Originally Posted by
Pete Hanlin
No one is raised i a vacuum. Morals/values are instilled from birth by whoever raises a child. The USSR was an atheistic state, but its citizens were not necessarily atheists.
But of COURSE we are raised in a vacuum! Isn't that the point of the big bang and evolution (and of Neitsche- sp?)? We are all raised in a vacuum on an organized jumble of atoms called the earth that hosts a bunch of organized strands of DNA called homo sapiens. The universe is just a blob of chance with no particular purpose, destiny, or destination (other than to devolve back into randomness). Where, pray tell, does morality fit into this system? Why should a child have ANY inclination to believe in anything his/her parent does? To what end? By acting in a certain way, will we better our own existance (for that matter, what constitutes a better existance- better than what)? "I think, therefore I am!" Okay, than whatever you think makes up what you are- you self-determine what you will be. That leaves no room for any common morality. Its not "we think, therefore we are" (unless you're a Borg from Star Trek). Its not "He thought, therefore I am." Be absolutely clear on this point, atheism leaves no room for a common morality of man (perhaps one of convenience, but not a prescriptive- or "ought to"- morality with any substance). There is no definition of "better," "ought," "more right," or any other superlative if atheism is in fact true. At least not one that can be applied to more than one individual.
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