RE: How would an atheist convince a serial killer not to be a serial killer?
March 5, 2026 at 1:19 am
(This post was last modified: March 5, 2026 at 1:20 am by The Grand Nudger.)
(March 5, 2026 at 12:42 am)FreethinkingSceptic Wrote: If one is an atheist and believes that there is no God and no afterlife, then if a serial killer wanted to spend this life harming people because that is what he claims makes him happy, how would you convince him not to do this?
Sure, he may have to fear being sent to prison for his crimes, but it is possible he could simply avoid the law. Therefore, the implication of atheism is that if a person wants to spend their life harming people because they claim this is what makes them happy, there is no reason not to do this.
That's not an implication of atheism, nor is a belief in a god any sort of cure against spending a life murdering people or hoping to avoid consequences whether earthly or divine. In fact, some god beliefs are explicitly premised on the notion of evading the just rewards of our profligate sins.
Off the cuff, I wouldn't trust my ability to convince anyone who was only motivated by the fear of consequences not to do whatever shitty thing they had in mind. If I wanted to try I'd appeal to all of the same things I would if that person believed in a god...on the off chance that their motivations are at least a bit more complicated than that.
Why don't you murder? Can you think of any reason not to murder?
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