(May 3, 2018 at 5:21 am)pocaracas Wrote:(May 2, 2018 at 10:39 pm)Joods Wrote: Atheists develop senses of right or wrong - all without the help of a god.
In a believer's mind, atheists do develop those senses with the help of god. They just don't acknowledge the divine guide as their origin.
The philosophers of old (think Aquinas) would say that good is that which aligns with "natural law", where this "natural law" represents the actual purpose for which each being or structure is intended. A good example they like to trot out, nowadays, is sex - sex has the purpose of procreation; using it for anything else is bad or wrong. The pleasure that one feels from sex is just an evolved construct to impel individuals to actually have sex and, thus, procreate. Pleasure is not the purpose of sex.
God, as the originator of this natural law, defines what is good. If you, the atheist, follow natural law, regardless of how you came to such a following, you are doing good.
Then we can challenge that thinking by telling them to provide evidence that a god, any god, is the originator. If they try to cite the bible, then we can further challenge this by asking for physical proof via the Scientific Method.
I know, I know, heads will spin, but really, if they are making that claim, they should be required to back it up, right?
Disclaimer: I am only responsible for what I say, not what you choose to understand.
