argument is degrading to humanity and human decency. It suggests that we humans would only murder, rape and pillage if we did not believe in an omniscient being who watches our every move – Christopher Hitchens jokingly referred to this hypothetical situation as a celestial North Korea. (Interestingly, one might well argue that present-day North Korea is organized exactly like a faith based cult, centred on the worship of Kim Jong-il).

In short, the degrading and childish suggestion that morality can only exist when humans think they are being spied on is simply invalid. For whatever motive (a question which is still heavily debated), human beings are very much concerned with the well-being of other living things for a very simple reason:

“And if we are more concerned about our fellow primates than we are about insects, as indeed we are, it’s because we think they [like ourselves] are exposed to a greater range of potential happiness and suffering [as opposed to say, rocks].” – Sam Harris

Human beings feel a basic empathy. This behaviour is rooted in the consciousness of being. It is not a character flaw, but an evolutionary strength. The assumption that any theistic religion grants or improves morality in human beings is not rooted in reality:

“The safest, happiest, healthiest, most peaceful, most equal, most developed, most emancipated, most educated, most socially and economically prosperous countries in the world are secular sovereign nations.” – Willem Etsenmaker

See other: Arguments Concerning God