Suffering is Also a Problem for Atheists
Evil also poses problems for the nonbeliever. Claims that torture is
wrong even though the victims of torture might be terrorists with
useful information appeal to some external standard. But what is this
standard? Such claims need to be grounded in something if they are to be
asserted with such confidence. So, while some naturalistic philosophers
have developed ethical systems without God, many other naturalists
acknowledge this doesn’t work and that such ethical systems are entirely
arbitrary. If God does not exist and there is no grounding
for how things ought to be, then moral — as opposed to emotional —
outrage at horrendous evil has no basis. The fact that we cannot escape
our sense of horror and outrage at evil actually points us to God’s
existence.
Moral dilemmas have nothing to do with whether or not a God exists. Does the Bible provide a clear standard for moral dilemmas? Nope. Does God provide clear examples of what to do in the our most complicated moral dilemmas? Nope. Clearly we are left to try and sort it out on our own. Sure, we don't have all the answers - we are human, we make mistakes. It's not always easy to determine the right thing to do, but it seems like we're getting better at it with every generation that passes.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that we're upset by evil doesn't point clearly to "a great lawmaker" or demonstrate God's existence - it shows that bad things do exist and that we'd prefer they don't. Now let's find some solutions...