Author: Creationist Mindset Fertile Soil for Moral Beliefs

(AgapePress) - A chemist for a Fortune 500 company says there is a strong link between the evolutionary worldview and moral decay.

For years, Bruce Malone says he believed what he had been taught about evolution in public universities. But his viewpoint changed after he examined the scientific evidence for creation -- evidence he says is basically ignored by most media and educators.

Malone has just released a new book, Search for the Truth, which is composed of short articles that examine the evidence for creation and reveal the misrepresentations presented as truth by evolutionists. He says when it comes to the evolution debate, it is vital for Bible-believing Christians to have reasonable answers to honest questions.

He says the early chapters of the Book of Genesis explain things accurately. "[J]ust read what it says," he urges. "It talks about all the mountains under all of the heavens were covered with water -- all of mankind, all of the animals were wiped out except for those saved on the ark, which is symbolic of ... salvation [through] Jesus Christ.

"Those who want to deny and discredit Christianity [say] the Bible talks about a local, small, little flood. It clearly doesn't."

The author is also concerned that children in Christian homes are not being equipped to defend the biblical view of creationism. "They're going through school, they're going through museums, they're going through all the big, popular movies -- [all of which absolutely deny] that there's ever been a literal creation, that there's ever been a worldwide flood, that there's ever been a fall of man," he explains.

"In other words, all of the things that the Bible has to say about the physical world are being denied -- and these kids aren't connecting the Bible to the real world around them."

Malone is convinced that an evolutionary mindset results in moral decay because it leads to wrong ideas about the value of human life and how individuals should live their lives.

As Dostoevsky famously wrote "If God doesn't exist, everything is permissible".

So your not the only one that has thought along these lines.

But lets look at this issue logically. Does it make sense to say that if there's no God, there's no such thing as morality?
No, it doesn't.
At the risk of labeling the atheist as self-centered, it does not serve the best interests of an atheist to murder and steal. It would not take long before he was imprisoned and/or killed for his actions. Belief in God is not a requirement for ethical behavior or an enjoyable life.

The above assumes that another power, government prescribes what morality is for each person. But can an individual be moral without God or a governing body?
Yes. Morality is a built-in condition of humanity; the moral tendency exists in just about everyone, barring psychopaths. Morality comes from its foundational principle, empathy. The principle of morality is empathy; what differs are our approaches to that principle, and how we interpret our feelings of empathy in order to make a coherent system.

http://www.mwillett.org/atheism/moralsource.htm

So your not the only one that has thought along these lines.

Say it ain’t so.

But lets look at this issue logically. Does it make sense to say that if there's no God, there's no such thing as morality? No, it doesn't.

Not so fast. Why SHOULD there be morality if there is not a Divine Judge of Right and Wrong? Who decides right and wrong? The individual? Then we have utter chaos and mob rule. Society? Not exactly. If everyone in the world but you decided tomorrow that it was morally permissible to kill YOU, I doubt you would think it was the correct action.

At the risk of labeling the atheist as self-centered, it does not serve the best interests of an atheist to murder and steal. It would not take long before he was imprisoned and/or killed for his actions. Belief in God is not a requirement for ethical behavior or an enjoyable life.

So actions should only be made based on convenience, or “best interests”? What if it is in my “best interests” to kill you? (From a purely hypothetical standpoint; I use you as an example, it could be anyone, I’m not threatening you)

Why should they be imprisoned? Because society says so? Who makes them the arbiter of right and wrong? Does that mean that whatever society decides is right?

The above assumes that another power, government prescribes what morality is for each person. But can an individual be moral without God or a governing body?

What do you describe or define as “moral”? Without God, there is no such thing as “moral”!

Yes. Morality is a built-in condition of humanity; the moral tendency exists in just about everyone, barring psychopaths. Morality comes from its foundational principle, empathy. The principle of morality is empathy; what differs are our approaches to that principle, and how we interpret our feelings of empathy in order to make a coherent system.

Last year, there were millions of crimes and murders and deaths. People lie, steal, and commit adultery every day. It’s undeniable. You cannot say that morality (still undefined, in the absence of God) is a built-in condition. Human beings violate it every day of the week.

If I'm a highly-evolved monkey with millions of years of bloody "survivor of the fittest" ancestry being drummed into me, why shouldn't I rape, pillage and otherwise be mean?

Because you have an immortal soul which God infused into you. That God used the process of evolution to form your body (or rather, your first human ancestor's body) is immaterial.

If there is no God, why be moral?

Indeed, but I fail to see what this has to do with the topic at hand.

No time to reply back. Time to go pillage and rape the city..

http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=927905
http://www.helsinki.fi/~ssyreeni/atheist/no-ghost-c-02
http://groups.msn.com/atheistvsgod/morality.msnw
http://www.str.com.br/English/Atheos/goodness.htm

Last year, there were millions of crimes and murders and deaths. People lie, steal, and commit adultery every day.

And many of those people believed in God also. The irony.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.