(January 27, 2018 at 8:04 pm)SteveII Wrote: 2) I think it is clear that Christian thought has had a significant impact on the development of western ethics and I contend that our inclination that humans have intrinsic value is based on this impact and not reasoning from any atheistic worldview. I think the impact part of this idea is self evident. The second part can be countered with a reasoned argument to my 1).
Christians are people and western people can contribute to the development of western ethics. The question is whether their xtian-ness is an obstacle they must overcome to make a meaningful contribution, or, if their being xtian actually improves western ethics somehow. In most things xtian thinking which begins with weird assumptions which must be woven into every thought seem only to cause cognitive dissonance. But it is an open question whether wrestling with that difficulty makes you smarter or just dulls your vision.
