Atheism and morality

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Frankly having seen your arguments they carry so much that smacks of religion I have huge doubts you were ever atheist. You are far to ready to allocate good things to God and only evil to man.

The idea that people only behave morally through threat of punishment from God is a nauseating one that permeates Christianity.

No, I was an atheist and no longer qualify. I am someone who follows reason wherever it leads, even if I don't like it and even if it means I can no longer be in the club. I suggest that you entertain these fantasies about me so that you do not have to take seriously my arguments. That, of course, is to engage in the ad hominem fallacy. I am not a Christian and never was, but it wouldn't matter anyway, the validity of my conclusions is unaffected.

You then, once again, attribute to me a view that I have never defended. I have never argued that one needs to believe in god or divine punishments in order to be motivated to behave morally.

You do not refute my arguments by attributing to me an entirely different and implausible view and then attacking that view.

You have clearly stated the afterlife would be required for enforcement of morality.

Further, not more than 10 posts ago you invited me to:

"Engage in the following thought experiment. Imagine there exists an afterlife. When you die that's where you're going for the rest of eternity. No escape. In that afterlife there is a god. She has control over your interests. You want a cake, she can get you a cake. She has control over what you want as well. If the only cakes in the afterlife are fruitcakes, she can make sure the sort of cake you want most, is a fruitcake. Anyway, she has that sort of control. So, your welfare long term is in her hands. Imagine she's vengeful such that if you do not do as she instructs she'll harm your interests (make you want chocolate cake when you have to spend eternity in a place where there is only fruitcake, for instance). Imagine that your moral sense really is a sense of what she wants you to do here, in this realm. Do you have reason to do what she wants?"

That's heaven, hell, punishment - the whole 9 yards - but you never said it - right?

Liar, Liar, pants on fire!