Atheists only vote please: Do absolute MORAL truths exist? Is Rape ALWAYS "wrong"?

[DeistPaladin]

I can think of a what-if situation of rape where the theist would probably admit it'd be moral to do so, like if Yahweh asked you to rape someone. But otherwise the scenarios would be rare and full of ultimatums, like raping the last female on Earth who refuses to get pregnant or something improbable like that. But in practice, I think everyone would agree rape is wrong but universal truth implies that no caveats can be made, there should always be some small wiggle room with morality. I think history has shown that a bit of wiggle room can get you to the next progressive step forward.

I think raping the last female on earth would still be wrong.

Agreed. The ends don't justify the means. That's a pretty basic moral concept.

I think my favorite extreme example is in Terminator 2. Should Sarah Conner pull the trigger and murder Miles Benet Dyson? Murdering one innocent man might save 3 billion lives and human civilization. But still, I wouldn't be able to do it in her shoes. The ends don't justify the means.

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I don't understand why anyone care to avoid extinction. You're going to die either way, what do you care if mankind goes on living without you or not?

Now on THAT point, I would disagree. My life is finite. I will die someday. But human civilization will carry on.

I take comfort from the fact that we are becoming progressively more moral and more intelligent over time. While we may individually die, the whole will carry on and the whole has potential for a noble destiny. If we can contribute in some small way, that will be meaning enough.